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Chasing rainbows. Starlo fires out a cast with his fly rod on some healthy southern bream water.
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“The bottom line is this: as anglers, we must, first and foremost, be genuine conservationists and wear that badge with pride.”
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It’s easy to become disillusioned and even paranoid about the myriad dark forces that seem to be lining up against recreational fishers these days. Everywhere we look, one group or another appears to be working to erode either our access to public waterways, or our ability to pursue our sport when we reach those waters. Sometimes it feels like we’re facing death by a thousand cuts for our passionate pastime, and we’re left wondering if our kids and their kids will enjoy the wonderful things we’ve experienced.
Just in the past week or two, there’s been increasingly heated discussion about the possibility of a total or partial fishing ban on Adelaide’s popular Port River. This is being mooted as a result of deaths and injuries inflicted on the waterway’s resident dolphin population by boat strikes and interactions with fishing activities.
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Who doesn’t love dolphins?]
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Not surprisingly, South Australian anglers — many already feeling battered and bruised after the state’s snapper fishing shut-downs — are totally aghast at the prospect of potentially losing such an important and accessible urban fishery.
It’s human nature to lash out at those trying to take away the things we love, and I’ve read some nasty, vitriolic comments about the “rabid greenies” and “dolphin huggers” from the rec’ fishing community in response to this unfortunate situation. Personally, I don’t see any mileage at all in that sort of reflexive counter punching. It does us no favours in the eyes of the non-fishing community. People love dolphins… I love dolphins! Lining yourself up as someone who hates dolphins or those who defend them is a no-win strategy. It simply reinforces the negative attitudes some folks already have towards us and our sport, and it may even hasten its shut-down.
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It’s all about the habitat. Caring anglers understand that our sport depends on healthy environments.
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It’s a fine line, of course. A year or so ago, mass opposition and protest by rec’ fishers successfully overturned the lock-up of significant areas of public water as part of the proposed Hawkesbury Bio-Region Marine Park plan. That proposal covered a swathe of the densely-populated eastern seaboard — from Newcastle to Wollongong — and included many popular fishing spots. Like a lot of others, I was horrified at this unscientific ambit claim by a preservationist minority who seemingly had the ear of a few in state government. We fought the plan, and we won, at least for now. It was a significant victory, and one that the “Stop The Lockout” movement can be justifiably proud of. Sadly, however, that movement seems to have been hijacked since then by forces hellbent on opposing every form of control or moderation on the impacts of recreational angling: from bag and size limits to licence fees and the creation of science-based sanctuaries. This is a real shame, and I know it has alienated a lot of thinking fishers, as well as many in the non-fishing public.
The bottom line is this: as anglers, we must, first and foremost, be genuine conservationists and wear that badge with pride. (Note carefully that I wrote “conservationists”, not “preservationists”. There’s a huge difference, in my opinion.) Most of us now understand and accept that our actions have consequences, and that we have a vital role to play in the protection, defence and rehabilitation of the habitats and aquatic life that sustain our passionate pursuit.
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We all need to be fishing for the future so that we can fish for life.
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I’ve been a big fan of David Attenborough’s amazing wildlife documentaries for most of my life and yes, he’s been making them for that long! Now in his 90s, Attenborough remains an energetic and passionate champion of our natural world and its wild inhabitants. His latest doco is called “A Life On Our Planet” and he fittingly describes this epic production as his “witness statement”: describing in detail the changes he’s seen across his nine decades on planet earth. It’s a sobering account and, as you can imagine, those observed changes are profound.
If you haven’t seen Attenborough’s “A Life On Our Planet”, I strongly urge you to track it down on pay TV or wherever and watch it, ideally with your family. I think the aspect that impressed me most about this benchmark documentary — and made me suggest that everyone should watch it — is the surprisingly positive final messages Attenborough offers. Far from being another doom-and-gloom, “we’ll all be rooned” assessment of the type that’s becoming too common these days, “A Life On Our Planet” offers some very encouraging and constructive messages. Attenborough clearly believes that it’s not too late for us or for the planet, and that we can turn things around by modifying our behaviour. Better yet, some of these essential modifications are already well underway. Interestingly, in many cases, these positive changes are being driven from the bottom up — by people like you and me — rather than coming down to us from governments and other agencies.
Anglers may well cringe at Attenborough’s message about the need for a global network of marine reserves potentially encompassing up to a third of our oceans and inland waterways. My hackles certainly went up at that! But you know what? He’s right, and he argues his case persuasively. However, we as fishers need to be a significant part of the decision-making process when it comes to the creation and maintenance of those reserves — not the victims of arbitrary decisions imposed upon us by people and agencies who don’t know, understand and love the world beneath the waves the way we do. We need to start being treated as an integral part of the solution, rather than a part of the problem. Sadly, that won’t happen until we wake up to ourselves and begin to behave, speak and act like true conservationists… and time for that is running out.
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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Why’d The Fish Cross The Road?
