Fishing Articles

Tilapia suspected in Cooby Creek

Biosecurity Queensland is investigating a report of the invasive pest fish species tilapia suspected in Cooby Creek, downstream of Cooby Dam, north of Toowoomba. Cooby Creek is a tributary that flow into the Murray-Darling Basin. If confirmed, this would be the first instance that tilapia have been found in this catchment. Tilapia were introduced into Australia in the 1970s as …

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Red spot disease

Epizootic ulcerative syndrome, or red spot disease, often appears after acid water run-off following heavy rains, with the unsightly lesions reducing product marketability. EUS is caused by a fungus aphanomyces invadans and shows as red lesions or deep ulcers. Secondary bacterial infections are often also associated with red spot disease. To identify EUS, look for red spots or burn-like marks …

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From small boats come big advantages

small boats advantages

Hi all, most days you’ll find us starting the day at Latino Coffee, situated opposite the local service station at Agnes Water, having a coffee. When the weather is good, we watch the endless parade – of what I call the ‘top end of the market’ – trailable fishing boats fuel up in preparation to explore the southern reef systems …

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50 years of Dave Donald tales

MY old friend and lifetime fisho the late Ron ‘Demo’ Dempster loved Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám and gifted a copy of this wonderful book to me, which I have treasured since. Its message is very clear – we’re only on this earth for a short while, so we must make the most of every day! Dave Donald It certainly doesn’t …

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Stanage Bay open again

IT has been a while since we posted an article, this having been such a tumultuous year after the pandemic broke out. Stanage Bay closed the doors completely to both our Stanage Bay Marine and Accommodation guests. Thanksfully, we are back open. Bevan and Maree also closed the Crab Pot Bar during that time, so Stanage was very quiet for …

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Annual camping trip to Weipa

MY annual trip north with my friend Dave is over, but it was a cracker. We weren’t sure if we’d get to Weipa to begin with because people on the northern forums said it was closed for the rest of the year due to COVID-19. Weipa camping A good friend, who was heading north to camp at the same spot …

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Winter species still strong on Gold Coast

WINTER has flown by and we are already almost into spring, though our winter species here on the Gold Coast will still be in full swing. Here in Queensland we have just experienced our first year of the snapper and pearl perch closure, which was in effect until August 15, meaning you could not target or keep either of these …

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Cape York’s wonderful Wenlock River

WELL, with all the who-haa that’s been going on, here at Cape York we locals finally got a late OK from authorities to travel within the Cape’s ‘biosecurity region’. So, my wife Shelley and I decided to tackle the 8-hour lap from Cooktown to Weipa to visit our kids, and of course get out for a fish in that magical …

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Winter flathead tips

flathead

A FAVOURITE target species for many anglers, including myself, is the humble flathead. They love eating lures, fight well on light gear, are readily available, make great table fish for those wanting to keep a couple for a feed, and everyone is in the running to catch a trophy fish, whether fishing land based or from watercraft. Winter is a …

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State of confusion

State of confusion

FOR anyone who fishes and enjoys boating, the past few months have been full of change, uncertainty, confusion and totally compounded by a severe lack of good leadership by those in charge of boating and fishing in Queensland. The state of confusion started at the commencement of COVID-19 restrictions when the boss of Maritime Safety Queensland came out hard in …

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