Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
THE Bureau of Meteorology has compiled some fantastic tips and new tools to help you find the best time and place for safe fishing this summer.
Finding the perfect fishing spot is a fine art, but whatever secret location you choose to fish, the most important aspect of your search should be to ensure you won’t get caught out by the weather. This summer the Bureau of Meteorology has made it even easier to check the weather and ocean conditions with the introduction of a few simple tools and tips.
The Bureau’s Tide Prediction portal has recently been upgraded to provide predicted tide heights and times for over 700 locations around Australia (bom.gov.au/australia/tides). Check the extended weather forecast and the tides a few days before your fishing trip to help inform where and when might be the best and safest to go fishing. The Bureau’s graphical mapping tool MetEye can be used to visualise the weather forecast and zoom to any location (bom.gov.au/australia/meteye).
MetEye provides information on the height and direction of different swell conditions, as well as wind, waves and total wave height. Rock fishing is a popular recreational activity but it’s also one of Australia’s most dangerous sports. The Bureau has developed a guide on how to use MetEye for rock fishing (bom.gov.au/marine/about/check-meteye-rock-fishing). You can find further information about weather safety checks for rock fishing on the Bureau’s website. These pages are translated into traditional and simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Malay.
Rock fishers can also read up on a new blog that outlines how and when to check the weather for rock fishers planning their next fishing trip (media.bom.gov.au/social). The Bureau recommends three vital weather safety checks: tides, waves and wind. The Bureau’s new mobile app ‘BOM Weather’ (bom.gov.au/app) can be downloaded for free and used to check warnings, view the rain radar for current conditions and check the forecast for storms and strong wind.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s national manager of Marine Weather Services Neal Moodie urged fishing enthusiasts to take advantage of these new tools intended to make fishing a more enjoyable and safe activity. “Australians enjoy the great outdoors all year round,” he said. “Stay safe by making the most of the Bureau’s range of marine and ocean information when you go rock fishing. Be prepared to make alternative arrangements if conditions change.”
