Fisheries Minister Norman Moore has given approval for a Mid-West developer to shift plans for a land-based tourism facility to East Wallabi Island in the Abrolhos group.

Mr Moore said a public process to allow the State Government to consider alternative proposals to the original Long Island proposal had attracted no applicants.

“As a result, I have given Humfrey Land Developments the approval required to prepare plans for a proposed tourism development on East Wallabi Island off the Geraldton coast,” he said.

“This change of location was identified through a public process to allow scrutiny of the company’s transfer application.

“A notice of intent was advertised in State and national newspapers in April to give other parties the chance to lodge expressions of interest. We received no applications.

“I have now granted Humfrey Land Developments the approval to prepare a tourism proposal for East Wallabi consistent with its existing approval.”

The Minister said the company would need to revise its original development plan in order to meet the relevant environmental, heritage and planning approval requirements.

“Important consideration must be given to the Abrolhos Islands’ significance as a fish habitat protection area,” he said.

The Abrolhos Islands, an A-class reserve, are managed by the Department of Fisheries for the conservation of flora and fauna, for fishing and aquaculture purposes and for tourism.

“The obligations I have imposed on Humfrey Land Developments will provide an appropriate way to develop and manage environmentally sustainable tourism,” Mr Moore said.

“The State Government will ensure protection of the natural and cultural values of the Abrolhos Islands, which are a jewel in the crown of WA’s marine environment.

“It is now up to the developer to come up with a plan that meets all the necessary approvals still required, before any go-ahead can be given.”

Information on the islands is available in the Abrolhos Islands Visitors Guide, which can be read or downloaded at http://www.fish.wa.gov.au

Minister's office - 9422 3000

Mon 07 June, 2010

Fisheries Minister Norman Moore today announced the commercial rock lobster industry’s B zone fishery would close sooner than expected due to the early achievement of catch targets.

Mr Moore flagged last month that the B zone fishery faced early closure after Department of Fisheries’ figures revealed fishers were close to reaching the seasonal catch target of 1,980 tonnes.

“In accordance with my undertakings to ensure the protection of rock lobster stocks, the fishery’s B zone will officially close on June 14,” he said.

“This effectively means that the last day of fishing will be this coming Friday ahead of the previously scheduled June 30.”

Last month Mr Moore closed the C and A zones of the fishery when they reached their respective seasonal catch targets of 2,475 and 1,045 tonnes.

His decisions to close the rock lobster fishing zones were consistent with warnings the Minister made at the start of the season last September.

Mr Moore had made it clear the total catch target of 5,500 tonnes for the three fishing zones would be closely monitored and he would close any, or all, zones when they reached their respective limits.

“All the scientific evidence provided to me shows the State’s rock lobster fishery is under extreme pressure and faces collapse unless it is properly managed,” he said.

“It would be irresponsible to allow fishers to go beyond the fishery’s sustainable limit.”

To optimise economic benefits and address equity issues, catch targets and limits were set for each zone for the first and second halves of the season.

“These targets and limits were provided to all rock lobster licensees and processors at the start of the season,” the Minister said.

“The department has published weekly updates of the cumulative catch for each zone of the fishery since the start of the season, so none of the closures I have announced should have come as any surprise to fishers.”

Late last year the Marine Stewardship Council completed a full review of Western Australia’s valuable rock lobster fishery which vindicated the strong action the Minister had taken.

“It would be completely irresponsible to ignore the management standards set by the State Government and endorsed by an independent and internationally recognised umpire,” he said.

“We need to ensure the long-term sustainability and economic viability of the fishery.”

The commercial rock lobster fishery’s A zone incorporates the area around the Abrolhos Islands off the coast near Geraldton. The B zone operates from north of Jurien to North West Cape and the C zone stretches from Augusta to Leeman, south of Geraldton.

Thanks for the upgrade fellas, the site is so much quicker now. Top effort.

Hi all, I would like peoples thoughts on knife sharpening/sharpeners. I have a problem with keeping an edge on my filleting knives (Swibo). I used a mates Lanski system the other day but since then have lost the edge again. I have a steel and one of those plastic pull through sharpeners (one side for sharpening, other for honing). Still don`t get it super sharp like I know the Swibos can go.

