Fishing Articles

SUMMER is well and truly here and so are the spotted mackerel on the Gold Coast. With a very slowly climbing water temperature, everyone was anticipating the Gold Coast mackerel turning up in November like they have in recent years. But this was mostly to do with the early arrival of warm water. In reality, while you may get the …

THE first day of November is a sad one because the saltwater barra closed season starts with it. However, the closure is also a good thing because it gives these great fish a chance to breed and their numbers to increase. On the upside, loads of other fish species are there to take their place, and with the increasing temperature, …

MY lovely editor Dan Tomlinson sent me a message asking me to pen a small wrap-up on the southeast Queensland offshore fishing situation, which I must say has been going off in many instances. Offshore from South Passage Bar and Double Island Point have both fished really well for a variety of bottom and pelagic species. I have mainly been …

HI all, it was a few years ago I got a phone call asking if I would like to sponsor an event. It was Shara Vanhaeren from the WTF Women That Fish Barra Classic who called and outlined what they were trying to do and where they wanted to go with the competition, and I agreed to giving away a …

LAKE Wyaralong was on the ‘must-fish’ bucket list for some time, and being only a quick 40-minute drive from home, I wondered why we hadn’t bothered fishing the lake beforehand. With stories of Rob’s uncle Mick having very productive sessions on live shrimp filtering through to us, we thought bugger it, this will be an awesome place to take the …

THIS is a seriously exciting time of year! For while barramundi in tidal waters remain off the target list, the reefs and headlands on both sides of epic Cape York are now beckoning. Doldrums weather generally rules at this time of year, having taken over from the blustery ‘mango winds’ (there can be exceptions though). Nothing is quite like boating …

GOLDEN opportunities don’t come along too often, so when they do, you’re well advised to grab them with both hands. I was lucky enough to find myself in this situation recently when owner and operator of Carlo Fishing Charters Karl Kleimeyer invited me on a seven-day Swain Reefs fishing trip aboard the recently completed Carlo II mother ship. Karl has …

HI everyone, I am thrilled to become a regular contributor to Bush ‘n Beach, a magazine I have been reading for a long time. I have been working in partnership with Brad Smith doing Gold Coast Broadwater and estuary charters for over five years. Smithy has been guiding for more than 25 years in the Tweed River and on the …

Before sadly losing his battle with cancer on August 19, Barry Alty was busy writing articles for Bush ‘n Beach. With the consent of his son Brett, we will be publishing Barry’s final articles over the next few months.   THERE is a photo of me at about age four sitting in my father’s lap with both of us holding …

IN the previous edition of BNB I penned an article on preparations for our annual week-long fishing pilgrimage to chase Cape York barra in the upper reaches of one of my favourite top end river systems. This year’s trip was titled the ‘Cape York 2019- Beer and Barra Classic’. A lot of planning goes into these extended trips, as we …