Page 79 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing mag

BThirty years: the last hurrah
ACK in 1987 a bloke called Warren Steptoe
Glenlyon Dam
by BRIAN DARE
wrote for Modern Fish- ing magazine and had a section called ‘The Sunshine Connection’.
rience in handling hot spuds.
Queensland, and we are still dragging the old ball and chain.
In November 1987, my wife, two daughters (Debbie, Gemma and Lori) and I ventured into a major project.
Tom didn’t pull any punches when he sug- gested that when the time comes to react to the imposition of li- cences, we are prob- ably coming to a posi- tion where most people see freshwater licenses as inevitable.
With a complete lack of willingness to bite the bullet, we don’t have an all waters li- cence at a cost of 10 cents a day – it’s a joke.
To build a caravan park at Glenlyon Dam.
It was given approv- al by the Department of Natural Resources and the Border Rivers Commission back then, who are – along with Sunwater – so helpful.
However, in agreeing to licencing, we should do so in the same man- ner you would hand feed a great white shark; a fair compari- son when the odds of a noah biting off the hand that feeds it are stacked up against our chances of licence fees being spent on effective fishery management.
It makes Queensland recreational anglers look foolish if we don’t push for an all-water licence!
Warren wrote about a chap called Tom Burns, a keen angler and mem- ber of State Parliament who put out the Burns Report for recreational fishing in Queensland.
Surely there’s a group in the political jungle with intestinal fortitude and good foresight to put this in place?
An 118cm Murray cod ate Gavin Morris’s Baram- bah Lures Bidjiwong 200 topwater lure.
Jarrod Tait from the Gold Coast caught and re- leased this 115cm model at night.
Jeff Carter getting stuck into cod at night.
I was lucky enough to meet Mr Burns, who has now passed.
So, 30 years down the track and there’s no fishing licence or per- mit for all waters in
Read the proposed draft by FFSAQ and show it to your local State Parliament mem- ber – find out if they’re listening to you, the voting recreational an- gler.
Steptoe wrote: Only Tom Burns was game to mention fishing licences.
A man with vast expe-
I can see a million votes go begging all ‘for 10 cents a day’.
TIhoughts on all-water licence for Queensland
HAVE read with poundment Permits for recreational fish- interest an arti- currently raise funds ing licences – anglers cle in your April and there’s a sugges- under 18 years of
2020 edition of Bush tion to implement an age, pensioners who
’n Beach Fishing magazine, submitted by Brian Dare titled ‘Comments on de- cline of freshwater fishery in QLD’.
all-water licence.
A ‘reef tax’ is paid as part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority char- ter fishing fees to assist in funding the care and rehabilitation
hold a Department of Veterans’ Affairs service pension card, pensioners who hold a Centrelink Age Pen- sion Concession card, ex-service personnel who hold a DVA Gold Veteran card and all anglers over seventy years of age.
Iamnotinaposi- tion to understand the ‘decline’ referred to.
of the marine park. While I totally agree that security and safe- ty of all public boat ramps and pontoons are a high priority and fish cleaning ta- bles are always handy, one aspect of fishing licences should be
I have a great in- terest in fishing as a hobby and have fished all my life, and I am now 75 years old.
Fishers in these cat- egories have already paid a significant contribution over many years, and their worthiness cannot be denied.
I don’t fish for or eat freshwater species as my personal prefer- ence is saltwater fish- ing, so I’ve had no connection with im- poundments, however I realise Stocked Im-
carefully considered. I support the exemp- tion of the following groups from paying
Any other readers’ opinions would be ap- preciated.
Len Stead
www.bnb shing.com.au
Bush ’n Beach Fishing, October 2020 – Page 79