Thanks in advance

Chris

Hi Guys,

I'm planning a six day fishing trip at the end of the Month and would appreciate some advice on location.

There's 4 guys, a 4x4 and a 4.5m dinghy. We've got boat rods, beach rods and flick rods, but don't have enough equipment for places like steep point or quobba.

We're located in Perth, and some of the options we're exploring are Kalbarri, Carnarvon or Exmouth - with or without the boat.

What would you suggest for a memorable trip ?

Cheers,
Gatiep

it was bloody great to read that Jurien will be getting three FAD's to attract more game fishing in the no-bottom fishing months.
This will be a huge boost for the area and open up new ground for game fishing.

Well done Jurien council and all that supported it

hi guy Im looking at getting a new sounder for my boat. want to spend between 700 to 800 bucks can anyone know any good one that they are happy with.

does anyone know when the prawns start running in mandurah, and also i believe the prawns have stopped running in the swan, or does that have a couple more weeks to go?

hey all.

just a writeup of the trip down to busso on the weekend.

well i went to my dads on friday to get things organisd for the trip down. we were taking the tinny down for a fish aswell so tested the motor and it started dodgy so changed to a another one we had which hasnt been used in a while. that started first go and that was good and choose that one. tested the trailor lights and they didnt work so we through dam but we fixed them by changing them  with or other boats trailer lights just for the mean time. they worked so we throught great here we go catching some good fish. so we woke up early for the trip down and got there had a chat with the guy we were staying with and un packed the boat. then we noticed the leg that olds the transom had snapped.... so a quick fix and we were find to go for the next morning.

i was getting bored around the house so got my dad to drop me off at the jetty but it wasnt opened at all so i went to the little one next to it for some squid but i couldnt see if there was weed or not. so after 3 hrs of castting on sandlol, the sun came out at the end so i saw it was only sand oops. oh well at least i tryed all of my new squid jigs. anyway i was waiting at the end for my dad to pick me up and a dolphine came in and chased and eat all these massive herring. it was swimming soo close to the jetty i could have touched it.

so with a bit of a waste of time the night before i woke up in the moring to go out on the boat. then just to make things worst i forgot the flares at home. now i was getting annoyed at the boat so went to a mates and borrowed theres for the day. so got to the marina put the boat in and started the motor started fine went to push away and the motor wouldnt click into gear....... we were lik wat the. we fiddled with it for a while but could see why it wouldnt work, we think theres something wrong down in the leg of it. donno, off to the motor shop this week.

so i was so annoyed at the boat at this stage so we dicided we would go to bunkers for a flick of some lure and baits. i started with a 15g lazer while my dad used bait on the bottom. second cast for me and i hooked a nice herring on the flicky it was going crazy but there true to herring form it throw the hook. next cast same thing. after that they stopped for a while so i put a mulie out on a snell for a stingray or somthing and started to burley a little. after a while the big rod was moving a tinny bit and i slowly wound in and it was a crab.

the burley started working well and lots of whiting came inand started bitting. i went back to castting a metal around this time a 20g raider coz there was a bit of seabreeze coming in but it wasnt staying down so changed to a 30g twisty and then i started landding herring but loseing heaps it was a 3 to 1 catch rate. there wasnt mamy but enough to entertain me. at one stage near the end it was 4 herring in 4 casts and those ones were for dinner. went home and eat them on the barbie. yummy.

this morning it was colded and raining so i went down to the local beach for a fish again with the big rod and for whiting and got 20 odd whiting and nothing on the big rod so was another alright session but not good. left bout 12.30 and got home bout 5. the traffic was bad..

thanks for reading and i hope it wasnt boring.

pic 1. the crab that stole my bait.

pic2. the herring i keep for tea.

pic3. all u need for a bit of fun, light tackle few metals and a bucket.

