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The wintertime view from Starlo’s office isn’t too bad! His kayak has been seeing lots of work lately.
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“Recreational fishing in Australia has been totally transformed… The vast majority of thinking anglers nowadays take pride in being seen as guardians and stewards of both the fish themselves and their aquatic environments.”
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Recreational fishing in Australia has certainly changed over the past three or four decades. As recently as the 1970s and ’80s, the prowess of Aussie fishermen (and most of them were men in those days) was often measured in terms of their ability to amass the heaviest bag of dead fish in the shortest possible time. Fishing competitions of that era reflected this attitude, with club weigh-ins dominated by piles of fish carcasses, some of which were invariably dumped at the local garbage tip or back into the sea after the trophies had been handed out and the victory photos snapped.
There was a widespread belief at the time — one shared by recreational anglers, commercial fishers and the general public — that our seas and rivers represented an almost inexhaustible larder of fresh seafood ready for harvest. However, by the mid-1980s, this misguided philosophy was being increasingly called into question, especially as fish stocks in many waters began to show obvious signs of decline.
Over the subsequent decades, recreational fishing in Australia has been totally transformed, as it has throughout much of the world. The vast majority of thinking anglers nowadays take pride in being seen as guardians and stewards of both the fish themselves and the aquatic environments that sustain those fish. In short, rec’ fishers have evolved from being a part of the problem into a vital component of the solution.
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Jo releases a lovely bream taken on fly from her Native Watercraft kayak.
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The concept of “catch-and-release” in recreational fishing dates back to at least the 1950s, when it began to be popularised by angling influencers such as American fly fishing author and film maker, Lee Wulff. However, in those days, the idea of voluntarily releasing an edible, legal-sized fish was still a novelty for most weekend hopefuls.
Over time, this attitude began to shift, partly due to the uptake of catchy slogans such as “let ’em go, let ’em grow”, “limit your kill, don’t kill your limit” and “too good to catch just once”. At the same time, there was a growing emphasis in angling magazines, videos and fishing-related television programs on releasing at least some fish that might have otherwise been legally kept.
The 1970s and ’80s also saw the growth of a worldwide environmental movement and, with it, an increasing awareness of the fragility of our planet, along with an acceptance of the urgent need to modify human behaviour in order to protect it: for the benefit of our own and future generations.
Hand-in-hand with this understanding of the finite nature of our natural resources and an accompanying grass-roots attitudinal change amongst anglers has come increasing regulation by state and territory fisheries managers.
Bag, size and gear limits have now been introduced for many species across most jurisdictions. These regulations stipulate how many fish of each species can be kept, what size they need to be, and what forms of equipment or fishing methods can be used to catch them. There are also more and more closed seasons and “no-take” periods to protect specific fish populations during their spawning migrations and at other vulnerable times.
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Bag limits apply to most species. Most are quite generous.
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Bringing home a feed is an important motivation for many of us who fish, but it should never be taken for granted.
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Today, many keen Australian anglers voluntarily take things much further than this, choosing to set their own personal limits that are considerably more restrictive than those mandated by law. Some even opt to carefully release every fish they catch, although the vast majority of fishers (myself included) still value the opportunity to harvest an occasional meal of fresh seafood for ourselves and our families or friends. For us, this remains an important aspect of the sport. However, sustainably harvesting selected fish for the table is best viewed by anglers and the broader community as a privilege rather than a right: one that needs to be earned and defended.
Recreational anglers across Australia increasingly recognise that their “social licence” or public support to continue practicing the pastime they’re so passionate about is very much dependent on their ability to demonstrate responsible stewardship of the fish stocks and aquatic environments our pastime is built upon. Even more importantly, most of us have a deep desire and an obvious vested interest in protecting those environments.
Sustainability is now a key concept in all forms of fisheries management, and a motivating force in the day-to-day activities of thinking fishers everywhere. The emphasis today is on fishing for the future, so that we can all continue to fish… for life. One great way of doing that is to join an organisation like OzFish Unlimited. Another is to simply reduce your impact on the natural world, wherever possible.
Tight Lines.
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----- > SCROLL DOWN! There’s much more below.
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Catch My Drift?
Thoughts, reflections, insights and epiphanies that occurred to Jo this month...
