Et’s out on small screen
ally during an evening when the ar predators hunt close to the s surface. rmain Barry fished from Black wall during the dark hours earlier eek and using shallow minnow ures, drew a handful of savage from hungry barramundi yet to hook a fish. ry said the strikes were heartng stuff and all as he lifted the om the water at the end of his e. ouldn’t hook a fish but then I got marter,” the French backpacker
lipped on a bait with a broken bib slid along the surface for all of rieve.” mediately Barry was enjoying trikes and was rapt landing a barramundi about 80cm long. ry had never experienced e fishing like it and vowed to use chnique again during his travels ke him across the Northern ory and along the Kimberly ne early next year.
the low tide
based anglers might revel in erfect tides this weekend with ime lows considered by many enced anglers as near ideal for g for a catch of bread and butter s including whiting, flathead eam. bby baits pumped close to ed spots such as the mouth of ss River, Bushland Beach and to Salmon Creek would be just it to turn the attention of hungry ng fish. hing the ebb tide and the initial with light lines, running rigs and ong shank hooks, anglers might the bite to be most consistent ghout the last couple of hours of l and the first hour of the run-in.
While yabby baits are prime, peeled prawn offerings and fine strips of squid might do the trick as well. Some of the old timers often prefer to use cooked peeled prawn as a more robust bait compared with the delicate and soft yabby.
Chopper lands poachers
Helicopters used by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority have been used to help nab poachers illegally fishing within green zones.
A handful of no-take green zone poaching offences were recently heard in Townsville, Cairns and Mackay magistrates courts.
A total of four convictions were recorded and fines of up to $2850 were handed out.
Three of the four offences and subsequent convictions were detected by aerial surveillance.
GBRMPA compliance assistant director Andrew Simpson said patrols operated day and night from the air and water to target illegal activity.
“It’s really important all commercial or recreational fishers know where they are in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and what’s allowed there,” Simpson said.
“Science is telling us that zoning is working to protect the Great Barrier Reef and contributes significantly towards replenishing fish stocks in areas open to fishing.”
The Townsville component of the GBRMPA sting was one detected by helicopter, the master of a commercial fishing vessel detected for several illegal activities last October.
These activities included having two dories unattached in a no-take green zone, resisting public officers and refusing to provide information.
The presiding magistrate handed down a $2850 fine, noting the two dory operators had previously been convicted and fined $1200 each for related offences.
Anglers, boaties and community members can report suspected illegal fishing to a free 24-hour hotline on 1800 380 048 or at gbrmpa.gov.au/ report-an-incident.
Reports can be made anonymously and each report is followed up.
Port project begins
The first boulders heralding the construction of more than 2km of new port authority rock wall and a subsequent 62ha of foreshore reclamation might be laid as soon as early October.
That’s the first step in Stage 1 of the Townsville Port Expansion Project, which includes the Townsville Channel Upgrade.
The reclamation area, extending 550m seawards from the Ross River marina wall (Townsville Marine Precinct) before kicking in a westerly direction for 1.1km and then finding its way back to the port, will contain the capital dredge from the channel widening set to start in 2020.
Boaties negotiating the journey from Ross River launch facilities to Cleveland Bay waters and beyond have expressed concerns that the extensive 6 knot speed limit within the river and to a point immediately seaward of the marina entrance would be extended to accommodate the new reclamation area.
This is not the case, according to channel upgrade public relations officer Martin Powley, who assured users of the river that existing speed restrictions are to remain steadfast.
Powley said speed and navigation restrictions were administered by Marine Safety Queensland and no changes to existing speed limits of their boundaries were expected, although he did concede that there would be exclusion zones surrounding construction areas of the new rock walls while they were under construction.
He said these would be in the interest of public safety and likely to be progressive once work on the rock walls begun.
Classic weekend looms
North Queensland anglers are excited at the prospect of big prizes when they contest this year’s Bowen Family Fishing Classic, the popular competition just a part of weekend festivities at Bowen’s annual Wet Weekend event.
Anglers will converge on northern Whitsunday waters on the September 21-22 in an attempt to catch any number of estuary and bluewater species.
Twenty-eight years strong, this year’s event also offers substantial lucky entry prizes of boat, motor and trailer packages in both senior and junior divisions.
The senior prize is valued at a whopping $37,140 and the junior package at almost $7000.
Heaviest weight and secret weight prizes are offed in no less than 15 senior and junior angler categories.
These include spanish mackerel, other mackerel species, coral trout, mangrove jack, flathead, cod, whiting, trevally, bream, sweetlip, barramundi, javelin fish, red emperor/nannygai, tusk fish and an “other species” category.
There is also a senior angler division for mud crab.
For further information and entry details contact the Classic Crew committee on 4786 3899 or check out bowenfamilyfishingclassic.com.