cheers danno

got invited down to winter wash with the trout club w.a.t.f.a.a so i was keen as and decided to go. sat morn we loaded up my mates car and down to pemberton we went. the plan was 6 dams 2.5 hours each in 2 days fly only. and as i had never got a trout on fly i was quite excited. as dams arnt my thing and i prefer wild fish i was a bit scetchy as to how much fun this could be. these dams are catch and release only aswell. i heard rumour that dam trout are a bit boring to catch on fly but this proved to be not true. second cast nailed my first then half hour my second and so on. whilst these fish were fun though they still have nothhing on wild fish so we hit the streams thismorning with some rainbows our target . biggest nailed went just over 3lb so it was a nice fish and was on a hb not fly . all the pix posted are in streams and the fish pictured is wild and was released as they are spawning .
all in all great club great crew and very helpfull. but did manage to snap a flyrod wich was a bugger :(

Does anyone have any pics of any hardyheads lying around as I cant seem to find a decent picture? (found a few drawings but not what I want). Trying to tie up a realistic hardyhead fly, and much easier with pics instead of memory.

G'day all,

Well i just spent a quick 2 1/2 day fishing trip up at kalbarri with myold man. Over all it was a pretty good trip even though not alot of fish were caught, the first day started off with a bit of trolling heading north out of the river mouth. We trolled for a few hours with the good old halco laser pro 190dd in a few different colours but didnt manage any strikes so then decided on a bit of bottom fishing. We are fairly new to the whole boat fishing scene so we decided on a bit of "blind" drifting just in hopes that we found some good ground. Unfortunatly this only turned up a few wrasse and a pike/snook before the weather started to turn so we made a quick dash back to the ramp.

After cleaning the boat and having a nanna nap we went down to red bluff for a sunset beach fish. We spent about an hour there before i got sick of all the little picker fish chopping up my mulies before anything decent could have a go, so i cracked the shits and went home haha.

The next day saw us up early again and out in the boat with the lures in tow, this time heading south along the cliffs. After trolling from the river mouth to end of the cliffs with a few laps around the end (apparently thats often where the mackies hang around) we didnt manage any attention with the lures, despite numerous lure changes, depth changes and hours of trying. So we decide to make our way back with a few bottom drifts. Shortly after pulling in the lures i noticed a bit of bottom activity on the sounder,sowe droppeddown the baits and after about 30 seconds upcame a nice flat head of 52cm, closely followed by a 47cm dhuie for the old man (that makes 2 that have ever been pulled for the boat but still none for me :( haha) Another couple of drifts on the way back resaulted in 2 undersize pinkies and a few small flat head. (ALL under size fish were released and swam off strong, we were fishing 10m max)

Day 3 (the 1/2 a day) we were out and at it again, once more with the lures in tow. As we had just come out of the river mouth and were setting the lure spread a school of tuna busted up behind and to the side of us, rite in the mouth of the river. So after a heap of panick and confusion i finaly fired a few casts at them with a 30 gram slice but didnt get a stike so we drove a bit closer which sent the school down, not to be seen again, bugger! We then continued our way upto the sand patch for a bit of bottom fishing. We have heard theres some good ground around there and not being totaly sure on how to use our sounder properly (still got a bit of an idea tho) we just done a few long drifts which resaulted in two pink snapper just over 50cm and then another just under 60cm. Woo Hoo, finaly a few keepers for the family back home. So back to the ramp with smiles on our faces with just 1 quick stop to watch 2 manta rays cruising along the surface.

So all in all a pretty good trip with a few good fish and some quality father son time :) and ive also learnt a bit more about how to use my sounder so hopefully that can make the next trip a bit more productive.

Cheers for reading :)

anyone fished this area lately?

also on google maps it has a jetty would it be best to sit on that with prawns or flick lures around the bridge?

I've often wondered if the guy fishing next to me is a fw member? Just wondering if there was a nod or wink that distinguishes another member from other fishos?

i heard that there is snapper in the sound??? if soo i might head out tomorrow witht the old man and try get us a few. were abouts are they catching?

any info would be great. 

cheers

Jack 

hi

im going to exmouth next year (i know its still along time till next year ) would a 1000 reel and a 2 to 4 kilo be ok gor thoughing a popper at the reefs landbased? or should i step it up to a 3yo 5 kilo with a 3000?

cheers matt

hey guys. im heading over to malaysia in about 3 weeks and i was thinking of trying mulies as bait over there cos i think they will work really well for the species im targeting. Just wondering if there is anywhere in perth where i could possibly buy long life mulies or if there is any way i can get them over there without them turning into a disgusting smelly mess! Cheers

hey guys i headed down to canning bridge with my newly sugested lures and caught absoulutely nohting. hahah owell

my rod could only cast the baby vib 10m if that. May have something to do with the wind

anyway im looking for a new rod and reel combo for getting these lures further any suggestions??

hey guys has anyone been to steep point lately heading there on sunday for ten days is there anyway i can find out what weather will be like?

