Fishing

With the welcome arrival of mackerel along the North Coast, NSW DPI is reminding anglers not to use “breakaway” floats such as polystyrene foam and balloons as these products contribute to marine litter. It is recognised that the use of pieces of foam as floats is a particular issue during mackerel season on the North Coast. The resulting litter after …

STEFAN Slomka received a call from his friend Ian wanting to do an overnighter because predicted conditions in a few days’ time were looking prime. After checking maps and pondering weather forecasts it was decided to make it a Seventeen Seventy rematch after their successful trip around the same time last year. Ian’s son John joined them on the trip, …

From time to time, DPI’s Game Fish Tagging Program is lucky enough to receive details of recaptures that come from remote regions of the Pacific Ocean. Recently, a game fish recapture form was submitted by a researcher from the Japanese Fisheries Research Institute. The fisheries researcher had received a tag from a skipper of an international longline vessel who had …

WHAT a wet and windy new year we’ve had in Hervey Bay. I hope everyone had a safe and joyous holiday period. I am lucky enough to be writing this article on time, as there is no work currently with the rain and wind. And for good measure, throw in the COVID-19 lockdowns that have been affecting travel plans to …

Scientists at Bribie Island Research Centre have successfully spawned Grass Emperor broodfish—the first known account of spawning Grass Emperor in captivity. Grass Emperor have a strong capacity to spawn and are sought after for their firm and mildly sweet flesh. The team captured eight Grass Emperor broodfish in Moreton Bay late last year before transferring them to a culture environment …

WYARALONG Dam is a beautiful waterway situated only 13km from the heart of Beaudesert and is a fabulous place to catch Australian bass with the family. Why Wyaralong? Well, admittedly over the summer period – and particularly during school holidays where dams, rivers and creeks are mostly awash with the wakes of skiers, jet skiers, cruisers and a multitude of …

A recreational fisher in Mackay has been fined $6936 for possessing commercial fishing equipment and an undersized crab. QBFP and Queensland Police Service executed a search warrant on their house after receiving information from the public through Fishwatch. Officers located and seized four commercial gill nets, a commercial fisher’s crab pot and an undersized crab. You can report unlawful fishing …

MORETON Bay holds heaps of shallow water areas. When we fish the shallows, we look for rubble patches and any other good-looking structure that holds bait on a high tide. What that means is you fish the shallows on a high tide and retreat to the drop-offs on a low tide. Moreton grassie Peak bite times are dawn and dusk, …

FEBRUARY signals the end of the holiday period, and it’s an excellent month for chasing crustaceans around southeast Queensland. Mud crabs are very active, and the banana prawn season will be in full swing over the coming months. Prawns started to get more active in January and will only improve. Heat Brisbane There are very few secrets when it comes …

ASK a bunch of anglers how they got into fishing and you’ll probably find many have the same response – catching a bream land-based with family or friends. This scenario was probably my entry into fishing too. I have been lucky enough to help a bunch of kids catch their first fish land-based in the decades that have followed. In …