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Down and Dirty!
This month, Jo’s sharing why and when it’s important to keep your mind in the gutter...
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It won’t surprise you to hear me declare that I have a bias towards lure and fly fishing: Artificial bait — it smells better, and it doesn’t fight back (I cannot cope with live bait… I’ll happily own up to “being a girl” in that respect).
For the most part, I just don’t find bait fishing all that challenging — unlike the seasickness that goes hand-in-hand, if I’m offshore!
But there is one style that breaks that generalization...
Beach fishing is HARD!
Hailing from Darwin, as I do, shore-based fishing was not part of my fishing repertoire, until I moved to NSW in 2012. We Top Enders should be forgiven for finding beach fishing unintuitive. It takes a lot of years to come to terms with foreign concepts such as surf and rips, let alone to shed the jumpiness instilled by crocodiles and box jellyfish!
I’ve always been keen to do well at beach fishing. Let’s face it, it’s a very cost-effective option, it’s fun and it provides a good reason to get out in the salty, fresh air and walk the sand. Yet, it’s taken me eight years to get to the point where I believe I can say, “I get it”!
“What’s so hard about surf fishing?” I hear you ask…
Feeling bites from fish, for one thing! And that’s got to be at the top of the list for fishing success, right? I’ve spent eight years totally uncertain of what’s a bite and what’s wave action! The problem is that it’s so darn difficult to maintain contact with the bait!
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Starlo’s a dab hand, but even having a maestro beside you can’t beat working it out for yourself.
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As a beach fisher, you’re constantly battling the elements. If you’re lucky enough to have no wind, you may still be battling pounding surf that tugs on your line (pretending to be a fish) and current that drags at your line and rolls your sinker across ridges in the sand (… again, pretending to be a fish)!
It’s difficult to imagine the contour of the sea floor, which makes determining how much line you need out near impossible. The solution is to give plenty, allowing the sinker to settle at whatever depth it finds. Ripper! Then we need to wind up the excess, which can feel a little like chasing a loose thread on a hemline!
It's taken eight years of beguiling beach fishing for me to gather enough insights to be able to feel competent. EIGHT YEARS!
What’s changed?
Learning to identify gutters has taken longer than I expected, but getting to understand wave action has been an enormous part of the shift, as it has opened up my fishing options. I know where to fish and how the water is moving through the gutters, which helps identify where to move to when things go off the boil.
Also, discovering my actual bait weight (that is, learning how to find connection and stay connected to my sinker) — rather than the tug of the current on my line — has been an epiphany! It may seem funny, but it’s very easy to feel like you’ve wound up all your slack line when there is a lot of sideways pressure from the tide. I went years believing I could feel my sinker, when I now know I was feeling nothing but waves.
Once I actually found the true weight of my bait, it then just came down to “going with the flow”… or as I like to call it, keeping my mind in the gutter.
Having all of these little revelations in my arsenal, I’m now finding beach fishing as “mindful” as the other forms I enjoy. “Keeping my mind in the gutter” requires me to remain totally focused on my sinker — making sure I am in contact with it at all times. When you are practicing this, you should notice that the sinker does not remain in one place. This is GOOD! What tasty morsel would hold still against tidal forces? NONE! To have it so would be unconvincing to a wily predator!
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So… there’s a TIP!
Your sinker should be heavy enough to hold the bottom, but not anchor itself there.
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Back to the gutter…
When fishing by casting and retrieving, we wind in slack line as it forms. This discipline was one of the many that was thwarting my beach fishing success! As my sinker moved and created slack, I’d retrieve it. What I’ve now discovered is that you should simply move with it… like a waltz.
If your sinker and bait gets rolled in with a wave, gently move a few paces back up the beach and wait until you feel the tidal surge start to draw your bait deeper again… then walk forward in step with it.
Similarly, as you notice your line draw parallel to the shore, stay with it. Try to keep your rod perpendicular to the sinker position; otherwise the tide will roll your sinker into shallow water (think back to trig).
When I look back at my footsteps in the sand, they often form a scalloped path along the beach: back, forward and sideways.
Maintaining this level of touch eliminates the confusion between sand ripples, wave tugs and genuine bites. I assure you, you WILL know the difference!
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Success! Jo admires a chunky number... about to become a chunky spread!