Hi Everyone,

The regular public holiday fishing trip is approaching and I was planning on heading to Yanchep on Monday.
 
Ive used the search function above for recent catches but havent found much.

Planning on heading there for 7am (high tide, 10kt easterly) with a 6ft and 9ft spinning gear chucking around sps, hbs and metals.

Ive never been before so any tips would be good besides the obvious regarding tides and wading out onto the reef.  
Can I expect to catch anything of decent size? Ive still yet to break my salmon/sambo/kg cherry.  

Is there any chance of a feed of squid?

Oh, also - Is there much weed up there at the moment? 

Thanks if you can answer any of these questions, Its just that I still feel like a noob, because as much as I love fishing and head out fishing, I cant catch jack all despite trying quite hard.

Cheers,

Jay 

hey guys,

Got a few questions about ASI groyne

Is it still accessible? How do you get to the groyne exactly (where to park etc)...and where is a good spot to fish on the groyne? (both north and south groyne)

Is anyone heading there this weekend?

Cheers

Ish

As I have never attempted prawning of the dinghy in the river is this weekend a good tide to try scooping for them at Rock bay ?

It’s been quite a few weeks since wetting a line because of work and weather so yesterday seemed like the perfect opportunity. The forecast looked pretty good, light winds but a 2-3 metre swell running. An early start was in order so the rendezvous was at my Mates place for 0600 hrs. Hitched the boat up, checked the shackles and chains, checked the breakaway lanyard, checked the hitch, checked the lights and indicators and headed to the servo for fuel. I thought she was a bit sluggish when me Mate pulled away. Hmm. We were refuelling when we noticed the right rear tyre was flat so pulled away from the bowsers to change the tyre. “Mate if you get the jack and wheel brace out I’ll change it for ya” Pretty decent of me I thought until I saw that me mate had smeared Never Seize all over the wheel nuts and studs to prevent corrosion. Opened up his jacking kit to find the wheel brace, jack and emery board/ nail file WTF. “Mate where is the three piece extension turny thing for your jack?”

“Mate this might be good for jacking up ya spirits when ya break ya fingernail but I’m not sure about jacking up a two tonne boat” Ha Ha! Anyway after a death defying act changing the tyre we both agreed that a pre departure check should include establishing that the wheels do what they were designed to do and that is to turn. The size of the hole in the stuffed tyre is a testament to that. Not sure whether it took longer to change the tyre or to get bucket loads of Anti Seize off my hands.

Finally got the boat in the water at Dawesville and plotted a course for Toothfish Reef. We had nearly perfect conditions and were making 30 knots+. I said to me Mate “gees your good, I’m impressed that you are doing a zig zag course, is that so no one follows us?”  “Nah just following the compass but it won’t stay still”. So after a crash course on how to read the GPS we made good time.

We tried a spot and this is the first time in months that we haven’t had to use the drogue to slow the drift as we were making half a knot, sensational conditions but the fishing seemed a bit slow.  Me Mate managed a Dhuvenile and that was released successfully, I managed a small Red Snapper. We changed spots a few times and I managed an undersized Baldchin Groper and two bust offs, one of which I suspect was because I was using old terminal tackle. I will be renewing my gear more frequently from now.

 Moved again and I landed a nice looking Queen Snapper, they always seem to have beautiful colours. Things seem a bit slow so we decide to use the Esky instead of the kill tank because it is so much easier to clean at the end of the day.

My Mate has hooked something feisty as it is taking a bit of line and then I’m on as well. He had his close to the surface and I was passing the landing net over so he could land it himself when mine busted off. It turns out he had a Stingray and at the last minute he has wrapped around my line. End result one Stingray released and my fish gone.

