WA Fisheries have been busy in the Courts:
In the courts
Breaching the 10kg finfish limit cost a Melville man more than $4600 in the Shark Bay magistrate’s court recently when he was found to have 19.6kgs of finfish fillets at his campsite.
The abuse and obstruction of fisheries officers at Lighthouse Bay near the Ningaloo Marine Park in April led to a Great Southern man receiving fines and costs of nearly $3000.
Illegal mud crab fishing cost a 47 year old man almost $4000 in fines, penalties and costs in the Derby Court after his boat was found with undersized crabs and 10 more than the personal daily bag limit.
Illegal sales of rock lobster, as well as using excess pots and interfering with other people’s fishing gear, has cost a Cooloongup man more than $30 000 in fines and costs, as well as having to forfeit his boat and gear.
My Dad taught me how to Fish-Thanks Dad.(RIP)
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18025
Date Joined: 11/03/08
Good job. Fines need to be
Good job. Fines need to be higher in my opinion. Costly one for the last one .
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Formula 233
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 06/12/15
Bullshit.
Its just another example of making fishermen criminals for farming their own resource.
Fines do not need to be higher - the trip limit of 20kgs was LAW for 20 years and without any verifiable data or justification, they reduced limits by 50% - with the blatant BS lie of we'll review in 12 months time.
Where is the fkcn review? - Why havent our limits be reset to 20kgs? - How can you justify a 50% reduction without scientific research and public support? Fisheries have a hidden agenda (green and woke) to turn every fkcn inch of our coast into a green, woke, sensitive, diverse, fisherMAN free parks where we can can spend $10k every year to drive and holiday, where we can stand on the beach and tell the kids - look kids, the sharks and the fish are protected and their just over the horizon happily swimming in their little part of the world. How fkcn lovely.
Reset the limits!!! this decsion is killing our tourist destinations at Carnarvon, Gnaraloo, Waroora, Coral Bay, Exmouth, Ningaloo and above - especially with ridiculous fuel prices.
We bagged out on day two this year - and spent $10k. This is a shit rule decided by shit humans who dont fish to the detriment of hard working West Australians who've protected and cared for their resource for millenia.
It's the thin end of the wedge - GIVE OUR RESOURCE LIMITS BACK. Then we're not criminals after all.
I'd float test the decision makers if it was legal - then all their friendly sharks friends could decide if the fishery is healthy or not. GRRRR! Rant over.
Simo_
Posts: 1843
Date Joined: 13/11/06
Tell us what you really
Tell us what you really think lol
Bring on April
sea-kem
Posts: 14967
Date Joined: 30/11/09
You need a Snickers
You need a Snickers
Love the West!
scottland
Posts: 3038
Date Joined: 10/05/10
Killing them places
Have you tried booking accommodation
i support two teams eagles and whoever is playing the dockers
trout1105
Posts: 28
Date Joined: 03/07/09
Fishermen don't "FARM" a
Fishermen don't "FARM" a resource they "EXPLOIT" it, Farmers put in a crop or raise livestock and harvest what they produce Fishermen simply harvest a natural resource.
The 10kg limit applies to EVERY member of your family (eg 4x family members = 40kg of fillets) and 10kg of fillets is a bloody lot of servings of fish per person, Seriously how much fish do you need?
What IS killing our fishing destinations is the ever increasing numbers of tourists that rape and plunder the sea and leave they rubbish and excrement on the beach NOT bag limits.
Stop whinging about the rules, IF you don't like the rules dont fish.
marble
Posts: 775
Date Joined: 03/09/09
Really . If you need to
Really . If you need to justify spending money to do what you enjoy by kilos of fillets in the freezer then to be honest I personally think your a short sighted, selfish , flog
PMY 25 Centre Console DF300 Suzuki
rob90
Posts: 1526
Date Joined: 06/02/13
Well said!
Well said!
Hi my name is rob............. and I'm a........... fishaholic
little johnny
Posts: 5357
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Funny
.
Formula 233
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 06/12/15
Trout
Sorry mate.
Recreational fisherman do - in fact - 'farm' the resource they OWN. Just as with farmers, we harvest what the ground can handle and revisit the lumps three years later - and guess what - IT WORKS!!!! Wow!
Professional fishermen - who's livelyhoods depend on sustainabilty of stock, do in fact 'farm' their resource as well. Without a sustainable biomass, they fail and go under. Ignorance is bliss mate.
