Page 40 - BNB Fishing mag

MattyTatton captured a fat 50cm land-based bass. Photos: shingnoosa.com.au
End of winter – not the Wend of awesome action
ITH August or ganged and sent sounder so you don’t being the down deep or allowed continue to catch them. last month to free swim. I enjoy jigging and
Sunshine Coast
by GRANT BUDD
of winter, water tem- If you catch a snapper slow jigging is a well-
peratures are now at their coolest.
If you’re fishing dur- ing this time and you land these fish, they must be returned to the water, so get up to speed on how to correctly vent fish (not popping the stomach protruding from the fish’s mouth) or buy a release weight.
Offshore, water tem- peratures have been perfect for various reef dwellers, with numer- ous good-sized fish on the chew.
midwater, the chance of a successful release is higher versus dragging one off the bottom, due to a lower risk of baro- trauma.
known way to target snapper and pearlies.
This is also the time of year when we often have very low swell on the Noosa River Bar, which makes for a safer start to the day.
Be sure to carry a few live bait rigs in your kit because a live bait can certainly lure the big fish out.
A traditional twin- hook paternoster rig will leave you open to catching snapper and pearl perch so now is the time to move away from this method.
When a slow-pitch jig is fished slowly and close to the bottom, snapper and pearlies will smash it.
The biggest change is the snapper and pearl perch closure for Queensland.
We have plenty of oth- er great fish to target and this is the perfect time to try new tech- niques and maybe leave the pilchard floater at home.
Traditionally live baits are best suited to target- ing jewfish, coral trout, midwater cobia and longtail tuna.
Try slightly faster and longer lifts with a turn on the handle while the lure drops to tempt the bigger, more aggressive predatory species into biting.
By now, anyone in-
tending to go offshore
should be in the know
that snapper and pearl-
ies are off-limits from
July 15 to August 15.
Page 40 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, August 2020
These can be snelled
If you find yourself hooking pearlies and snapper, it’s a good idea to take note of what they look like on your
Jewies respond well to this method and Black Magic Flipper Jigs will
* continued P41 www.bnb shing.com.au