On the move again to the inside of Toothfish Reef and I have plonked us on some good ground, it is showing fish on the sounder. The tide is going one way and the light wind is going the other, we seem to be hovering in the right spot. My mate yells he is on and he is calling it for a big one. He lands a nice Dhuie and then the ribbing starts. He is giving it to me when I hook up onto something big, small bursts take line off my reel and I’m impressed. Meanwhile me Mate has got his fish over the side to bleed it in the water. I’ve finally got my fish to the surface and told it like it is. “It’s a bloody big Dhuie”. With that me Mate yells out “Sh*t I’ve dropped it”. I said “what your kidding” and he responds “not the fish, my new Polaroid prescription sunglasses”

I accept full responsibility for the loss of the glasses because if I didn’t catch such a huge Dhufish then me Mates head would of remained swollen enough to retain the glasses.

The Dhuie went 15kg and is a PB and equal boat record, apart from the estimated 20kg monster that we released without landing a couple of months ago.

We now have an issue with the Esky as it is way too small so we end up using the kill tank anyway. What a problem to have. Ya gotta be happy with that for a days fishing on Toothfish Reef. 

Gday people be careful with this one but im wondering if someone out there who knows a bit more about computers than the average person can tell me whats going on with the boats online website it seems like it has been hijacked or something?

Ive got the paid for avg and its not even letting me get close but its rather annoying as im trying to show someone a boat i seen on there few days ago.

P.s. DONT  try unless u have decent virus protection..

Cheers

Went to the lighthouse this morn with soft plastics and bluebait
Nothing on the softies so changed to a blue sardine.
3rd cast hooked up taken straight under the reef and busted of

next cast caught a 20 cm one
then got this 30 cm one
very happy on 10lb mainline and 4lb leader.
:)
probably makes 31.5cm now i see it so accidently zoomed up

Gday just a few pics from Moore river last saturday

I took the family up to moore river for a overnight camp and a fish the boys and wife were excited to be going campy and bumpy forward driving as my 3 year old Heath calls 4 wheel driving. 

It was worth the trip as we hit the beach in the forester just to hear the Boys giggiling and laughing as we  drove upthe beach from the weedless groin near the light house.But the further up the beach and nearer to the camping site i had in mind we got the weed increased. Oh well up and over the front of the dune to the spot in mind out of the wind a bit.

Set up camp and the under the watchfull eye of our latest addition Austin the whole time Heath and Jackson nagging me to set up their fishing rods and go fishing. Camp finally set up so i set time to set up the kids rods as there is a bit of weed free water between the beach and the reef  all 30meters of it.

Done we are off and first cast Heath is on and lands this nice sized whiting much to big brothers (Jackson) disgust as he only managed a smaller whiting about the same time. The boys had fun for about an hour catching some more whiting and a few blowies. Then Heath pulls out this reef ogglie and rubs it in that he got another big fish to his big brother. Them Mum tells us its time for dinner a freshly made pot of chicken and corn soup to warm us up as it nears sunset. 

What a cold night and and even colder morning as we woke only to see even the weed free reef spot we found the day before now had weed in it so packed up camp and some more bumpy forward driving.

All in all a great over nighter the kids got a few fish and we all had a great time

gday all got my first real fish over west yesterday... got 3 nice little pinkies and a queen snapper.. was wrapped catching the queen snapper... allright my question is if i am catching snapper and the queen snapper am i roughly in the right area to get a dhufish? i am really keen to catch what everyone says thebest eating fish in the sea.....

Enjoy

hey guys how do you bait mussels?

I and my good lady will be in W'Aus based at Bussleton hoping for some help with locations,bait etc also will have 2 nights in Albany.We are from Tassie and even hoping to meet someone with boat to contribute with for a days fishing possibly deep water,suit shift worker as we are tied to a Tuesday or Wednesday, we will be there in November 9th-22nd with a 2 night stay in Albany.Would like some locations i.e Bussleton-Albany coast for beach or rock fishing.Eagerly waiting to hear so I can do some planning.