The Norwest bag limit reduction will dramatically impact the tourist destinations NEXT YEAR. It's sub-economically unviable for many. Guess what - we all talk around the filleting table - and we talk to our booking agents as well. Numbers are falling - Fishermen numbers - I'm guessing the Green Wokie numbers are increasing dramatically as they head North to gloat over their Wokie victories.....
Secondly, we respect the fish we catch and OWN. Nothing is wasted. My boat carries three fishermen who each feed a family of four for 6 months - we each do one trip a year. 20kg of fish harvested once per year. WOW. What fckn resource rapists we all are. New 10kg limits mean we head back with 10-12 family meals. Just environmental destruction isn't it. Shame shame shame. It also means - importantly - that my boat and crew can fish Kalbarri or the Abroholos for the same limits, preventing my tourist dollars entering the Carnarvon shire and above.
Numbers of tourists and fishermen will continue decline for three distinct reasons.
1. Sharks - completely out of balance - and dont give me some bullshit fact from Nat Geo or GreenWokeDiverse Crusader magazine - we see the gross imbalance on our sounders and on the water. The biomass is ridiculously out of control. Think locusts on a wheatfield and no controls to fix the problem. That, my good friend is environmental destruction. Clean out the excess!!!
2. Costs - people are selling their boats on this forum from ongoing bag limit reductions and fuel costs - this week - but I'm guessing that makes the Wokies very happy doesn't it.
3. Bag limit reductions - ongoing- relentlessly reducing catches in WA and scientifically unjustified. Show me the data - then we can talk about NorWest bag limits.
We all know the Shark Bay agenda was a trumped up charge to appease the Green Army - and you know it too.
If you 'farm' the shark imbalance, start selling flake back in the fish and chip shops, the need for Professional 'exploitation' of Dhufish, Red Emperor, Coral Trout etc. will decline and the biomass will grow. WOW - another simple solution - why haven't the Wokies thought of that one??
Because all they really want - is lock the fckn entire resource from everyone - and you know it!!!
I'm off to cuddle my SuperGreen hug tree now on my electric scooter with my diverse wokie LGBTLMNOQWTF new friends. Worlds gone to shit i think.
RESET OUR BAG LIMITS - and don't ever touch them again without pure scientific data, public support and measured controls. Then Old Mate who got fined for 19.2kg of his yearly fillets won't be deemed a criminal any longer.
XXXOOOXXX.
Brody
Posts: 1024
Date Joined: 06/02/07
"While on a fishing trip you
"While on a fishing trip you may accumulate up to 10kg of finfish fillets of any species, no skin required, plus an additional 10kg of fillets of large pelagic fish with skin on. The existing possession limit of 20kg of fillets of any species will continue to apply at a person's principal place of residence."
If you are simply after 20kg of demersals because you don't want to keep any pelagic fish, then that's up to you I feel. "Farming" would surely include something along the lines of limtiing yourself in some way to not exclusively take long-lived, easily exploited demersals?
pelagicyachts
Posts: 1322
Date Joined: 23/02/11
so much anger!
so much anger!
Bradmac73
Posts: 201
Date Joined: 22/03/17
nothing to do with bag limits
Whilst i understand and respect people's opinions about the revised bag limits, in the cases posted above, the bag limit is entirely irrelevant.
The first is a case of having near double the new bag limit, now let's be completely one eyed here and say that somehow he didn't know the rules had changed. Like it or not ignorance is not a legitimate excuse for anything, if you want to fish it's your responsibility to know the rules and abide by them, whether you agree with them or not. My guess, he knew and ignored it.
The second case is some bell end who thinks he's a hero for having a crack at someone doing their job, no sympathy for d**kheads like this whatsoever.
Third case, 10 crabs over the limit and also had undersized crabs, so changing bag limits isn't going to change this person's compliance with the rules at all as he seems to have a problem sticking to any of them.
The last bloke, too many pots, and pulling pots that are not his then selling the crays he has stolen from them. Perfectly happy that he got flogged by the courts, it's grubs like this that need to feel the full brunt of it.
So whether the bag limits were what they are now, or what they were previously, or had been increased would have made no difference to these cases, it's not the bag limits that made these people fall foul of the law (except possibly the first person who had been living under a rock). And if you are willing to break the rules these people have, then you are more than likely willing to break any bag limit set also, which relegates the "raise/reinstate the bag limit" argument null and void.
