You are what you eat, and the quality and edibility of the fish you bring home says a lot about you. Treating the fish so that it tastes as good as possible, and stays fresh for longer, displays admirable skill and shows respect for the fish. And when you consider all the time and effort you put in to catch a few keepers – and the strict bag limits in force these days – proper fish care is just plain common sense.
Last month I covered some line and knot choices for use in tying up your bottom bouncer paternoster rigs. This month we look at the hooks you can choose to put on the end of your dropper loops.
Things are starting to heat up as the water cools down with prawns, crabs, bream and snapper catches all improving lately.
Crunchy, crusty fresh bread, fresh picked crab meat and a dollop of tartare or a smear of homemade seafood dressing is a simple seafood feast. This article will take you through cooking crabs and making homemade mayo with the aim to let the crab’s taste shine through.
Winter has certainly hit us with a bang and even here in paradise we have had to endure a couple of sub 10°C nights; very chilly for us north of the Tropic of Capricorn. That being said our daytime temps have been up around the 20°C mark, providing very comfortable fishing conditions.
The fishing across the dams is a little tougher this month. While some dams have picked up with better results, more have quietened down. Planning trips to the better areas will be rewarding as there’s still plenty of great freshwater action to enjoy.
July is right in the middle of our prime offshore fishing.
As we forge our way through another typical Queensland winter, it has been a great time to take advantage of the vast variety of fishing grounds we have in our great Northern Bay.
In recent times, weather permitting, we have seen a very good and late run of Spanish mackerel and coral trout.
As the water temperature falls this month snapper will start to increase in numbers on most of the offshore grounds and they in turn become the target of most offshore anglers.
The winter westerlies have begun to kick in and the water on the offshore grounds is starting to cool as the current drops. This is a great month on the wider grounds off the Gold coast and the prime target species this month are snapper, pearl perch, cobia, samsonfish and mulloway.
In my last piece about kayaking, the focus was on the absolute basics – how to get in a kayak, some basic tips on paddling and how to cope with the inevitable capsize.
We have had some very high winds in June, up to 40 knots, which has seen many people swop a fishing rod for a golf club.
We are now in the heart of the dry season in the tropics and are experiencing a typical winter pattern. The offshore fishing is firing along nicely and even though the inshore scene is a bit more challenging there have been some good results all the same.
After months of indifferent weather conditions along with well below average catches, what Fraser Island needs right now is a bumper tailor season.
The water will be cold and green in July, and this means one thing – snapper time! The Gold Coast snapper fishery can be red hot and there are numerous ways to get among the numbers of these sought-after sport fish.
Winter is definitely here and fishing for the cooler climate species is becoming serious. Keen anglers of all ages are getting up before first light, rugged up from head to toe, to get in amongst the action.
Cold weather and southwesterly winds can only mean one thing around here – red hot pelagic fishing. July is one of the best months of the year to target mackerel in the waters around Bowen and with strong early season captures already recorded, this year should prove to be a good one.
Every time Mitsubishi Australia releases a new model they learn something new about their customers. The new 2012 Challenger was released in a 4x4 or 4x2 models, and most people who opted for the 2.5L diesel, five person wagon chose the 4x2. And why wouldn’t you when you get the same fantastic performance for $3500 less money!
With the tailor season in full swing, beautiful Fraser Island and a lot of northern NSW beaches are suddenly an irresistible drawcard for many 4x4 owners. Fraser Island alone has more than 140km of beautiful white sand to drive on.
For the angler that enjoys a country drive and the opportunity to set up camp beside an impoundment well stocked with feisty native cod and golden perch, then Glenlyon Dam is a destination for you!
In last month’s issue I outlined what weighting in fly rods is and how this classification specifically applies to the rod’s proposed use. It all comes down to the species of fish targeted and also the size of the flies the rod has to cast.
Premium plate alloy manufacturer Offshore Marine Master (OMM) has come up with another outstanding example of their ability to combine angling-orientated features with sparkling performance and handling. The 610 Walkaround Ultra Vee Allrounder matched with the 175hp Suzuki will be on ever angler’s wish list.
Long established Queensland manufacturer YaltaCraft have achieved a handy balance of form and function in their 5.5m 1800 Allrounder. Not only is it capable of fishing offshore with a team of hot-to-trot anglers aboard, but it can also cater for a pleasant family day trip with a bit of tow sports on the side.
The common July westerlies are already here and the crisp mornings are bringing in numbers of lesser mackerels inside the wind curtain.
There are a number of winter species available around the Sunshine Coast reefs but none are more sought after as much as those big red snapper.
Cool wet and windy has been the story so far this winter but hopefully this trend will end this month giving us a chance to get out and wet a line. July around Bundaberg is usually cool with westerly winds that clean up the water and make lure fishing a little slower.
Well all I can say is that Murphy’s Law really applies to fishing. Last month I mention the good run of black marlin off our coast the we are excited about, but ever since we’ve had the worst early winter weather for years.
July is a magnificent time of year to head out fishing Jumpinpin with plenty of cool clear days and heaps of different species to target. One of the best reasons to fish Jumpinpin is not only is there an abundance of regular bread and butter species of bream, whiting and flathead, but there is all sorts of by-catch available right through to your trophy mulloway, jacks and the like.
Bream are firing up in the narrows, flathead are grouping in river mouths, and whiting are in exceptional numbers: what more could an angler ask for? The recent cold has provided so many opportunities for land-based and boat anglers.
