mackerel

Maximising mackerel mayhem

mackerel

Hi everyone, sorry I missed an article last month. Right on crunch time, when it was due, I had my appendix removed. A very common procedure I know, yet it had me out of action for a couple of weeks, on doctor’s orders. I’m still on light duties, though the doc did say I could go fishing… if I had …

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Cracking catches on Capricorn Coast

on

This month I was going to cover the Shimano King of Kings competition but unfortunately, I’ve run out of time. Keep an eye out for an in-depth run-down next month. For this issue, we’ll have a good look around at what’s been happening locally. With the warmer weather, the estuaries have all been about grunter, fingermark, mangrove jack and barramundi. …

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Surprise snapper success

snapper

Well, what a dismal start to 2024! snapper With all the rain earlier in the year, the water around the southern bay islands was very ordinary, to say the least. Throw in the wind and trying to coordinate dates when people can go fishing with the days and weather windows available and we’ve managed only one day on the water …

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Spotted mackerel ring netting update

netting

The recent commercial netting activities in Moreton Bay, initially raised on social media, has triggered a reaction from many recreational fishos. With most of these anglers having fished the bay for years, they no doubt saw the damage ring netting did to fish stocks back in the 1980s – which has taken years for the fishery to recover from. Before …

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Mackerel pre and post closure

G’day everyone, I hope you found my previous article useful in trying to get yourself onto a spanish mackerel or two. As most of you would know, we have two separate closures for Queensland tidal systems – one was February 1-21 and the second closure starts March 1, finishing March 21. Up until this point, I’d been right into the …

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Switching tactics for spotted mackerel

Typically, by February a fever has kicked in on the close reefs, attracting frequent fishos and visitors to wet a line in a melting pot of excitement and frustration. mackerel Yep, you guessed it… mackerel season! With the mackerel run well and truly underway and the southern closures – south of Stanage Bay to the border – taking effect on …

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Fish rich in February

fish

Happy new year… unless you are a fishing guide. The weather continues to be challenging, and therefore, so is the fishing. Where are the masses of spotted and mack tuna? Where are the occasionally annoying school mackerel? Yes, sorry, but have some wind instead – unfortunately, I spent the beginning of December hiding from wind. Thankfully, the small area I …

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Manhandling marlin

marlin

It’s marlin mayhem again. I keep the socials fairly marlin free, as I don’t want an armada of boats getting in the way. Even if others are posting, I find that the fire doesn’t need any more fuel. My job is to boat fish for my boat, not encourage more competition. And by the time this is published, it might …

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Taming tropical pelagics

Tropical pelagics

My greatest disappointment from the swing to the Greens is that my hopes global warming would bring an end to frosty winters in southern Queensland are dashed… Tropical pelagics Yes, I’m being satirical. Well, if winter won’t leave southern Queensland, then I guess we cryophobes must. (Cryophobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of cold, including cold weather and cold …

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Difference between spotted and spanish mackerel

Bundaberg Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers were conducting routine inspections when they found recreational fishers returning to the ramp with large numbers of school mackerel species. Upon closer inspection officers started to ID juvenile spanish mackerel that had been misidentified as school mackerel. QBFP informed the fishers who were unaware of the basic identification factors. Differences between mackerel species …

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