Like it or not, we all know these people exist in the fishing community, and we can argue our own virtuous management of the fishery as much as we like, but it is all undone by the fact these people keep getting caught doing the wrong thing and reinforcing the view that there needs to be better management of our fisheries. So maybe the vitriolic ranting would be better aimed at these people who are the more likely the cause of reduction in bag limits and other regulations detrimental to rec fishers through their actions.
pelagicyachts
Posts: 1322
Date Joined: 23/02/11
thats a great post
thats a great post
Fisheagle
Posts: 349
Date Joined: 04/02/12
Concur
Well stated
Fisheagle Ed
https://www.youtube.com/user/fisheagleed/videos
Formula 233
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 06/12/15
Good post Brad.
You are correct mate and have a well informed opinion. I concur.
Throw the book at people who breach our limits and damage the perception of Rec Fishers. I - and my crews comply in full with all Rec limits. Always.
What pisses me off is the continued and relentless reductions that are based on slewed and biased data and opinions.
I'd like to understand the real story of the gent who took 19.2kgs of fillet - seems odd that he took +/- 19kgs - as he's probably been doing for 10 years+, and now he's a criminal that gets
If we're going to have our resource stolen from us and locked into marine parks and ridiculously low limits (like the new 1 Dhuie proposal) - then as a Western Australian taxpayer - I demand to see the data to justify the reduction. 20kgs - 10kgs in 12 months based on a few bins of frames at Shark Bay???
Rec Fishing is a very very healthy past-time and right for us, our children and future generations and the bag limits should be in place to protect it - period. What I violently oppose is having OUR RESOURCE locked away or taxed out of existence to appease the Green Activist agenda - last years bag limit reduction is BS - and now Old Mate is a criminal. That's not OK.
And secondly, the Green Wokies won't let anyone do anything about the shark fckn pandemic will they. If they really really want to protect the fish, reduce the shark biomass. Then all is normal in the hen house.
Reset the Norwest Trip limit - it's unjustified and unproven. It was a theft against Rec Fishermen.
Formula 233
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 06/12/15
Good post Brad.
You are correct mate and have a well informed opinion. I concur.
Throw the book at people who breach our limits and damage the perception of Rec Fishers. I - and my crews comply in full with all Rec limits. Always.
What pisses me off is the continued and relentless reductions that are based on slewed and biased data and opinions.
I'd like to understand the real story of the gent who took 19.2kgs of fillet - seems odd that he took +/- 19kgs - as he's probably been doing for 10 years+, and now he's a criminal that gets
If we're going to have our resource stolen from us and locked into marine parks and ridiculously low limits (like the new 1 Dhuie proposal) - then as a Western Australian taxpayer - I demand to see the data to justify the reduction. 20kgs - 10kgs in 12 months based on a few bins of frames at Shark Bay???
Rec Fishing is a very very healthy past-time and right for us, our children and future generations and the bag limits should be in place to protect it - period. What I violently oppose is having OUR RESOURCE locked away or taxed out of existence to appease the Green Activist agenda - last years bag limit reduction is BS - and now Old Mate is a criminal. That's not OK.
And secondly, the Green Wokies won't let anyone do anything about the shark fckn pandemic will they. If they really really want to protect the fish, reduce the shark biomass. Then all is normal in the hen house.
Reset the Norwest Trip limit - it's unjustified and unproven. It was a theft against Rec Fishermen.
scottland
Posts: 3038
Date Joined: 10/05/10
You
You wouldn't happen to live in Melville and recently been to shark Bay have you
i support two teams eagles and whoever is playing the dockers
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8141
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Bwahaha
Bwahaha
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
brown364
Posts: 249
Date Joined: 25/08/15
Manage
Is the word he is looking for! we dont farm. Great fishos manage what they take and where they take it from. The "FARMERS" are a collective of us and them. We reap and manage , they sow and manage the reapers. If i get 10kg of fillets from a trip, I would be pretty happy and i dont think it has ever happened for me. come to think of it , I would give away the 10kg of fillets or release the fish just to have enjoyed the experiance & bullshit dribbling with friends or family.
I think I enjoy the salt , water and the calmness that it brings ... untill the drag screems (nothing quite like it), more than the freezer full of fillets.
