Fishing

Soapies at Iluka despite swell and gusts

IF nothing else, fishing along the Clarence Coast of northern NSW has been consistently inconsistent, thanks mainly to the recent spell of 30-knot gusts that have been blowing from all points of the compass. Sure, there have been the occasional few good days to get out among the fish – along the beaches and headlands – however, large swells have …

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Targeting tailor in the rivers

G’DAY everyone, over the past two months we have seen huge schools of tailor enter our local rivers and bays. While this is not uncommon for winter, this season has been a cracker and is probably due to the massive amount of rain we have received. The abundant numbers of tailor should still be around this month too, so let’s …

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Sounding for trophies

SO, here’s a question. How many of you have a great sounder on the boat and don’t really know how to use it? How many of you turn it on and look at it wondering what all the pretty colours mean? I guess a lot of people are afraid of pressing too many buttons in case of wiping out a …

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Brisbane River revisited after hiatus

LIVING on the Discovery coast offers a diverse range of fishing options and I feel I’m blessed, but it was good to find myself back in Brisbane and flicking a lure around my old haunt on the Brisbane River. Unfortunately, I only had a small window of time to reminisce and try my luck, so I launched my tinnie at …

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Mid-year mixed bag in July

WINTER days are certainly bringing out the very best in Moreton Bay. With the colder days and nights, we are seeing flathead caught in both good numbers and sizes. It has been a mixed bag, with people getting a feed by using bait, soft plastics and even trolling or casting shallow and deep divers. ZMan Curl TailZ, Squidgies Wriggler 120mm …

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Vale Ted McLean

ABOUT nine years ago while fishing for tuna out on the Iluka breakwall, my youngest son Mischa and I met a bloke by the name of Ted McLean, who had just moved from Victoria to Ashby (a small village west of Iluka) with his lovely partner Lexie. During that first meeting I was naturally guarded about where the best spots to fish …

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New for the winter cod season

SINCE their first-hand carved 80mm timber Boomerang lures were revealed to the angling world 37 years ago, the team at Predatek (formerly Downunder) Lures has earned an enviable reputation for developing outstandingly effective lure designs. During the industry-wide sales slump of the initial Covid lockdowns in early 2020, the design team used this downtime wisely and turned their skills to …

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Rainbow Beach trip on rare weather window

A WEEKEND with a good weather window is rare these days to say the least, and with Bernie putting out the feelers to see if anyone was fishing out of Rainbow, a plan was put in place to make it happen. Pete and Zac Rimmer, with deckie Ian, were taking Dilligaf up, so Helaine and commodore Rob jumped on with …

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Chilling out in Hervey Bay

THE colder weather is here. Eventually flat seas arrived, and cooler water temperatures that ease the metabolism of the prowling sharks means much more relaxed fishing. We’re still losing a few fish to sharks, but it has well and truly dropped off. Surface feeding has dropped off too, so we turn our eyes deeper. With the use of modern electronics, …

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Winter species move into the Bay

AT this time of the year I probably should be saying get the flathead and snapper gear out but to tell you the truth it’s been a real mixed bag lately. So in saying that I’ve had to use pretty much every trick in the book to put my clients onto fish. This means that no matter whether we’ve been …

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