Complete archive of AreaArticles:
State vs state, mate vs mate, bait vs bait
Rob Gaden | First Published: May 2017 » Feature Articles / New South Wales /
I’m Rupe, my mate is Michael ‘Foxy’ Fox, and we’re both advertising sales reps for Fishing Monthly. The only difference is that he’s a seasoned veteran from Qld and I’m a young whipper snapper from NSW. Our recent fishing battle was the latest chapter in that age-old story about the old bull up against the young bull, with the added spice of state vs state and bait vs bait!
A clearer outlook for May
Andrew Amsler | First Published: May 2017 » Area Articles / Queensland / Southern QLD / Caloundra /
All the rain we had at the end of March turned the system inside out. The rain flushed all the prawns into the bay, so all the guys chasing prawns had a couple of weeks of low numbers. With the rush of dirty water, the flathead and whiting retreated to the deeper holes, trying to avoid the worst of it.
Rediscovering kayaking
Ryan Lee | First Published: May 2017 » Area Articles / Queensland / Southern QLD / Brisbane /
The first time I encountered a kayak, it was part of an Outward Bound school type activity many years ago.
Spaniards heading back inshore
Ryan Mood | First Published: May 2017 » Area Articles / Queensland / Tropical North / Hinchinbrook /
It is now the end of the wet season and we start to approach the cooler months. With this gradual change we will be seeing new species turning up in tropical waters.
Great variety of May species on offer
Nick Whyte | First Published: May 2017 » Area Articles / Queensland / Southern QLD / Southern Bay /
May is a great month for boating. There are plenty of options for species and usually with some better weather forecast. After the mass amounts of rain we had we should see some great fishing. Snapper, tuna, mulloway, bream, squid, crabs and winter whiting will all be on the plate this month.
Hazelwood Pondage worth pondering about
Mitch Chapman | First Published: May 2017 » Regular Features / Hot Spot /
After years of talk, speculation, and wondering, it was done. Victoria got its first-ever barra sports fishery. The iconic sportfish known for being in waterways a little bit north of Melbourne can now be targeted and caught only a short one hour drive from Cranbourne.
Spoilt for choice offshore!
Tony Kemna | First Published: May 2017 » Feature Articles / Victoria /
Although the Gippsland Lakes system is huge, with fishing options around every corner, the true anglers’ paradise can be found through the Lakes Entrance Bar. Bread and butter species such as snapper, gummy sharks and flathead are all within easy reach of the entrance with pelagic species like kingfish, mako sharks and marlin seasonally available on the outer grounds. Add to that the broadbill swordfish fishery and the deep water species like blue eye trevalla and ling, and it’s easy to see we are spoilt for choice.
Lakes Entrance spotlight
Steven Pryke | First Published: May 2017 » Feature Articles / Victoria & Tasmania / East Coast / Lakes Entrance /
The seaside town of Lakes Entrance is located 3.5 hours’ drive east of Melbourne, and while small, this village offers a wide variety of activities and accommodation.
Howarth homes in for the win
Tag | First Published: April 2017 » Regular Features / Tournaments /
James Howarth has claimed his maiden bass electric win at the opening round of the 2017 ePropulsion Bass Electric Series at Clarrie Hall with 2/2 fish for 1.95kg. Not to be outdone, bass tournament regular Matt Johnson kicked his season off with a bang taking out second place and the Big Bass for the event with 2/2 fish for 1.92 kg.
Hayes rides smallest boat to biggest victory
Tag | First Published: April 2017 » Regular Features / Tournaments /
Despite owning the smallest boat in the 61-strong field, Victorian breamer and long time ABT angler Mark Hayes brought it home to claim victory in the opening round of the 2017 Costa BREAM Series. The 2017 season kicked off with the BKK Hooks Mallacoota BREAM Qualifier, where anglers were greeted with one of the biggest fields for the past several seasons. A total of 61 of Australia’s best BREAM boaters and 56 non-boaters lined up for their shot at the perfect start to a tournament season.
Morgan’s Mercury Metung Madness
Tag | First Published: April 2017 » Regular Features / Tournaments /
Fishing Monthly’s own Steve Morgan has claimed victory at the Mercury Marine Gippsland BREAM Qualifier, the second stop of the 2017 Costa BREAM Series.
The fish are becoming more active
David Allen | First Published: April 2017 » Regular Features / Area Report /
Thank goodness we are into autumn and the weather and water are starting to cool down. This summer has been one of the hottest on record with the surface water temperatures reaching 30°C and higher.
Dirty water stirs up the crabs
Joe Allan | First Published: April 2017 » Regular Features / Area Report /
The beaches around Ballina and Lennox Head have been fishing really well and should continue to get better. Look for gutters on Patches Beach and back to South Ballina as well as the beaches along Seven Mile Beach north of Lennox Head. There have been good catches recorded of tarwhine and flathead on soft plastics and blades.
The ABCs of squid catching
Steve Starling | First Published: April 2017 » Regular Features / Back To Basics /
Catching squid can be either a means to an end, or a fun and fulfilling sport in its own right. Whatever your motivation, here are some basic tips on how to do it more efficiently.
A fresh flush of fun species
Alex Bellissimo | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Sydney / Sydney Rocks /
The diversity of species at the moment is great! A client was spinning with a 25g Sure Catch saltwater Lazer Jig in a pink colour and managed six species in the space of an hour – kings, tailor, salmon, frigate mackerel and bonito. All off the ocean rocks. You couldn’t see any surface action so it was pretty much blind casting to these fish. Funnily enough you could see surface boils and at times several fish following the metal, but no baitfish spraying on the surface.