THATS WHY SHARK FISHERMAN LOVIT, NOT FOR FILLETS BUT FOR THE RUSH!
though a better feeling when it tastes awesome i must say.
Da pirate
Posts: 1561
Date Joined: 03/05/15
What .
What you doin still up neighbour ?
you got a long trip up to pin a
few spangled emps with ol 100 series.
safe travels . Cheers pirate
Formula 233
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 06/12/15
Erosion of Rights.
Not from Melville and have never been out of compliance, on any level, to fisheries laws - or any other.
Does no-one find the fact that Mr Melville 19.6kg was charged in August after the rule change in July??? Is he the example the Fisheries were looking for? Whatever the case, he's now a criminal on a watch list who will almost certainly not head North next year and views the rule makers as enemies. That's got to be great for Northern businesses who need us yearly.
There is a hidden agenda to dramatically lower bag limits - it's relentless and ongoing. This rant is not about 10kg's v's 20kg's - we rarely bag out.
It's about the erosion of our rights to fish with our kids, and to live a Western Australian lifestyle. Surely you can sense the same. We're being f... slowly by the regulators. And Recfish apply the lube - because they're our friends!!!! Gimme a break.
What happens when its 5kg's, 5 fish, 2 fish, 1 fish??? Then what? Sell the boat and fly to Bali every year.
This is not about bag limits - it's about the erosion of our rights. Do not ever forget one simple FACT - the people of Western Australia OWN the fishery. If the regulators are going to continually close it down - then have the data to back the argument. opinions mean nothing.
It pisses me off that Old Mate is now a criminal. It's wrong. The rest deserve the book thrown at them. Erosion of Rights. Over and Out.
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8141
Date Joined: 07/05/12
If you drove along a 60km/h
If you drove along a 60km/h road yesterday and then you do the same drive today but there are now roadworks with a 40km/h speed limit, do you continue along at 60km/h because that's the speed you legally did yesterday?
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Formula 233
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 06/12/15
Engineering Consent.
No Jack. Rules are rules.
What if, the road rules lowered the speed limit, without any road works being done and placed a speed camera to raise revenue. Then its an erosion of your rights.
Hypothetically - What if Mr Melville started fishing on July 27th - Departing the NW on the 1st August. Slammed with a full fine, never to return to the NW and feeling completely persecuted.
What if your taxes went up by 50%? What if your wages went down by 50%? You'd be slightly unhappy wouldn't you. Why don't they catch flake any longer? Because Kialis Sisters own the rights to the fishery (which they sold to CCP interest for $700m) and artificially inflate prices for fin fish and lobby to remove flake - do you know that????? Do you also know there's less profit in flake??
We are being rolled out of our resource, the State and Federal Govt are signing agenda's to reduce catch limits placed by international agencies and - without pure scientific backed data - are reducing access to OUR RESOURCE (Brody!) by 50%. And don't give me the Pelagic reach around.
This is what the real reasonimg is - it's called engineered consent - and it's working well.
Again - show me the data to justify the decision. Not possible. Show me the shark data. Not possible. Show me the catch reduction signoff - take a look!! Then you'll understand.
Mr Melville is the canary in the coal mine.
They don't want us to eat pizza, Trout - and catch and release damages the system far worse than a measured, regulated, managed bag limit.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8667
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Facts
May I suggest you get some facts right before putting fingers to the keyboard.
To my knowledge most if not all the demersal shark net licences are owned by individual operators, not Kialis's, same goes for nearly all of the wet line fishery licences, though there was 2 boats working Carnarvon north owned by one person. Sure Kialis owns 2 x fish trawlers working out of Exmouth and their prawning fleet which has been reduced from 12-14 down to 8 I think.
The reason you say for flake going missing from your local fish and chip shop is the demand and supply thing, the boats are restricted in times they can fish and where they can fish, remember that not too many years back they had the area from Myalup to Lancelin removed from their fishery, effectively taking 3 boats that I knew of out of the equasion. The 2 boats based here in Bunbury supply locally first, same goes for the ones in Augusta and Windy Harbour. The great southern fishery is where the bulk of the gummy and whiskery shark is caught and again to my knowledge most of their catch goes to the eastern states because the demand is higher.
Customers walk into the fish shop, look at the prices and take the cheaper option which is basa, already cut into serve sized fillets, the next option is hoki, a bit dearer but 100% better eating and not grown in a sewer but caught deep sea. For an example of this, go to Kialis's or Cicerello's and look at their menu boards, basic fish and chip = no mention of what it is or where its from.
