Fishing

AFTER a very dry start to summer with little rain, particularly on the southside of Brisbane, big prawns were scarce apart from in the Pine and Caboolture rivers, where good solid-sized medium prawns were about with a sprinkling of large, and a school of large bananas in the Albert River in November. There were good schools of small prawns everywhere …

THE weekend’s rain seems to have triggered a fish kill in the Tweed River around Murwillumbah. Inspections by Tweed Shire Council officers on January 21, 2020 revealed dead fish on the water’s surface between Condong and the Commercial Rd boat ramp in Murwillumbah. Council’s Waterways Program leader Tom Alletson said the numbers of dead fish were estimated to be 200 …

THE thought of driving six-plus hours to your fishing destination for a weekend trip can put you off at times, but when there’s 15 to 20-knot northerly wind predicted at night, there’s no better place to go than the Bunker Group reefs because you can tuck in behind the reefs to rest easy after a big day’s fishing. With this in …

TAKE a selfie with one of Queensland’s fish-attracting devices and enter a competition to reel in some wicked prizes! GPS Marks There’s 10 FADs deployed from Double Island Point to the Gold Coast, so show Fisheries Queensland how much you’re loving fishing in this weather and you could win one of the prizes listed below. GPS Marks. How to enter: …

FISHERIES officers from the NSW Department of Primary Industries have continued to crack down on the illegal possession and sale of recreationally caught fish. NSW DPI Acting Director Fisheries Compliance, Anthony Chen, is reminding recreational fishers and restaurateurs to follow the rules or face the consequences. Mr Chen said the warning follows a number of convictions of fishers and restaurateurs …

WITH thousands of people enjoying the Great Barrier Reef during the summer holidays, visitors are reminded to follow responsible Reef practices and be Reef smart when out on the water or visiting islands. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Reef Protection acting general manager Belinda Jago said enjoying different activities and experiences throughout the iconic World Heritage Area needed to …

THE Port Stephens Fisheries Institute has now successfully reared juvenile dusky flathead and in early December, NSW Department of Primary Industries released 1200 flathead measuring about 15cm in the southern areas of Lake Macquarie in the greater Newcastle area. DPI has been working on breeding technology for duskies over the past year to hopefully enable large-scale dusky flathead stocking in …

IT is that time again – time to hunt prawns and mud crabs. Nothing new about that over summertime, but this is prawning and crabbing with a difference – from the shore in Brisbane’s Moreton Bay. For our NSW readers, you would be familiar with the favourite summer pastime of chasing greasyback, eastern king and tiger prawns in the estuaries. …

THE fishing boat at the centre of Queensland’s biggest black market fisheries bust has been reduced to recycling material after being seized and crushed by the State Government. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the 4.3m aluminium vessel was crushed to show all fishers what can happen if they flout Queensland’s fisheries laws. “This boat crushing …

DESIGNED for jigging sabiki rigs when gathering bait, with the design allowing the rig to be wound inside the rod to minimises snagging and tangling when not in use, the Okuma Sabiki UTG rod has been built from the ground up to overcome the shortcomings of other sabiki rods that have been pointed out to Okuma by frustrated anglers. A …