Important reminder for all
Have fun on the water, but it’s vital to follow the rules
Illegal fishing within local Marine Park zones have raised the ire of some Magnetic Island residents.
Marine National Park (Green) Zones are strictly notake areas with fishing, netting and bait collection prohibited, seven such zones protecting marine fauna and flora within select island bays.
However, fishers using cast nets within Geoffrey Bay last weekend showed little regard for the zones, or regulations pertaining to allowable activities within such areas, when confronted by island residents.
“Who cares?” was the apparent response when warned about cast netting within Geoffrey Bay, the alleged offenders also reluctant to return their catch to the water.
Furthering islanders’ concerns of illegal fishing, a dead juvenile black tip reef shark washed ashore in Geoffrey Bay later that same day.
Early this week another black tip reef pup washed ashore in the same Marine National Park Zone, this time with hook and trace protruding from its mouth.
“Although we cannot confirm illegal fishing was taking place at Geoffrey Bay in regards to the black tip, we do know that the northern end of Geoffrey is a nursery ground for these pups, which would make it quite likely that it was caught in the bay,” island resident Kaspa Blewett said.
Ms Blewett, administrator of Facebook page Magnetic Island’s Underwater World, posted a Marine Parks Zoning map of Magnetic Island depicting the Green/no-take zones including Geoffrey Bay, Alma Bay, Florence Bay, Gowrie Bay, Radical Bay, Balding Bay and Five Beach Bay.
The passionate free-diver and underwater photographer pleaded to both tourists and anglers alike, “If you are visiting our island home, please familiarise yourself on where you can and cannot fish and if you see people fishing in places where they shouldn’t, calmly remind them – or if not safe to do so, make a call to the Fishwatch hotline on 1800 017 116.”
“Alternatively, you can report them via the Eye on the Reef App,” Ms Blewett said.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park zoning maps are available online via the GBRMPA website or at most fishing tackle and boating outlets.
CASTING MAESTRO
Master caster David ‘Hodgie’ Hodge is set to demonstrate his unrivalled lure casting skills at the Townsville Expo, Reid Park, next weekend.
Formerly known as the ‘Barefoot Fisherman’, and these days spending plenty of time behind the counter of local tackle retailer Fishing Warehouse, Hodgie maintains his public profile with casting and fishing seminars at a multitude of fishing tournaments and expos throughout the state, last weekend’s Boyne Tannum Hookup his most recent engagement.
Hodgie, a jack and barra specialist, will fire up anglers at the Townsville Expo with a roll of his wrist and flex of the rod tip to deliver the perfect and most accurate of casts on the hour, daily, between 9am and 3pm.
“He’s ready to share his secrets and ensure more anglers can achieve that effortless long cast. Simply put, no one is quite as enthusiastic and passionate as The Barefoot Fisherman!” the Expo blurb reads.
The Townsville Expo, Reid Park, May Friday-sunday 12 – 14.
WELL-EARNED PRIZE
A black spot tusk fish or bluey was a highlight catch for Kirwan man Mick Van Rynswoud during a recent Whitsundays fishing charter.
Van Rynswoud and wife Andrea sand the praises of Out and About Whitsundays Fishing and Tours, the skipper negotiating sloppy seas and near 30 knot (54kph) breezes to put the punter onto fish.
Andrea recalled the late April trip, “It was rough; however, the sun was shining and eventually the fish were biting. We caught a mixed bag and Mick caught the biggest one, a tusk fish. I think it was caught on a strip bait.”
Andrea marvelled at the electric colours of the tusk fish, a renowned adversary when hooked and unrivalled on the plate.
Locally, tusk fish are caught on and near rubble patches surrounding Magnetic Island and those within Halifax Bay while the shoreline between Cape Cleveland and Paradise Bay also offers anglers a good chance at tangling with a prize catch.
NO GUARANTEES
A marine weather forecast is anything but a promise… but perhaps an educated guess stoking the fisherman’s anticipation of a bite, a fight and a beautiful fish tied to the end of his line.
Such was the case last weekend when marine conditions were expected to ease and remain slight well into the new week.
Instead, the window of light winds and friendly seas was a brief one with seas increasing to a modest status before the May Day long weekend had ended.
Talented angler Rick Ryznar and young son Kobi took advantage of the intermission between stiff winds and deployed a squid light when fishing beyond Cape Cleveland on Saturday evening.
The wait wasn’t a long one before the cephalopods gathered around the light source and were easily scooped up in a fine mesh net.
There are few fish that can resist a live squid dinner, fingermark or golden snapper one of them and a revered catch in North Queensland waters.
Ryznar Senior said his son had been unlucky during previous trips where fingermark that his son had hooked, were in turn predated upon by large sharks, the young angler, late last year, pulling to the boat no more than the head and shoulders of large fish.
With a squid carefully pinned to a hook, Kobi let the bait sink to the bottom where it was soon intercepted by an obviously large fish.
“Kobi said to me a couple of times that he thought a shark had taken his bait,” a chuffed dad said.
“But nope, that’s just how hard fingermark pull. I’m not sure who was happiest when the fish hit the deck – me or Kobi,” Ryznar said.
At a whopping 75cm, the fingermark proved an incredible first-of-species for the young angler and a benchmark that might be difficult to better.
“I’m super-proud of this kid’s fishing abilities… these things pull like freight trains,” Ryznar said while teasing Bully readers with a photograph of Kobi’s catch.
FISHABLE TIDES
The weekend forecast for offshore and reef anglers is significantly less inspiring than that of last weekend, however estuary and nearshore anglers might appreciate the morning high tides and mid-afternoon lows surrounding tomorrow’s peaking full moon.
The difference between high and low is regarded at little more than modest and very fishable with about 2.1 metres of run tomorrow easing to just a bit over 2 meters of flow on Sunday.
A run of early season silver or yellowfin bream have infiltrated southern creek and river systems, fish to nearly 40cm pulled from the Barrattas and Morrissey’s creeks last weekend.
The Haughton River also gave up catches of the breadand-butter species, along with quality grunter or barred javelin fish, while nearby Salmon Creek was good for a catch of fat golden-lined whiting.
The Bohle River entertains plenty of boating traffic, particularly on weekends, yet continues to give up reasonable catches of bream, grunter, jacks and barra – tides suiting most species this weekend.
Mudcrabs remain a reasonably certain catch in most local estuary systems, although numbers are expected to dwindle as cooler near-winter conditions blanket northern reaches in coming weeks.
The Haughton River is lousy with mudcrabs while an occasional blue swimmer or sand crab is adding variety to catches.
Anglers should be aware that mudcrabs are protected by a 15cm minimum legal size and individual bag limit of seven while blue swimmer crabs must measure at least 11.5cm across the carapace and are additionally protected by a 20-crab bag or possession limit.
The females of both species remain protected.