Enough said, my rant on defending the pros is over for now
Pete F
Posts: 310
Date Joined: 07/01/18
Recreational fishing should
Recreational fishing should be considered a rules based privlage, we have a 'share' of the 'state public rescource' allocated to us. It's not we have a 'right' to take X amount of fish each year it needs to be managed properly. Population keeps growing the recreational fleet is much larger and far more efficient, rules need to change to manage the recreational share of the rescource. If rules hadn't evolved over the past decades our fisheries would be all stuffed by now.
To help keep Western Australian fish resources sustainable, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) have developed a comprehensive set of rules for recreational fishers.
Most statewide fishing rules can be found online at rules.fish.wa.gov.au where you can search by species and location.
Detailed information is also available in our recreational fishing guides, which includes bag and size limits for the main species you are likely to catch throughout WA.
Fishing rules also apply to licensed fisheries and some rules apply to recreational fishing in Western Australian bioregions.
You should also be aware of rules for Marine Protected Areas and for individual species.
These rules form part of DPIRDs management strategies, which are based on ongoing research monitoring of Western Australian fish and aquatic resources.
Cheers
sea-kem
Posts: 14967
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Not a rant John, a nicely
Not a rant John, a nicely measured response imo.
This bloke getting into a flap about rights etc and defending greedy flogs who flout the law needs a reality check.
Love the West!
Formula 233
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 06/12/15
Kialis Markets.
Kialis don't want Flake licences Carnarvonite - their interests are best served in lobbying to remove shark harvesting. Profits are far higher from finfish. You misunderstood my intent.
If more shark was harvested, catch rates for finfish would recieve less pressure. The Canningvale profit centre would not benefit from this. that's the point.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18025
Date Joined: 11/03/08
The pro fisherman copped it
The pro fisherman copped it hard. My uncle gave it up in the end because of the limitations and it just wasn't worth the effort. 35 years in the game and got squashed
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8141
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Main Roads WA change the
Main Roads WA change the speed limits on a number of roads per month for different reasons both up and down. It’s up to the driver to familiarise themselves with the changes whether they agree with the changes or not or risk getting infringed.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
trout1105
Posts: 28
Date Joined: 03/07/09
Bag and trip limits are put
Bag and trip limits are put in place so that EVERYONE can get a feed of fish and anyone exceeding these limits deserves to face the consequence of their actions.
With the ever increasing numbers of people fishing our fish stocks it makes Absolute sense that the bag/trip limits will be reduced, You can only get so many slices out of a pizza after all.
Getting a feed os fish/crabs/crays is Great But IF that is all you want from a fishing trip maybe you should rethink why you are doing it because for a verry long time now it has been far cheaper to buy your fish from a fishmonger than to catch it yourself on a fishing holiday.
Most of us head off with our camping gear and boat simply because we ENJOY doing it, Getting a feed is simply a bonus and filling the freezer is NOT why we go fishing.
I often wander up North for weeks at a time and catch plenty of fish But I rarely bring home more than 4kg to 5kg of fillets because that is all I really need and if I run out of fish it gives me the perfect excuse to do another trip, Besides It is Far easier to simply release a fish than it is to fillet and freeze it.
Personally fishing for me is ALL about enjoyment NOT filling the freezer.
stricko
Posts: 224
Date Joined: 10/05/10
Nothing wrong with wanting to
Nothing wrong with wanting to take home fish for family and and maybe some for friends. 20kgs of fillets isn't a great deal of fish I'm a spearfisherman so try not to release any fish even though they survive spear injuries a lot better than baratruma even fisheries know the release of fish is practically pointless just because they swim off strong doesn't stop them dying from internal injuries latter so catching lots of fish but only keeping a few my make you feel all warm and fluffy but doesn't help fish stocks one bit and the fisheries know this and are factoring it into the rec fish catch rate.ps i don't think everyone should be able to catch fish as some people are hopeless at it couldn't catch one if you threw one at them.
Pete F
Posts: 310
Date Joined: 07/01/18
Hmm I still rember the days
Hmm I still rember the days of camps full of freezer trailers up in shark bay. While its great to get a feed from our hoby, you have to think why do you realy fish? If its just for meat perhaps it might be cheaper to sell the boat and by some fillets.