When it comes to the future of our native inland fish stocks, blocked fish passage is nothing to joke about.
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Australia is a big country and very few of her inhabitants are shy of traveling long distances. This is just as true of our fish species, as it is of us... and when our fish migrate, they can do so on an epic scale! According to the Fish Habitat Network, of the 83 species of freshwater fish in south eastern Australia, over half migrate at least once as part of their life cycle. Golden perch have a recorded migration of up to 2,300 km – that's like swimming from Sydney to New Zealand!
There are many ways our fish are extraordinary... Unlike other continents, Australia only has a few native fish species that live their entire lives in fresh water. Most of our freshwater fish are what more scholarly types call ‘secondary’ freshwater species, meaning they’re derived from marine stocks. My ‘sciency’ friends call these species diadromous — species that move between freshwater and marine environments.
There are two sub-groups of diadromous fish: catadromous — those that migrate out of the fresh to the salt to spawn (think barramundi, bass) and anadromous — those that move upstream into the fresh to spawn (think trout, salmon... not Australian).
Oh, and I should also mention that we do actually have some potamodromous species (those that that move completely within freshwater systems), migrating between upstream or downstream spawning and growing habitats, varying depending on the species (think Murray cod, golden perch, sooty grunter).
In Australia, the majority of our native fish are catadromous and potamodromous.
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Sooties are the short-wheel-base of Aussie natives, but even they can’t jump waterfalls.
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Regardless of what the scientific names are for their life cycle movements, the point is that they all migrate — sometimes great distances, as discussed — between spawning and growing grounds and that their passage is paramount to the survival of their species.
When we visualise fish migrating, we often conjure a picture of a grizzly bear, drooling at the top of a waterfall as salmon lunge powerfully against the flow (to be succinct, my head fills with that hilarious John West ad… do you remember that one where fisho fights bear?) with one invariably impaling itself on a deftly swiped claw. The rest make the journey look so easy!
Why then, is there growing noise and upset over barriers to fish passage? Can’t our fish “make like a salmon and get over it”?
In short, no.
Anadromous species (like those lithe salmon) have an advantage in this regard. As they spawn upstream, they are adults rather than juveniles when they push the river currents. As such, they’ve evolved to jump and be much stronger swimmers and make the journey at full strength. In our coastal fringe river systems, however, adult fish pass downstream to spawn and it’s the juveniles that then travel upstream to their nursery grounds to grow out. Naturally, these young, catadromous fish are weaker swimmers and less able to negotiate any additional barriers we throw in the way of their upstream push.
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Not all of us are blessed with an athletic physique! Like most Aussie natives, the yellowbelly was not built for speed.
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Many upstream and headwater spawning (potamodromous and anadromous) species in Australia — whilst having the advantage of upstream migration as adults rather than as juveniles — lack the swimming capabilities of those Northern Hemisphere athletes (can you imagine a golden perch jumping a rapid?).
Add to this that some of our freshwater species rely on intermittent flow (rather than perennial streams) for spawning and that suitable flow conditions in our Aussie rivers — particularly the Murray-Darling system — might only exist for a short window at any given time, and we start to form a picture of how even a small barrier can be devastating to successful passage.
How bad can it be?
Since Europeans arrived in this great southern land, Australians have managed to unintentionally barricade many of our rivers. The impact of these barriers on our fish populations include injury and death to fish attempting their migration; heightened stress due to severe physical demand; long delays in migration, causing fish to lose the energy they’ve stored to successful make the journey, grow and spawn; lack of or delayed access to spawning and growth habitats… the sad list is long.
Unnaturally dense populations of fish trapped downstream of an obstruction can lead to starvation and disease, not to mention expose fish (particularly juveniles that can’t reach their growing grounds) to predation. And of course, the flow-on effect (pardon the pun) is reduced species- and genetic diversity.
So, what are these barriers?
Dams are the obvious ones, but you’d be surprised how innocuous many fish barriers seem. For example, culverts under a road can artificially constrict the waterway, increasing flow rates to insurmountable strength and stopping our natives from pushing upstream. The same structure could create a long, dark passage that certain fish won’t enter. So, even when we consider that the way is not blocked, a barrier exists.
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Floods may be a natural feature of our river systems, but log and litter jams like this block vital fish passage, often when it’s needed most.
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The NSW Department of Primary Industries states that barriers can be:
- physical structures (e.g. dams, floodgates, causeways and weirs)
- hydraulic (e.g. areas of high velocity flow or turbulence)
- chemical (e.g. pollution plumes, acid sulphate soil discharge and low dissolved oxygen slugs)
- behavioural obstructions (e.g. dark tunnels or unnatural substrates created by pipes).
- Habitats where food and shelter are degraded may also impact upon the migration of native fish species.
You can find some truly interesting insights on the DPI Fisheries NSW website: https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/habitat/threats/barriers
Is restocking a solution?
