Fishing

WHAT a relief. For a while there it didn’t look like we would be able to travel far from home at all and annual fishing expeditions to Fraser, Moreton and Stradbroke islands was under threat for many Queenslanders. Fortunately, that fear doesn’t look like it will be realised, provided we continue to keep this beast of a virus under control. So touch …

WINTER has set in at Somerset Dam. With all the anticipation and excitement of the past couple of months of the lakes getting a reprieve from fishers and boaters, we were back out on the lake in May. I must say, Somerset generally has two rough periods for fishing and April is usually one of them, as the bass start …

THE 2020 Barrabasstasstic Lake Awoonga barramundi tournament was held from January 9-12, with 40 participants across the junior and senior angler events landing 155 barra. The major award for the seniors’ event at the Lake Awoonga barramundi tournament was the Best Five Barramundi, taken out by Justin Nye and Roderick Walmsley in a tie. Both got their bag limits, with upgrades, …

I’VE now lived on Cape York for more than 30 years, so I reckon I just about qualify to be called a local! As somebody who has been up and down the main access track, officially known as the Peninsula Development Road, many times, it is often very amusing to read some of the questions posed by those who are …

HI, it’s Craig Tomkinson here. Before we get into my pre-COVID-19 impromptu trip to Fraser Island with the family… how was the late rain season? It turned up like it does most years, when school starts back for first term. We had fantastic soaking rain as well as some very heavy downpours. About 200-400mm has fallen around the area so far. We only …

WITH what can only be described as a long, hot and very wet summer behind us, I am enjoying the cooler weather. Now is the fun time of year we see a crossover in fishing. It’s more noticeable offshore where the summer species hang around and cooler water winter species start to show in greater numbers. We still have to …

NOTHING beats the sound and feel of prawns flicking in the cast net. Update yourself on the Fisheries Queensland legal limits as a boat limit of 20 litres of prawns now applies if two or more people are on board, in addition to individual limits of 10 litres per person. Prawns have been schooling in the deep holes in the …

HI, Craig Tomkinson here. I hope everyone is coping well in these trying times and keeping active while isolating. I thought I’d give our cars, four-wheel-drive, lawn mowers, gear and 60hp Yamaha outboard on my 5m tinnie a good and essential going over. Though only after recovering, because until the last 10 days of school holidays I was working – …

FINDING the perfect lure is an almost impossible task. Most fishers overlook the hooks on their lures even though hooks are the most important aspect of fish catching ability. So what treble hooks should you choose when upgrading lures? With so many options available, it can be somewhat confusing trying to decide, but each has its place in a tackle box. …

THE plan right up until the Sunday afternoon of a long weekend was to head out early on Monday for an offshore saltwater session chasing mackerel. When rolling the weather dice, sometimes things don’t go your way. While loading the boat on Sunday arvo, I did a last-minute weather check, only to find the wind was getting up earlier than …