Cheers
Reefsta
Posts: 311
Date Joined: 03/08/19
Reminder of changes would be good
I reckon some sort of SMS or email notfication when there is a rule change would be useful, just as a prompt to go and check the website. I fish on average once a week but don't check the rules before every outing, just assume they are the same unless I see on this forum or in the news there has been a change. I do have a look maybe every 6 months or if I decide to chase species different to what I normally fish for. But if you don't closely follow it a change might come through between checks, so for me a prompt to check once a change comes in would help avoid a potential "ignorance" situation.
Lastchance
Posts: 1273
Date Joined: 02/02/09
#2 and #4 no dramas with -
#2 and #4 no dramas with - but #1 and #3 don't necessarily sound like deliberate acts to me. Most media releases seem to be intended to cause division amongst groups - evidently it works a treat.
Sea goat
Posts: 962
Date Joined: 26/03/17
. IMO good on the fisheries.
. IMO good on the fisheries.
rule are rules, people need to understand if you flaunt them, you are gonna suffer the consequences. too many people exploiting our great fisheries and stuffing it for others. personally i think the tougher the punsihment, the better.
Swompa
Posts: 3878
Date Joined: 14/10/12
Interested to see the bloke
Interested to see the bloke from Shelter Bay. Our first trip to Tamala right at the end of a beach in a difficult spot to get to, day one had fisheries drive up to us for a chat. The inflatable was yet to be inflated and we had a freezer full of chicken and beef but I still offered to empty it and show them. It certainly answered the question "do they actually come out here?"
Formula 233
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 06/12/15
Giralia Station Closed.
Was meant to remain a tourist location - heard on the grapevine it's now a National Park and the tourist facilities are to possibly close.
Is this really about bag limits? Or is something greater at play? Is the Green vote being appeased?
This is not about bag limits - WE - all of us - are slowly being locked out of our resource.
it's all the thin end of the wedge. Lets see in five years.
Formula 233
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 06/12/15
Erosion of Rights
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-15/giralia-station-national-park-blake-family/101241654
But really, I'm just ranting about a few fish fillets hey? Mr Melville 19.6kg was a patsy to stir up the lemmings. I'm guessing it worked. Out.
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8141
Date Joined: 07/05/12
I don't get it. A tenant sold
I don't get it. A tenant sold his 100 year lease 75 years in with a formal agreement to stay a further 10 years and now has to vacate the property a further 10 years after this? It sounds like he got his cake and ate it too.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
dodgy
Posts: 4577
Date Joined: 01/02/10
That's what I thought too. A
That's what I thought too.
A verbal agreement that they could probably stay and do a bit of tourism stuff really is no worth at all.
Plus Giralia would barely be useful as a going concern. There really isn't any decent feed there.
Nice spot but it's really only a bread and butter fishery down there. Not much freezer filling unless the prawns are running.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8141
Date Joined: 07/05/12
I didn't make it into either
I didn't make it into either (besides the old station house) when I was up but it appeared that Francois Peron and Dirk Hartog are National Parks where people can 4WD, camp, fish, launch a boat etc similar to what can currently be done at Giralia Station.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
davewillo
Posts: 2398
Date Joined: 08/09/16
I've camped at Bottle Bay in
I've camped at Bottle Bay in Francois Peron National Park Frosty and it was great. Towed a dinghy up there but most fishing was done from the shore due to wind. did really well on pinkies of the tip of the cape right on sunset. Bloody good fun catching one after another with sand between your toes!
PGFC member and lure tragic
duncan61
Posts: 376
Date Joined: 21/11/14
recfishwest
I joined Recfishwest a long time ago and have a lot of faith in what they do.I recently had an issue where the shire of Stirling put up no fishing signs at a lake I like to take my disabled son to and the look on his face when we get a carp or 2 is worth it.The main office is at Hillarys and easy to find.I was welcomed and a few staff members became involved and the consensus was the shire could fence the park of but have no right to ban recreational activities.My next stop was the shire itself and the wildlife officer heard me out then said If I wish to fish there is nothing they can do however there was some antisocial stuff going on like people sitting on eskies being loud and leaving piles of cans in the lake while fishing.Some line was discarded and a pelican become entangled so where do you draw the line.The signs were put up to appease local residents and I have no prblem sharing this with people who stop and say you can not fish here.If they are interested.Dont slate off Recfishwest with some political stories.Thats not what they are about.
