Species

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 …

THERE is something a little weird about the anglers who chase big green fish in the freezer, but it’s an addictive time as the big fish come out to play. My first introduction to cold cod fishing was way, way back in about 1995. Let’s just say it was so long ago I can’t remember the exact year. We planned …

WELL 2020 has been one big rollercoaster but let’s hope things settle and we return to some sort of normality and can all get back to work. I’ve gone from not being able to work at all to finally being allowed to run my charters once more. We will see how it all goes, we’ve been changing techniques very quickly with …

AS a charter operator, mess and disorganisation seriously get under my skin. Now, if you know me personally I am one of the messiest people about, and the console of my boat is a clear indication of many moments of mayhem. Lures with rusty hooks stacked on top of each other and hidden underneath is a pair of line clippers that …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

WHEN it rains, it pours. And pour it did, with some parts of the Gold Coast shaken and stirred, copping 500mm or more. You can’t deny we needed it though, and boy was it good to hear rain on the roof. With all the creeks and estuaries in flood, the systems are receiving a well-overdue flush. The wet can really change things on …