Lake Mulwala still has bulk Murray cod on tap
Tony Bennett | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Freshwater / Yarrawonga /
Anglers can’t help but get excited about the continued excellent fishing in and around Lake Mulwala, especially when it comes to the surface action at this time of year. No wonder Lake Mulwala is the ‘Home of the Murray Cod!’ Beautiful summer evenings have led to one of the most productive months in recent history and there is no reason why this won’t continue into May.
We live in hope!
Glen Booth | First Published: April 2017 » Regular Features / Area Report /
Hands up who wants to cancel this Coffs Harbour game fishing season and start afresh in a few months’ time? Ok then, motioned carried unanimously. Hmm.
April tactics can be unexpectedly flexible
Gary Brown | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Sydney / Sydney South /
Do you need to get out for a fish very early in the morning or late into the afternoon to catch more fish? Or do you need to go fishing at night to catch more fish? I say no!
Pelagics popping up in cool, calm water
Greg Clarke | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Illawarra / Illawarra /
April may not be quite as good as March, but it’s still one of the best fishing months of the year. The days are warm after cooler nights and light south westerlies in the mornings make the warm ocean waters calm and enjoyable to fish. Even better, we have four days off over Easter. Throw in ANZAC day, after the dawn service, and you have a whole lot of extra time to fish, and the fish are still there and raring to go.
Cooler species are wound up by the wind
Anthony Coughran | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Far North Coast / The Tweed /
With predominant northerly winds blowing this month, we’ve had cooler offshore water temperatures. Fewer predators have graced us with their presence. With these northerlies, jacks have been firing, destroying live baits, strip baits and artificial lures. These red dogs are the talk of the town, with good numbers taken over the past month.
Rivers running hot in April
Rhys Creed | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Freshwater / Wagga Wagga /
April is my favourite month. This month is where fishing dreams are made as we are blessed with the best fishing conditions of the year. What makes the fishing even better is the Easter long weekend - the perfect excuse to get out into the freshwater.
Rain has quickly improved Iluka fishing
Ross Deakin | First Published: April 2017 » Regular Features / Area Report /
We received some significant downpours a few weeks ago, and these rain events very quickly improved the fishing. We are now seeing some awesome flathead catches occurring down our end of the river. Bream and whiting have also been around in good numbers, as have school mulloway.
Really loving the reddy resurgence
Wayne Dubois | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Freshwater / Batlow /
The freshwater scene has been all about the redfin over the last few months. Crazy numbers of these tasty morsels are being caught consistently just about everywhere.
The current situation
Gary Earl | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Central Coast / Hunter Coast /
This month should see the sea change direction, with the water running back up the hill again to banana bender territory. Additionally, the fish that moved down on the warmer currents way down south will pass us. This makes April a great time to fish around the whole Hunter Coast, especially the rocks and beaches.
Kiwi kingfish tactics for Aussie anglers
Chris Firkin | First Published: April 2017 » Feature Articles / New South Wales /
In December’s issue I talked about what us kiwis do a little differently as far as trout fishing is concerned. This month we talk about our biggest asset as far as most Australian anglers are concerned and the reason to travel across the ditch. We call them ‘hoodlums’ and they are exactly that. They grow to 50kg+. Where I’m from (Whakatane) 30kg is classed as a good one and 40kg is a trophy.
Exciting Easter estuaries and late mackerel run
Dave Gaden | First Published: April 2017 » Regular Features / Area Report /
Good rains at the end of February and early March should have stirred things up a bit for this month. The continual dry weather and northeasterly winds will not be missed. The change in weather patterns will bring calmer seas offshore and hopefully a lot of hungry fish. While the estuary gets a nice drink of fresh water upstream, this should push the fish to the lower reaches of the system.
Beaut weather a bonus for busy Eden anglers
Kevin Gleed | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Far South Coast / Eden /
We’ve had great weather over the past month with no rain to speak of. Eden has been abuzz with visitors. The next few months offer some excellent fishing, so the visitors should go home happy. Boats heading out wide have had some success on striped marlin and blue marlin with a number of fish tagged and released.
Plenty of visiting anglers catching a feed
Kevin Gleed | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Far South Coast / Mallacoota /
The town is still as busy as ever and with Easter on its way, it’s only going to get busier. Everything slows down once Easter is over, but for now, the boat ramp at Bastion Point has been chockers when the weather is good for anglers to get offshore and catch a feed of fish, and there has been some great fishing over the past month.
Merimbula is shore doing well in close
Stuart Hindson | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / Far South Coast / Merimbula /
The gamefishing off Merimbula has been a little patchy lately, mainly due to water temperature fluctuations. There’s still some quality fishing to be had. When the temperatures and currents have aligned black and striped marlin have been caught.
Live baits are going swimmingly
Stuart Hindson | First Published: April 2017 » Area Articles / New South Wales / South Coast / Narooma /
We’ve finally received some decent rain over the last week with around 100mm falling in that time. To say we needed it is an understatement, as the last decent drop was way back in June 2016. This will only improve the fishing further, especially in the estuaries. The water clarity has been crystal clear. That’s not saying the fishing has been slow – far from it, but it will only get better now.
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