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Australian salmon are now firmly on the menu in our household. One of my favourite recipes is a smoked Aussie salmon spread, which also makes a decadent breakfast condiment under a poached egg, and an unbelievable twist on “surf and turf” when topping a steak!
Inner Circle members can find my secret recipe here. If you haven’t joined yet, but would like to see this and many more of my unique recipes, membership is only $5.50 per month or $55 a year! I assure you, they’re “fish deelish!
Until next month,
Fish On!
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Have You Checked In On Your Aussie Anglers Almanac Today?
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Diary Dates & Events
[subject to change during the pandemic]
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 SNAPPER EDUCATION NIGHT
Live-Stream, 14 August, 2020
>> SCROLL DOWN TO FIND OUT MORE
 STATE OF FISHING ORIGIN
Lake Windamere, 9 – 11 October, 2020
>> SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE INFORMATION
 GONE FISHING DAY
Sunday, 18 October 2020. Find out more here.
 FISHOTOPIANS ABROARD hosted trip to Rote Island, Indonesia
— POSTPONED DUE TO CoVid-19. New dates are 13 – 19 March, 2021
 WORLD RECREATIONAL FISHING CONFERENCE
“Recreational Fishing In A Changing World”
Rotterdam, Netherlands, 4—8 July, 2021
CLICK HERE for further information
 WORLD FISHERIES CONGRESS
— New dates announced for September 2021
The World Fisheries Congress (WFC) will be held from the 20 – 24 of September 2021 in Adelaide, Australia.
Sharing our oceans and rivers – a vision for the world’s fisheries will be an event not to be missed, WFC will bring together research, industry and management to discuss the sustainable development of the world’s oceans, lakes, estuaries and rivers. CLICK HERE to learn more.
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LIVE STREAM SNAPPER EDUCATION NIGHT
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Starlo will be hosting a great on-line, live-streaming event from McCallum’s Tackle World in Nowra on the evening of Friday, 14th August. Steve will be talking about snapper and how to catch them with a panel of local experts, including the one-and-only Chris Cleaver. There’ll also be some fantastic insights into the biology, life history and stock dynamics of snapper from NSW DPI Fisheries, as well as prize giveaways. It’s sure to be a fantastic event! Find out more closer to the date on the Starlo’s Fishotopia page on Facebook, or via the NSW DPI Fisheries or McCallums Tackleworld Nowra pages.
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Starlo makes a potential forward pass with a Windamere yella.
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Tips like this can be found throughout the public area of Fishotopia.com
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NSW DPI Habitat Action Grants are available again this year and applications are now open, giving fishers a chance to put some of the licence fees back into improving habitats that support fish.
Need a nudge? Consider these project ideas...
– Removal or modification of barriers to fish passage
– Rehabilitation of riverbank land
– Re-snagging waterways with timber structures
– Removal of exotic vegetation from riverbanks
– Bank stabilisation works
– Reinstatement of natural flow regimes
Find out more: www.dpi.nsw.gov.au
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Were you able to fish during May-June 2020?
… and has CoVid-19 changed your fishing activities in any way?
The latest mini-survey in the National Recreational Fishing Survey project is open to responses and is measuring the impact of the pandemic on Australia’s fishing economy and how the lock-down has affected your well-being. This is vital work, ensuring that these important variables are collected and collated in the National Recreational Fishing Survey.
Help the Survey team stay ahead of the unique circumstances by participating in this short survey.
It will only take you about 20 minutes.
Taking this survey gives you even more chances to WIN
in their fantastic fishing prize draws, too! Click HERE to find out more about the new season draws.
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SUSSING OUT AN UNFAMILIAR ESTUARY
Starlo just had a great weekend up on the Shoalhaven River (southern NSW) checking out a few of his old stomping grounds, many of which he hadn’t fished for over 15 years. He worked hard, but managed to find and catch some lovely fish, culminating with a 104.5cm mulloway that weighed 10.5 kilos… quite a buzz on relatively light tackle!
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In his blog, he showcases the exact processes used to find and catch fish at a notoriously tough time of year in a hard-fished (and very heavily-netted) estuary system. Members may find the process interesting and perhaps be able to apply it on their own local waters. MEMBERS CLICK HERE
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The Aussie Anglers Almanac is now hosted on Starlo’s Inner Circle, as well as in the free Fishotopia site, streamlining access even further!
