Ocean Hut Compleat Angler weekly fishing report
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MAINTENANCE! Yes fellow rod benders, the word that makes us all cringe, even when we just think about it.
Not just for the sheer time it takes to do, whether it be on the boat, trailer, motor, rods, reels, tackle, etc, etc the list goes on. But also for the cost of keeping everything maintained.
Let’s face it, no one likes to do it, we much rather spend our limited quality time enjoying the great outdoors. My personal theory is, "If it ain't broke, then don't fix it".
Then when something does give, and everything does eventually, I keep hearing my father’s voice echoing in my head, "If you had done some maintenance, then it wouldn't have broke!”
Whichever way you look at it, fellow outdoor enthusiasts, if there was ever a good time to do some maintaining, it’s now while the fishing is going through its darkest period, and your less likely to miss out on that memorable trip of a lifetime.
I'm afraid I'm not going to take that chance and risk it, the maintenance can wait. Here is you’re not so exciting weekly fishing report.
THE BIG BLUE: Thanks to Mother Nature and her wind politicians, for their relentless effort on maintaining a constant off shore wind during this past week, due to the fact very limited resources have ventured beyond the border.
Most ocean bound vessels in pursuit of the blue tuna barrels have been kept at bay this week.
So to my knowledge, none of these canyon riders that did launch an assault succeeded.
There were a few limited opportunities for the smaller fleet to explore the reefs around Montague and north to Potato Point, and those who did enter the big pool found the fishing as harsh as the weather.
The persistent angler with good fresh bait and a will to win, found bits and pieces in the shape of snapper, mowies, flathead, and other reef dwelling species, but let’s not sugar coat it, all in all it has been tough fishing.
No real surprises here, it is August, which could stand proud in the top three places for the prestigious award of "worst fishing month of the year" award.
On the upside, and not to be outdone, thrill seeking duo, Nick Cowley from Charter Fish Narooma and good mate Alex Krantz, traded chasing chicks at O'Briens Hotel on a Friday night, for a boys-only gummy session aboard Playstation.
Still would have been nice and romantic under the glow of the full moon, but the boys were there on a fishing mission, and their plan came together with three absolute pearlers, with two of the gummies pushing the scales southward of 15kg.
Just goes to show when you use the 6 P's theory of Prior, Proper, Planning, Prevents, Poor, Profit. Then 9.95 times out of 10 you will succeed.
ROCK & BEACH: How quickly it changes from one week to the next. Last week you could have started your own cannery with the amount of salmon hitting the sand.
Now this week it looks like we are back to thin pickings. My only theory to the reason why there isn’t as many sand dwelling species this week, is due to the sea being too calm and flat.
Unfortunately without the protection of the white stuff, the bait is less likely to venture in close and into these washless gutters, therefore neither does the species wanting to indulge in it.
Hopefully when the swell picks up a little the fishing should pick up as well. There are still some nice gutters around worth endeavouring an effort during the rise to top of the tide, with the night rise under the big bright light in the sky being the more favourable one in my mind.
One species that will haunt these calm still waters is the very sought after gummy shark.
Gummies love to cruise the golden sand during the moonlight hours in search of their desirable sand crab.
It is a delicacy in the gummy world, like a kid with an ice cream on a hot summers’ day, they will slurp them up all night long.
For those brave enough to face the chill of the night, then a nice fresh salmon, mullet, or tuna fillet will go nicely on a snooded 6-8/0 hook on a running sinker rig.
A solid 60lb plus leader should suffice. Remember all that should take on the challenge of fishing at night should be well equipped with the right gear, as you never know what is lurking behind the breakers, and guaranteed if your undermanned, then you will be left with nothing but a story to tell.
RIVERS, LAKES & INLETS: They say you've got to go through the bad times so that you appreciate the good ones! Well welcome to the fishing recession, it doesn't get much tougher than the current conditions.
The water is cold, the air is bone chillingly cold, the fish seem to be in a somewhat hibernation period, basically you really have to love your fishing to endure the winter months.
To give you an example of a typical August day on one of our pristine inland waterways, local guru Hippie and myself battled our way through Saturday fishing a wintery Wagonga inlet.