I had an encounter with fisheries at the beginning of marron season a while back.I lived at the foot of Roelands hill so to go to Wellington dam was a short run up the hill.I had my gauge and licence on a cord around my neck a flick rod with a copper snare and a catch bag.There were some baits in the water and a heap of people on the opposite side who were carrying on a bit.
Late afternoon the shade came over and lo and behold a nice marron crawled on to the middle of the bait pile so I belly crept down a log and snared a marron that went around 105mm.Next log same thing this one went 120mm.I am cruising along the bank and 2 fisheries officers literally jumped out the bush.Gotcha.I had 2 legal marron snared correctly and was not under the influence of anything.The disappointment was visible.They were clearly to me to be upset I was doing things right.Not a good look for fisheries.I caught my 10 and was home early and now I was visibly under the influence of something as I pickled my marron
My first trip north was with a freezer filler.He had the trailer with the metre square box which is close to 1000kg.A metric tonne.I remember in the 70s you could buy them in welshpool.We did not take it as there was 2 of us but he bragged about how he his brother and 2 uncles filled it in 3 days once with spangled emperor.They ran it like a factory.It would all get freezer burnt and they would use it for crab bait back in Mandurah.After 3 days he apologised to me about not catching enough but I was having a ball.I was spinning little chromes and getting trevally and all sorts of stuff.I scored some nice threadfin and he called them shit fish.If it was not a spangled emperor it was not worth it.I pan fried some fillets of golden trevally and threadfin and I could see him changing his atitude.He was right in his fishing style 80lb handline and rip them in and I messed around with light lines and was spooled a bit.In the last few days I converted to the handline and landed some big spangled myself and have applied that for the last 30 years on northern trips.His dad and grandad made a lot of the tracks you see at Ningaloo in the 50s with a very early landrover.Used to take 30 hours from Mandurah to get there.A 20lb spangle will yeild about 7 lb of fillets do the math on how many fish they killed.Beyond unsustainable 10kg of fillets is a lot.I have not checked but you used to be able to have whole fish as well.I lived and did a bit of plumbing at Waroora and the family suggest only taking 2 fish a day.There is a spot off the beach you can cast in and get good spangles of the beach.I caught 2 in a row and the girl I was with looked at me and said why do you want more so we went back to base.Later she accused me of not filleting fish apparently I make love to them but when you have 2 I am taking my time and getting all of it.I think she may have wanted me to get all of her but lets get real I have fish to fillet.If she could of filleted better than me we would be married right now.
just do it.
Swompa
Posts: 3878
Date Joined: 14/10/12
Interesting read. Crosswalk
Interesting read. Crosswalk man out the front of school told me to throw a piece of plastic I picked up in the drain because that's what he did...
no wonder why the world is in a spot of bother. It's not new shit.
little johnny
Posts: 5357
Date Joined: 04/12/11
All carp should be killed
Lower Harvey river full of them .always get someone complain no matter what you do . Obviously the mighty Murray issue with carp not learnt. Redfin perch waroona dam had none in it . Only Harvey weir had them . Rumour has it ( back then) someone spat the chewy inside a freshwater fishing club and let them go in there .it was only a puddle back then . Crystal clear water full of pigmy perch trout and marron . Beautiful grass slopes ,4x4 fucked that part . Murray river was also the same full of trout . Sampson dam had huge trout in it .sampson Brooke also . Going back 42 years mind you . Rabbits everywhere use to always take my ferrets and come back with good feed of rabbits to top trip off . I had a ball with my dad . Times change
davewillo
Posts: 2398
Date Joined: 08/09/16
I came home with some really
I came home with some really good 2kg+ greenback tailor one day and my late father-in-law (RIP legend) had a chuckle and said they used to catch 200 tailor a night with a net stretched out at Shoalwater. I pointed out that things like that were why fish are harder to find and bag limits much smaller these days. He got it!
A funny story when he and his mates first fished offshore. No idea what they were doing or what they were fishing for except snapper. Caught some weird looking fish they couldn't identify so released their first ever dhuie!
PGFC member and lure tragic
carnarvonite
Posts: 8667
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Reflections on releasing fish
Mate and I got a mud map off a bloke showing directions to a so called magic fishing spot north of Carnarvon. So off we go, leave Bunbury early Thursdays morning in the trusty Valiant ute. Got to Carnarvon around 6 that night and found a place who could freeze our fish then out with the mud map.