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PLAN BETTER
FISHING TRIPS
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The Aussie Anglers Almanac is so much more than daily prompts and inspirational imagery... it’s a dead-set handy planning tool for adventurous anglers! Watch this video to discover how to get the most out of this FREE tool, exclusive to Fishotopia.
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You may have noticed that Mako Oil have been advertising with us here in the newsletter and on Fishotopia.com since day one. We really appreciate their wonderful support… but we appreciate the amazing product they produce even more!
Steve was first introduced to Mako Oil back in his days as a TV presenter for “The Offroad Adventure Show” and he quickly became a “believer”. Mako Oil now plays a vital role in all of our tackle and gear maintenance regimes, as well as many other jobs around home, and we absolutely swear by the stuff. We particularly like the fact that it seems to have no adverse impacts whatsoever on fishing lines, and that its fish-based formula means it doesn’t turn fish off biting, even if sprayed directly onto hooks, sinkers and lures… in fact, it might even attract them!
You can watch Starlo’s video explainer about Mako Oil and its many uses by clicking the play button above, or cut to the chase and view a shorter, how-to clip describing our regular after-trip tackle maintenance routine here.
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You likely already know that we’re huge fans of Mako Oil here at Fishotopia, and that we use this brilliant Aussie-owned product for all our gear maintenance. However, we recently received this wonderful and totally unsolicited testimonial from a member of the public, posted as a comment on Starlo’s YouTube clip (above). It’s well worth a read:
"Well, I bought some [Mako Oil] and have been conducting a corrosion test for nearly two months. Three steel ingots were prepared, all from the same bar stock. All three were soaked overnight in acetone to remove any grease or oil, then a thin film of Mako Oil was applied to one ingot and a lanolin-based spray to another, using an identical method (some paper towel was moistened with the products then wiped onto the surface). The third ingot was left un-treated. All three were then placed outside on the handrail of my decking, which is uncovered, so the test pieces are exposed to rain, condensation and direct sunlight. After just on two months, the un-treated ingot is completely rusty and the lanolin coated piece has rust on most of its surface — at a guess, I would say around 60% of its total surface area. The piece treated with Mako Oil has almost nothing — a few tiny spots [of surface corrosion] about a millimetre in diameter and almost invisible. I’ve been using the lanolin-based product to stop corrosion from condensation on my workshop machinery. The old saying 'have you ever seen a rusty sheep?' sort of holds true, but then again, have you ever seen a rusty fish? Next I want to try spraying some Mako Oil on my baits and lures to see if I get a positive or negative result in bite ratio compared to untreated bail or lures — could this stuff be a berley trail in a spray can? Time will tell!”
~ Ian Bertenshaw
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LAND-BASED FISHING IN DARWIN: Pt 3
We conclude our three-part look at the varied land-based fishing options in and around our northernmost capital with a detailed examination of six of the best shore-bound locations close to town.
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We also run through half a dozen of the top target species on offer. If a trip to our tropical north is on your domestic travel bucket list, you’ll be wanting to study up on this series!
Members can CLICK HERE to access the third of three exposés into the how’s and where’s of fishing from the shore in the Top End.
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Blades dressed
for SUCCESS!
Subtlety is often a key to fishing success and sometimes subtle tweaks can turn the tide on a shut-down bite. Here’s a nifty trick for adding a little bit more spice for fish who may have “seen it all before”, without losing your finesse.
Members can CLICK HERE for illustrated step-by-step instructions.
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The Clubhouse Wall is our Inner Circle Members’ private forum. This section of our monthly newsletter highlights some of the topics discussed in our virtual “Clubhouse” over the past month. The above collection of pics has been collated from some of our favourite posts of late.
Topics of interest have included:
• how to choose a boat to suit your needs
• getting creative with flies
• getting creative with cooking fish
• converting old spin rods to fly
• sounder apps that log fish
• fly line choices
• home-made lures
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Over the past month or two, Starlo’s been working away at digitising a bunch of his old colour slides in order to save them for posterity and share them with a younger audience. He’s made a few posts on social media showcasing these great memories and they’ve proven to be immensely popular. We’re now working on a way of archiving them within the Inner Circle and will tell you more about that soon, but meanwhile here’s one to whet your appetite:
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LOONS & LAKERS
This is a genuine 20-pound lake trout from Stramond Lake in Northern Quebec, Canada. I was there in high summer, 1989, chasing pike and walleye (with great success). But I kept looking at all the photos of big lake trout on the walls of the lodge we were staying at.