Admittedly the conditions were far from perfect, with a 25knt NW wind howling across most of the playing surface, but after four hours of solid lure casting, we had only one legal size fish to the boat.
At this point we could have easily thrown in the towel and headed home with egos bashed.
But after persisting for almost seven hours around a bait school in the area we were most confident of something to happen, it did.
Just before the tide was due to stop and turn, we were given our "hour of power".
For the next hour or so we managed around 15 assorted flathead, tailor, bream, and trevally, as if a feed switch had been flicked to on.
Not only for us, but we noticed a fellow die hard angler around 100m away on the same bait ball, he was also being rewarded for waiting out the drought.
Then just as we were all settling in for an awesome afternoons fishing, some mongrel flicked the feeding switch to off, and the seemingly hot bite was over.
This afternoon bite around a tide change has become a bit of an obvious standout through the winter months, so the moral to the story being, there seems no real need to bust a gut getting on the water at the crack of dawn and fishing until you are exhausted with of lack of bites. Instead concentrate your efforts from midday through to the late afternoon, as it seems to be the most successful and rewarding part of the day.
So I guess for the rest of this month folks the message is loud and clear.
If you’re keen with a lot of madness thrown in, and you’re willing to do the hard yards, then the rewards are there for the persistent angler.
If it all sounds too much to endure then stick to the maintenance, and in another month or so the tables will start to turn.
For the committed, I hope you all have a fantastically awesome week’s fishing! - Cheers Dash!
NSGFC weekly report
NAROOMA Sport and Game Fishing Club member John Yong passed away this week.
John was a great member whose love of fishing and the water was reflected in his contribution to Marine Rescue Narooma where as commander.
He steered the unit to where it is today.
His smile, attitude and devotion to the community will be missed by all of us.
On behalf of the members of the Narooma Sport and Game Fishing Club, our thoughts and prayers go out to wife Ronya and his lovely family.
Just a reminder the Presentation Night is on the horizon on Saturday, August 22.
Please consider coming and applauding the members that fished hard throughout the year.
It’s also new committee time again, so if you’re interested in climbing aboard let it be known please, you’re very welcome.
As usual the Narooma Sport and Game Fishing Club rooms, situated on the inlet near the restaurants, will be open for fish stories, drinks and snacks from 4pm till 9pm on Friday.
Out of town visitors are most welcome to come along and with the weather improving join us and watch a fantastic sunset over the inlet or play some darts or just have a drink and a chat with like-minded friends.
- Jan Hemmingsen
South Coast anglers required for catch-and-release research
THE Department of Primary Industries (DPI) is looking for anglers to participate in a new research project to reduce deep hooking among yellowfin bream, sand whiting, dusky flathead, tailor and snapper.
Led by DPI scientists Matt Broadhurst and Paul Butcher, the project aims to develop environmentally friendly recreational fishing gears and practices for NSW coastal areas.
“This research aims to use anglers to assess whether certain fishing practices and rigs, including non-offset circle and barbless hooks, can minimise deep hooking among some key inshore species,” Dr Butcher said.
“Anatomical hook location is the main factor affecting released fish, with deep-hooked individuals having dramatically lower survival than those caught in the mouth.
“Preliminary research suggests that deep hooking and associated injury for some species can be reduced via simple modifications, which might include variations of existing fishing practices and hooks.
“Minimising deep hooking will increase the survival of fish that are subsequently released because of legal sizes, bag limits or voluntary catch and release angling.”
As well as using their own gear, participating anglers will be given tackle (hooks, sinkers and line) and asked to complete data sheets for each fish they catch.
The study will begin in August and take place over a year, while it is based out of Coffs Harbour all anglers along NSW’s entire coast are encouraged to participate.
Any anglers interested in contributing towards this important research by completing data sheets should contact Dr Paul Butcher on 6648 3910 or email paul.butcher@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Funding for the project has been provided by DPI and the NSW Recreational Fishing Saltwater Trust.
More information on improving survival of released fish is available at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/publications/guides/recreational-fishing-catch-and-release-handbook