Cus drags in his dinner
ou can’t pick it
NDIFFERENT inshore conditions roughout last weekend and into the rly days of this week have ensured hing reports are varied and consistent.
Doggie or Queensland school ackerel found in good numbers thin Halifax Bay waters on Sunday emed to have disappeared mpletely the following day while ngermark and trout, both proving nigmatic late last week, were hungry several Cleveland Bay hotspots on aturday.
Thomas Shields and fiancee Bec rews, the Brisbane couple on an tended fishing holiday, fished orthern beaches shoals with friends st Thursday and Friday for a total tch of two grassy emperor and a nely school mackerel.
Figuring it an uncomfortable ercise pushing north to Hinchinbrook and as planned for the weekend – recast rains hardly enticing – Shields nd Drews decided to try fishing the oals again on Saturday.
The fishing couldn’t have been more ntrasting according to Shields, who ld of hungry emperors, fingermark nd a fat bar cheek trout hooked at the me spots fished in previous days.
“We did nothing different and the h were just there and we lost a few o,” Shields said. “Baits were the same lchards and prawns and the only ing different, we put down a live silier and caught a big coral trout. “We did see more stuff happening n Saturday than we did other days,” hields said, describing what seemed to schools of tuna or mackerel feeding ose to the surface.
“They’d come up close to the boat nd be gone before I had a chance to row a bait at them,” he said.
“So, I just left one pillie (rigged lchard) waiting and finally they rned up again. I cast and got the hook-up and that was it. It busted me up straightaway.”
The happy couple were still happy though, with a brace of grassy emperor, a fine 55cm fingermark or golden snapper and a 53cm trout ensuring plenty of fish meals for the remainder of their fishing holiday.
Cat and mouse game
SIMILARLY, Aaron Stephens and his mates found weather conditions uncomfortable and at odds with forecasts and fish scarce when they fished within local waters on Tuesday.
A couple of missed chances were complemented by an ugly sky and sloppy seas and it was only a brutish catfish of nearly a metre long that bent a rod for Stephens. The very same spots gave up fingermark, grunter and doggie mackerel just the day before.
Fines get real teeth
HEAVY fines and possible jail time of up to three years could await anyone caught trading fish and crustaceans on the black market. Recent changes to the Fisheries Act are expected to act as a severe deterrent to anyone considering trafficking fish to make a quick buck.
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said an increase in fines and jail time was just one of several changes to the Fisheries Act that had now taken effect.
“Anyone found guilty of black marketing or trafficking in fish is looking at fines of up to $390,000 and up to three years jail,” Mr Furner said.
“There is no excuse for black market fishing and we won’t stand for it.”
Among other recent reforms, a 20metre exclusion zone has been implemented around shark control equipment – failing to stay the required distance from equipment such as shark nets and drum lines will incur a fine of $522.
Further changes to the regulations are expected later this year to implement reforms to fisheries management, of particular interest those affecting recreational fishing including revised bag and boat limits.
For more information visit daf.qld.gov.au.
Dodging a bullet
MEANWHILE, a Burnett Heads father and son “illegal fishing team” might consider themselves lucky they were caught black-market fishing before the recent changes to regulation, the pair recently fined $19,000 for significant black-market fishing activity involving more than 90 illegal transactions.
The pair were unlawfully selling thousands of dollars worth of prawns and mud crabs, and were found in possession of regulated fish and commercial fishing apparatus.
Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers undertook a year-long investigation following complaints from within the fishing industry.
QBFP uses a range of techniques and technology to uncover illegal activities, including surveillance cameras and drones.
Watch out for whales
HUMPBACK whales are making their way up the Queensland coast during their annual northern migration, the enormous mammals already landing in local Townsville waters.
Paul Varganega, from Griffith in NSW, and son Jordan who is based at Lavarack Barracks, were both astounded when a large whale emerged from beneath their boat while fishing near Salamander Reef on Wednesday.
“Forget the fishing, this is a wildlife experience … have a look at these whales,” Varganega said while jokingly considering reaching for a life jacket.
Both marvelled as the enormous creature surfaced close to the boat while they were chasing queenfish, mackerel and GT, the fish only moderately hungry – as was a solitary billfish that also proved difficult to hook.
And while the experience is an incredible one with such enormous creatures close at hand, boaties might want to consider the rules and regulations surrounding encounters with all marine mammals.
Laws govern the interaction of boaties and all species of whale and they are intended to protect both the mammals and boaties.
No vessel of any kind is to approach within 100 metres of a whale.
A maximum of three vessels with a negligible wake are permitted within 300 metres, but no closer than 100 metres, of a whale and jet-skis are not allowed within 300 metres of the same animal.
A vessel is defined as anything capable of carrying a person through or on the water – including kayaks, surfboards and windsurfers – and “approach” might be defined as make way towards the animal while under any method of propulsion.
A drifting or anchored vessel might well be approached by a whale and this might, on rare occasion, present its own problems.
Pulling anchor or motoring away from an animal might only steer you towards another should a whale be travelling with companions, which is likely.
Generally, it’s considered best to stay put and let the whale do its thing.
A sharp knife might be kept within easy reach of the anchor well should a whale fall foul of the rope or a super quick getaway is needed.
Boaties can expect whales, and some possible close encounters, within inshore waters throughout coming weeks and well into September.
For more information check out the rules at gbrmpa.gov.au.