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“Ah, you’re a couple of months too late for those,” the lodge owner explained. “We get plenty straight after ice-out [when the winter ice that covers the lake finally thaws] but they go down real deep after that and we never see ’em in the summer.”
That got the Aussie boy thinking…
When everyone else was taking a nap after lunch (the days were long and hot, so a break in the middle was welcome), I borrowed one of the lodge’s boats and headed out on my own, into the centre of the lake.
Deep water, he’d said. Trouble was, the little alloy dinghies didn’t have sounders. So, I measured how much line my baitcaster reel retrieved per handle turn, tied on a heavy spoon and got to work with my rudimentary “analogue sounder”! I’d spool the lure to the bottom then count the handle turns as I retrieved it, thus calculating the depth. (See, my high school maths teacher was right after all — there are practical applications for arithmetic!)
I found plenty of 60 to 90 foot depths (20 to 30 metres) , but figured I needed more. Finally, after a couple of moves, I found 115 feet (35 metres) of water. That’s more like it!
Jig, jig... CRUNCH! I’m on! The fight was a heavy, dour affair, punctuated by the fish releasing a huge plume of bubbles a little over halfway up that hit the surface around me like a SCUBA diver’s exhaled air. When it finally rolled to the top, I could only fit half of it in the little landing net.
I reckon my hoots of delight when that fish finally hit the floor of the boat woke everyone up back at the lodge and they all came down to the dock to snap photos of something they’d never seen before: a summertime laker!
Great memories. I often wonder if it spawned a summertime jig fishery there for these great fish? The other thing I will never, ever forget from that trip is the hauntingly beautiful cry of the loon — a secretive, northern waterbird. For me, that magical sound still epitomises the rugged glory of that sub-Arctic northern wilderness. Great country. Great people. Great fish.
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CATCH UP WITH THE VIRTUAL BOAT SHOW!
Hey, if you missed the Melbourne Virtual Boat & Fishing Show on the weekend of 24 – 26 July, don't fret, because all the wonderful presentations were recorded and will remain available to be viewed for at least the next couple of weeks!
The event itself was amazingly successful, with 7,400 people registering to attend! There were over 100,000 booth visits and 8,000 "live" views of the great presentations. This number will no doubt grow in coming weeks as people
check out the recorded talks and slide shows.
They're well worth a look. You can find them all here.
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Starlo’s been looking for the ideal pair of hiking/wading boots for "wet wading" in back country streams for years... at last, he thinks he may have found them!
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Fishotopia’s happy band of Inner Circle members enjoy unlimited access to a constantly growing library of articles, e-books, videos, reviews and area guides. But now non-members can also access a few hand-picked gems from this treasure trove of fishing knowledge.
We’re now offering for sale at a very reasonable price three complete e-zines (they’re actually more like e-books) focussing on three different species: mulloway, flathead and golden perch or yellowbelly. More titles are also on their way... in fact, Wild About Bass is being written as you read this!
Each of these e-books is highly detailed and information packed, and several contain embedded video clips to further clarify the how-to training process. We think they represent incredibly good value for money, and we urge you to check them out. Inner Circle members can go straight to the shelves of the Fisho’s Library here, while everyone else can shop for these exclusive on-line publications at the link below.
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Want to read one of the Tight Lines titles, but don’t want to become a member of Starlo’s Inner Circle?
Good news! All three issues of Tight Lines Magazine — Mulloway Mania, Chasing Unicorns and On Golden Ponds — are now available for sale.
Click the button below...
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WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADVERTISE IN THIS NEWSLETTER?
Our readers are enthusiastic, thinking anglers from all over the country.
If you have a product or service that benefits them, let’s tell them about it! Advertising spaces are limited.
CLICK FOR MEDIA KIT & MORE INFORMATION |
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Until we see you in Fishotopia...
Tight Lines!
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