Go past Quobba station and past 3 turns off and turn left when you reach the fence line, proceed down track. Both pretty tired by now and can hear waves breaking and hit hard limestone so pull up and straight off to sleep, wake up at first light and we are 30 metres away from cliffs edge, no warning signs,
Any way we hit what we found out later was Whistling rock, first 4 casts and I was back to the tackle box for another spool of line, we were catching these big blue mackeral things that must be the big brothers to the shit bait things down south and chucking the bastards back, kept a heap of huge trevally and pink snapper. Gave up around mid day and retraced our step back to the station and asked about stopping in the sheares quarters, how does $2 a head a night sound? and he would light up the donkey boiler for a hot shower each day.
Went back into Carnarvon with about 1/2 a uteload of fish and mentioned those mongrel blue mackeral to the bloke there, he almost had a seizure laughing, told us that except for the few pinkies the rest of our catch was shit fish and we had released the good stuff in spanish mackeral. Told us in future keep anything with teeth and scales and he would identify it for us.
Anyway one more day fishing, trip into town to freeze fish, back to station for shower and sleep, pack up early in morning back into town load up frozen fish [no iceboxes then] wrapped in tarps and off home.
After all the trips from down south and when living in Carnarvon for 20 odd years later, never have I seen anything like the fish that we caught on that trip and no doubt ever will.
little johnny
Posts: 5357
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Times are changing
Nothing free ( my point) . I just feel sorry for future generations . I’ve gone right off fishing lately . When I get low I go now . I think most damage was done prior to my time . Gps done the rest .
carnarvonite
Posts: 8667
Date Joined: 24/07/07
So true
What we did then was perfectly legal, basically no catch limits on them. Dhufish and pink snapper limits were 10 each but catching them was harder because as you stated, no gps and paper sounders where one got used to adjusting them so you could get more than 3 tracks on the same roll. Landmarks were drawn and compass bearings written down because you would soon forget them. When they shifted the Bunbury lighthouse from Marlston hill lppkout to where it is now caused many spots to disappear, same goes for the aerial on Gnaraloo station, we had some great bearings off that and all lost when it was relocated, took hours of searching to find them originally as we had radar bearings from pro fishing there and trying to put them on gps
Pete F
Posts: 310
Date Joined: 07/01/18
That is how it was back then.
That is how it was back then. I used to go to places like shark bay no fridge or freezer, beers in a sack off the cliff in the water to get them cold. Eat fresh fish catch and release the rest. We always took a can of spaghetti just in case. Surrounded by people with freezer trailers openly saying they were suppling local fish and chip shops or restaurants fishing till the freezers were full. School teachers seem to be at the fore every holiday period. Latter I got a 60ltr engle so we could bring a bit home and have some real cold beer.
GPS was certainly the big one but so were new 4 stroke outboards, making it more affordable to fish out wide and greatly increasing the range one can travel on a tank.
My family was a pioneer family of the two rocks area, grandfather ran Widgie station now tworocks. The stories I was told by my grandfather of what the fishing was realy like back in the early days. Him and his brother catching over 100 big mulloway at the kinghy hole near the lagoon one day. Dhufish were common off the beach at two rocks. Massive tailor in numbers. Schools of salmon that made the water black from burns to quinns etc. I have seen big changes in my life time, my father has, my grandfather did, my great grandfather well I am not so sure, I think that was about the period things stated changing. Population the big thing and fishing efficiency, times change we must change with them if it's to be something the next generation can enjoy.
Cheers
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8141
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Best comment I've read on
Best comment I've read on here for a long time. Very nicely put Pete
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Swompa
Posts: 3878
Date Joined: 14/10/12
Great post.
Great post.
davewillo
Posts: 2398
Date Joined: 08/09/16
Yep very well said Pete.
Yep very well said Pete.
PGFC member and lure tragic
Formula 233
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 06/12/15
Very well said Pete F.
Agreed in full.
All i personally ask is show me the data to justify the removal of access. That's the democratic process. Again, this is not about bag limits. It's about rights to access our fishery. It's also about how our resource money is being spent.
Good thread one and all - thought provoking to say the least.....
piscetor
Posts: 184
Date Joined: 13/05/16
sob sob
take your missus' with you and she can bring down10 kilo as well. greedy bastards always whinge.
Filletmaster