Sharks steal catches
he d dollar basis. Fishing starts at 12.10am tomorrow and finishes at 1pm on Sunday, with weigh-in between noon and 4pm on Sunday at Freemasons Park, Pallarenda.
It is $15 entry for senior competitors while junior entry is $10. Tickets are available at Fishing Warehouse, Tackle World, Higgo’s Bait and Tackle, and Akwa Pro Tackle.
Snapped up
A fingermark or golden snapper like that caught last weekend by Mick Van Rynswoud would stand a good chance of winning a prize in the very first Townsville Family Fishing Challenge.
The fish doesn’t have to be the biggest-of-species to pick up a prize, although the 57cm model caught by Van Rynswoud in the Burdekin’s Groper Creek is one of the bettersized fingermark to be found within an estuary.
Fishing with wife and regular fishing mate Andrea, Van Rynswoud pinned a live mud herring to his hook and fooled the first-class table fish among a mixed bag of bream and grunter.
“We were christening our new boat and fished in the creek throughout the day and off the bank of Groper Creek during the evenings,” Mrs Van Rynswoud said.
“We were unlucky and missed a big barramundi when we fished from the bank – it broke us off – but it’s a great incentive for a return trip … and it’s a great place to visit with the Groper Creek caravan park under new management.”
Watch the numbers
There’s probably never been a better time for recreational anglers across the nation to consider their catch and the numbers of fish that they might slip into their icebox.
The slogan “limit your catch – don’t catch your limit” rings loud and clear in many experienced anglers’ ears following a recent three-year ban imposed on the taking of snapper in most South Australian waters.
The SA State Government announced a statewide snapper ban running from November 1 this year until 2023, excluding southeastern waters during winter, after scientific data revealed the species’ population had been decimated by overfishing.
Such a ban could have implications on future recreational and commercial fisheries right across the country.
Less drastic action has recently been undertaken by Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries with changes in size and take limits on several key species including spanish mackerel, mudcrab, barramundi, snapper and pearl perch.
While far from a common catch in Townsville waters, anglers should note that snapper are protected by a minimum legal size of 35cm and inpossession limit of four fish per person with no more than one snapper over 70cm long.
Additionally, new regulation changes now include a boat limit of eight snapper (two or more anglers on board) with no more than two fish of 70cm or more. A new annual closed season for snapper has also been implemented and extends from July 15 to August 15 annually.
Magic day on reef
The recent spell of angler-friendly weather has enticed plenty of anglers to blow the cobwebs out of their offshore reef boats.
Coral trout, red throat emperor and wrasse were all common shallowwater catches at popular reefs, although sharks continued to present problems with anglers claiming many losses of hooked fish.
Stuart Williams of Bluewater told a familiar story when he and family tried their luck at John Brewer Reef last weekend.
He described the day as magic as far as the weather was concerned but said sharks proved consistently hungry in shallow waters.
“There were lots of sharks but we kept moving around until we found fish and in 40m, we found them – and no sharks,” Williams said. “It was magic out there most of the day and we rode the sea breeze home.”
Williams was happy to share pictures of his fishing-mad son Xavier and some fat coral trout and red throat emperor taken during the trip.