White musselcracker anglers flouting the law
THE white musselcracker have been caught in numbers at Cape Recife this past period and again the question of dubious bag numbers is raised.
As I have pointed out before, flagrant disregard for the law is being arrogantly displayed on social media platforms.
Even if the catch was legal, by a group of anglers (two per person per day), why put it in a questionable context?
These “pranks” create the wrong impression and gives reason for more restrictions.
Unfortunately I don’t have details to publish, except the photograph of this catch, which really should be prosecuted if it is truly caught by a single person, but it seems it can’t be done this way, so the open arrogance prevails. This has woken a “sleeping dog”, I have been told from my investigation into the incident.
This is really an unwise action from someone who has lots to lose at the end of the day.
Being caught in a nature reserve and having to leave through a gate and go undetected, also raises a question.
Such behaviour can lead to yet another closed area being declared.
This has happened even with the tight surveillance of a security company present there protecting the perlemoen seeded stock in the area. I am told these fish were indeed caught using perlemoen as bait.
The pignose grunters are also being caught on the sandy shores of the wild side of the bay at the moment and, generally, angling is good. The estuaries should also produce good fish now with the dark moon phase.
The fresh water entering our rivers will also simulate a feeding frenzy with the spotted grunter in a few days’ time.
Tides are well-timed at the moment, so the odds are that some good angling can happen.
The squid season reopens on the 22nd of the month and fresh chokka can be available soon.
As the water warms, so the harder baits become more useful and can be used to wrap the softer baits from the small feeders that strip your hook before the bait can entice the targeted species.
This weekend we see sunny skies after the welcome rains we have appreciated this week.
No serious wind is expected, but the wind changes direction regularly over this period, especially today.
Low tide is at 9.19am, with a 2m high water rise at high tide suggesting caution on rip currents tomorrow with the new moon phase being experience.
Tomorrow’s wind is expected to prevail south-westerly, turning east on Sunday.
The warmer water in the Bay at present presents good opportunities for the week ahead, with the warm water current not far off- shore for the deep-sea folks.
Enjoy the time out!