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A great month for Spaniards
  |  First Published: June 2014



We had our Karumba Community Anglers Classic fishing competition in May and the event was awesome, as always. The number of people was down, and that showed in the number of fish caught, but the enjoyment was still up there as fewer people meant more chances for those who participated to win prizes in the event.

Nice weather has allowed me to take my kids for some fish stock research at Sweers Island and we had a great time. I spent plenty of time releasing good fish including golden snapper (fingermark) and parrotfish. One hour at the Jew Hole was enough to land four black jew up to 98cm, and we did take some nice reef fish home. The sad point was I was not allowed to drop a line until after I had helped the kids release their fish! The problem was they kept pulling up fish and not giving me time to drop a line until right at the end when on one a drop I finally caught a fish. I will have to own up here and say that they caught golden snapper up to 72cm while mine was only 28cm. I am still copping flak from them about it but at least only my family knows. Oh wait…

Anyway, get to Sweers Island if you can as they were really going off and June is a great month to catch Spanish mackerel as well.

If you want to catch some Spanish in June, head out to the northwestern side of the sand island and anchor up. Set up a berley trail on the outgoing tide and send out some pillies on ganged hooks attached to a wire trace. This should get the job done. Remember that they have soft mouths so always keep tension on the line but do not overdo it or they will say good bye before the boat.

If you have a bigger boat then you have an opportunity to go chase some longtail tuna out wider. Look for birds feeding on the surface and head upwind of them. Cast your metal jig or soft plastic into the fish then wait for around five seconds before starting your retrieve. Please catch only the fish you want to take home as tuna can overheat in their efforts to get away (they have a higher body temperature than other fish), which can result in death after release.

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