Delight angler army
precedes the annual Ladies Game Fishing Day, the 2022 event set for Saturday, June 18.
The TGFC invites all women to participate in the event while raising funds and supporting The Cure Starts Now.
Competitors need not be a TGFC member, more information available www.tgfc.org
WAITING GAME ON MACKEREL
North Queensland anglers, along with along with their southern east coast brethren, await with bated breath for likely regulatory changes regarding the management of Spanish narrow barred mackerel.
The species – stocks said by authorities to be in dire straits following a highly subjective and disputed fishery assessment – is set to be protected by drastically reduced recreational bag and boat limits, commercial quota cuts and possibly, an annual closed season. Submissions to a public discussion paper, which many fishers labelled as farcical and largely biased with conclusions and resulting regulations preordained, closed early this month.
Several fishing commentators expect possession limits for recreational anglers to be slashed to just a single fish; boat limits to drop from six fish with two or more persons on board to two fish with two or more persons on board while an eight-week annual fishery closure could apply to all fishery stakeholders.
Should these, or alternative regulatory changes, come to fruition, it is expected that they will be implemented on July 1 this year.
SIGHTS SET ON TOURNAMENT TITLE
Fishing tackle rep and Samaki brand ambassador Mark Parkes will contest the 28th Hinchinbrook Tag and Release Tournament when competitors take to Hinchinbrook Channel waters today and tomorrow.
Barramundi remain a priority species, Parkes and mate Ron Ramsbotham partnering to take on 53 other two-angler teams in their quest to earn the Champion Team title. “I’ve fished every tournament since the beginning and the more of them I fish, the more difficult it is to miss one,” Parkes chuckled.
Parkes said recent rains were problematic with most of the freshwater influence restricted to the southern reaches of the channel as the Herbert River continues to drain flood run-off. “We’ve got a pretty good game plan and like most teams, we’ll head to the northern end of the channel where it cleans up relatively quickly,” he said.