Action lights up reef
They were attempting to take dvantage of warming waters and ungry golden snapper or fingermark, owever a couple of close lightning trikes and rising seas ensured most bandoned their trips, seeking shelter within protected bay waters. Joseph Harvey said he and his mate ooled a smallish fingermark of about 0cm and a fat gold spot cod of nearly 0cm before they made the dash back o port. “Two fish from two squid was pretty ood but,” the young man said.
High- flying fun
ARPON are providing a joy for a andful of anglers in local waters, ason Bentley one of them and finding ome solid fish early this week.
Bentley cast miniature- sized lures in oss River waters under the shadows f the port access road bridge near the mouth of the system.
The keen angler said he found the arpon, known to purists as ox- eye erring, rolling near the surface on the marina side of the bridge during a pectacular sunset early this week.
“They ( tarpon) were everywhere nd hooking- up was the easy bit,” entley explained.
“Keeping the hooks in was a ifferent story and I lost far more than he dozen I landed.”
Bentley had difficulty when even he sharpest hooks often failed to enetrate the tarpon’s bony mouth.
Changing from minnow- style lures hat were swinging configurations of reble hooks to small soft plastic fferings of a single hook nature was a ame changer, according to the Hermit ark man.
“As soon as I switched lures verything started holding together nd I started landing fish. And some were thumpers too … about 60cm,” entley said.
Admitting the tarpon were good for othing more than a bit of sport, entley was happy to enjoy the highying encounters – the fish spending lenty of time in the air once hooked – efore giving them their freedom.
Challenge not accepted
HE Townsville Family Fishing hallenge due to be contested last weekend was cancelled at the eleventh our. Organisers were disappointed and ited a lack of entry numbers as the eason the inaugural event had to be anned before it had begun. Mike L ’ Huillier runs the successful urdekin Barra Rush and must be umbfounded as to why Townsville nglers have shown such a lack of nterest in the not- for- profit event, with proceeds intended to be donated o Cancer Council Queensland, ownsville branch. Mike has vowed to revisit the ossibilities of conducting the naugural competition in August next ear.
Colourful sex show
IT’S a sex show that I’m betting most parents won’t mind telling their kids about. In fact, it’s one that Sir David Attenborough probably still gets excited about.
The annual coral spawning is touted as one of the most spectacular events on the Great Barrier Reef and happens just once a year for each coral species.
A synchronised mass reproduction of enormous proportions invites divers to don flippers and mask for a peep show involving vast colonies and species of polyps releasing egg and sperm from their gut cavity into the water, simultaneously.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority experts describe the event perfectly: “The phenomenon – which only happens at night – resembles an underwater snowstorm. But rather than being all white, there are also clouds of red, yellow and orange. All the bundles ( eggs and sperm) rise slowly to the surface where the process of fertilisation begins.”
Not all reef corals spawn at exactly the same time though, with variables including water temperature, tide and salinity levels all factors in when the event will occur.
This is generally between one and six days following an October full moon for inshore reef corals. This coming Wednesday’s moon is expected to first trigger inshore activity while corals within outer reef limits are expected to spawn during November and December.
The spawning lasts between a few days and a week, different species releasing their eggs and sperm on different days to prevent hybrids from being produced. And the mass spawning also provides food opportunities for other marine life, particularly nocturnal animals.