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AN invitation to join a Swain Reefs fishing trip is pretty hard to knock back, and to do a trip with essentially the same nucleus of guys from previous years that all get on well and love their fishing makes it even harder. We headed out from Yeppoon late in the evening on the Capricorn Star with owner/skipper Scott Wilson …

WITHOUT doubt, kayak fishing is one of Australia’s rapid growth activities. More and more amateur anglers are hitting the water in an array of craft, from cheap plastic sit-on kayaks to top-end composite offshore fishing kayaks, fishing in waters from narrow freshwater creeks to open lakes and oceans. It’s no surprise really; paddle craft offer anglers a low-cost and hassle-free …

IF you’re chasing an adrenalin rush or want to go four-wheel-driving on some of the steepest, toughest tracks, then Swan Gully Park is for you. In the past month we made the hour-long drive from Brisbane out to Swan Gully with the single goal of driving a track I was forced to turn away from two years ago. To start …

TAKING excess coral reef fish, which were to be sold on the black market, has landed two Townsville recreational fishers $17,000 in fines. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the two recreational fishers pleaded guilty in the Townsville Magistrates’ Court to unlawfully taking 63 coral reef fin fish. “The magistrate stated their actions were deliberate and …

QUEENSLAND’S new Rocky Reef Fishery Working Group will be asked to identify options to rebuild the snapper stock, which continues to be considered overfished. Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner announced the new working group, which will provide advice to the government on managing fisheries including snapper, pearl perch, teraglin jew, yellowtail kingfish, cobia and mahi mahi. …

RECREATIONAL fishers will be hitting the water this weekend as the annual closed season for Australian bass comes to an end. Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol Technical Support Officer David Kahler said Australian bass had been off-limits in Queensland tidal waters from 1 June to 31 August 2018 to protect the species during its breeding cycle. “Fishers can return to …

IN June 2017, the Queensland Government released the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy 2017-2027, paving the way for Queensland to have a world-class fisheries management system. These reforms will ensure healthy fish stocks that will support thousands of Queensland jobs. One year on from the release of Queensland’s Sustainable Fisheries Strategy and there has been very positive progress towards implementing the action …

WE would like to thank all our previous Bayside Boat Licensing students who have completed training with us. After several years of dutiful service, we took a close look at our training vessel Assessor and found while structurally it was a great boat, the cosmetics were starting to look a bit ordinary. We recently had an issue with vandals, so …

AUSTRALIA’S fastest growing outboard brand Suzuki Marine has officially opened the doors of its new warehouse facility at Wacol, west of Brisbane. Located adjacent to its head office at 140 Viking Drive, Suzuki Marine’s new warehouse covers approximately 3000sq m of floor space and allows the brand to expand its facilities to meet consumer demand while consolidating its distribution operations. …

IT’S been a long wait but spring is finally here. You can start to box up the winter warmers and put away the heaters. Overall, I would call this winter a mild one. We didn’t see too many awful cold days in the low single digits. That probably means we are in for one hell of a hot summer. So …