Understanding the impact of barriers to the actual life cycle of our native fish, with blockades across spawning and/or growing grounds, it’s obvious that restocking is a stopgap measure, rather than a long-term cure. Putting more fish into a system that is blocked won’t improve the populations of fish exponentially, as one might hope. After all, if the naturally occurring fish can’t breed, neither can the stocked fish.
Is there anything we mere mortals can do?
Absolutely! When we’re out on the water, take note of locations where flow is unnaturally obstructed — even flood debris caught on pylons is a problem. If you discover a barrier to passage, getting in touch with OzFish Unlimited is a great place to start. Your state manager will be able to advise next steps and activate the network to take appropriate action. You can find your state manager here… who knows, there might even be action afoot!
Fixing the problem is obviously an enormous job, with thousands of barriers needing rectification around the country, but it’s one we should be talking about. We all want healthy waterways and improved habitats so that our fishing future is shored-up, so we really need to bring fish passage into the forefront of our thinking. The future of our native fish stocks depend on it.
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So… Why did The Fish Cross The Road? It didn’t. It couldn’t!
Why’d The Fish Want Cross The Road? Now THAT is an existential question.
Until next month, FISH ON!
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----- > SCROLL DOWN! There’s much more below ;)
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Tips like this can be found throughout the public area of Fishotopia.com
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ULTIMATE BREAM-ON-FLY “HOW-TO” VIDEO!
Members of our Inner Circle have enjoyed access to plenty of new content across the past month, including a detailed how-to video about targeting bream on fly. While it focussed specifically on fly fishing for bream around gnarly snags from a kayak, this video goes into detail on fly selection, gear choice and presentation techniques that are much more widely applicable than that scenario. Please note, however, that this video is available EXCLUSIVELY to our Inner Circle members and is not on offer anywhere else, even in a shortened, edited version. As we continue to grow the Inner Circle, this will increasingly become the case with new content, so you’ll need to join us inside (for as little as $5!) to see it.
Members can click the image above to watch this video now.
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AMAZING BONUS MEMBERSHIP OFFER!
A week or so ago we took the liberty of sending you an email announcing the launch of a very attractive Inner Circle membership offer in the lead-up to Christmas. By taking advantage of this offer, you can join us in the Inner Circle for a year for $55 (or sign someone else up as a gift) and either you or they will receive a pack of goodies valued at $52!
The gift pack contains a personally signed copy of Starlo’s “Blokes & Tackle” angler profiles book valued at $25 PLUS a beautiful hand-crafted timber lure from RTBroughton Lures valued at $27. So, you’re effectively getting a full year’s membership for just $3, which is absolutely crazy! (By the way, if you’re still wondering what membership of the Inner Circle actually offers, click this link to watch a short explainer video.)
To take advantage of this limited-time gift offer, just click the button below.
*Please note this offer only applies to NEW memberships and the colour of the lure may vary from the one shown.
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WIN A LURE!
We didn’t receive a letter or email across the last month that we considered truly worthy of picking up the give-away Ray Broughton original lure that’s up for grabs, so we’re offering TWO of these incredible lures for November instead! They will go to our best two letter or email writers this month. Just send us an email commenting on this newsletter — positively or negatively — and you’ll be in the running!
Simple as that…
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BEYOND SCREEN TIME
Modern, state-of-the-art depth sounders are fantastic tools, and a massive aid to any form of boat fishing, but it pays to remember that they are only one part of the bigger picture… You also need to know when to ignore them!
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This article explores why your should lift your head from time to time and have a look around… Inner Circle members can jump straight in HERE
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ILLUSTRATED STEP-BY-STEP ON HOW TO TIE THE BLOOD KNOT
The Blood Knot is a tried and true fishing knot used for joining two lines of similar diameter together. Long favoured as a quick option for fly fishers, it's a handy one to have in the arsenal for conventional tackle fishers too! Members can check out our easy to learn steps here .
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THE KING & I
The Archives section of our Inner Circle is a popular one with Members. It features a growing collection of Starlo’s old magazine articles that still have wonderful modern day relevance. Now we are adding “Blasts From The Past” to these archives as well: special moments, events, places and captures from Steve’s very full fishing life, with a short passage of text describing each one. A few of these gems will tip into the free area of Fishotopia, but most remain behind the membership pay wall in the Inner Circle. Here’s one to whet your appetite (although, there’s more to the story in the actual post):
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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:
• The rivers that are firing in the NSW highlands
• Family outings and envious brag pics
• Gear testing and opinions
• Sneaky new rigs for unicorn fishing on the flats
• The surging popularity of fly
• Brushing off the Lock-down cobwebs
• Goals for the year
... and much more.
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Have You Checked In On Your Aussie Anglers Almanac Today?
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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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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 our complete e-zines (they’re actually more like e-books) focussing on various native species different species: mulloway, flathead and golden perch or yellowbelly. More titles are also on their way... and, Wild About Bass has just been added to the line up!
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 four issues of Tight Lines magazine —
- Mulloway Mania
- Chasing Unicorns
- On Golden Ponds
- Wild About Bass
— 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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