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Sunrise on an ocean rock ledge can be a very special moment, but it pays to stay present and aware!
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Complacency and ignorance are the two biggest killers of rock fishers.
The former gets the old hands,
the latter the new chums.
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I’ve often heard it claimed that rock fishing is one of the most dangerous of all sports, although it’s very hard to find accurate, reliable statistics on this. In terms of deaths or serious injuries per thousand participants, I suspect rock fishing might rate well down the list when compared to base jumping, mountaineering, motor racing and so on. But there’s certainly no denying that rock-hoppers face genuine risks. Sadly, a string of recent tragedies on our ocean rock ledges are once again focusing attention on the safety issues involved, and rightly so.
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A boy, a sidecast reel and a big “pig” or black drummer. Lifetime memories can be carved on the stones.
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I’ve fished the rocks for over half a century, and I’ve had my share of scares. I’ve been unceremoniously dumped on my ample butt too many times to count, and lost a fair bit of bark to the barnacles in the process, but I’ve never been “in”… touch wood. The closest I ever came, many years ago, was on an iconic ledge called Clear Place, on the exposed, eastern side of Lord Howe Island. On that fateful day, I ended up clinging limpet-like to a big boulder as a heavy set completely buried me. A mate watching from the clifftop above said all he could see was the yellow smudge of my T-shirt through solid, green water. I was very lucky to walk away from that one, and it left an impression that far outlasted the minor cuts and scrapes.
Complacency and ignorance are the two biggest killers of rock fishers. The former gets the old hands, the latter the new chums.
Education is obviously important — ideally in multiple languages, and via a broad range of media. But a sense of personal responsibility for one’s own well-being is also critical. So-called “freak waves” are too often a handy cop-out, and largely an invention of the mainstream media. In any hour or day, there will be always few swells or sets of swells that are larger than all the rest. There’s nothing freakish about that. It’s simply physics.
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Valuable father and son time on the rocks. Teaching and sharing knowledge is critical.
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Reading the water and understanding the conditions are vital skills. Knowing when to get back into the car and re-locate to a ‘Spot B’ — or to simply turn around and go home — is something that becomes much easier with age and experience. There’ll always be another day... if you’re mindful enough to read the signs and take responsibility for your own decisions.
While I was once opposed to the mandating of life jackets for all rock fishers, I now wear one most of the time when I’m on the rocks. But a vest or jacket is not a silver bullet. I’ve fished at many locations where the only real benefit of such a device would be to assist the authorities in body recovery. That may sound harsh, but it’s also true. Furthermore, I’ve seen numerous situations where I’d want to be able to swim freely and move quickly clear of the wash zone if I ended up in the water. That would be difficult if not impossible in an automatically inflated vest, which is why I personally choose to wear a manually-operated model. The trade-off is that I could be knocked unconscious on the way in and not able to pop the cord. I get that, and I’ve balanced that risk against the desire to maintain a sense of choice: My life, my decision.
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Knowing when to climb back into the car and go home is a critical skill!
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In the final analysis, it’s all down to you, and the decisions you choose to make. Don’t blame shift that responsibility by out-sourcing it to some other entity: be that God, nature, or the rule makers. You’re ultimately responsible for your safety... You. No one else.
As more people sadly die on our ocean rocks, I fear we’ll begin to hear louder and louder calls to close access tracks or even “ban” fishing in specific black-spot locations. That’d be very sad (not to mention incredibly unpopular and all-but un-enforceable). Rock fishing has given me and so many others I know a lifetime of wonderful experiences… I’d hate to think we might risk losing that.
We can all play a role in steering a path away from such an outcome by looking after ourselves and each other. A polite word of advice to someone obviously making a poor decision just might save a life... and, ultimately, our sport. So can sticking to five very simple ground rules:
- WATCH your chosen spot for 20 minutes from a safe point before fishing.
- CARRY a floatation aid that can be thrown to someone in the water.
- WEAR appropriate clothing and footwear at all times on the rocks.
- HAVE a game plan in case something goes wrong.
- DON’T go rock fishing if you can’t swim!
Finally, don’t be afraid to wear a life jacket or a floatation vest, especially at higher risk locations. After all, it’s really no different to clicking on a seat belt every time you get into a vehicle.
Stay safe, and 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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Fight For
The Last Jewie
Some fishos refer to mulloway as ‘ghosts of the waterways’ or ‘silver ghosts’. What if these nicknames turn out to be prophecy?
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Let me open this piece by channeling high-profile NSW fisho and Inner Circle member, Scott Mitchell… “How good are jewies!?”
Whether we’re talking the prized black jewfish of our tropical north or the enigmatic mulloway of the nation’s southern saltwater reaches, jewies are a highly valued target for recreational fishers. They’re shrewd and discerning, moody and quick. They afford a lunging, powerful fight for those who succeed in enticing them to bite, making them a challenging adversary.
The fact that they’re equally good on the chew makes them also highly desirable for the table… and so it is that our jewies are hunted by both recreationals and commercials alike.
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Still my PB mulloway... just 5mm over legal, but it went back. I hope it gets to breed.
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In recent times, the mulloway stocks of NSW have been the cause of lively debate on both sides of the table, as have the black jewie stocks in northern QLD and the NT. The reason is this: current data shows that stocks in these jurisdictions are overfished and/or depleted, meaning we are looking down the barrel of potential recruitment failure (fisheries management speak for failed spawning and thus population numbers spiraling in decline).
Can you imagine our waters without jewies?
Some fishos refer to mulloway as ‘ghosts of the waterways’ or ‘silver ghosts’. What if these nicknames turned out to be prophecy, at least in some states?
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What if these charismatic fish became the stuff of legends?
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The latest data about the depleted stocks in NSW is currently being peer reviewed, which will ensure it stands up to all scrutiny. Whilst that is in process, we have some big, ethical decisions to make. How do we fight for the last jewie?
This is a question I’d like us to not only ask ourselves, but our fishing mates as well. I sincerely hope you’ll share this piece, take a position and join the discussion, because there are many overlapping folds and layers that not only have influence on the future of these fish, but also on us as recreational fishers. To help facilitate those discussions, I’ll shed some light on the critical terms here, as defined on fish.gov.au:
- Depleted status: Spawning stock biomass that has been reduced through catch and/or non-fishing effects, so that average recruitment levels are significantly reduced (recruitment is impaired). Current management is not adequate to recover the stock, or adequate management measures have been put in place but have not yet resulted in measurable improvements. (Referred to as 'Overfished stock' in Status of Australian fish stocks reports 2012 - 2016)
- Overfished status: Spawning stock biomass has been reduced through catch, so that average recruitment levels are significantly reduced (i.e. recruitment overfished). Current management is not adequate to recover the stock, or adequate management measures have been put in place but have not yet resulted in measurable improvements. Management is needed to recover this stock; if adequate management measures are already in place, more time may be required for them to take effect.
- Undefined status: Not enough information exists to determine stock status.
Now that we’re across those, we should look at some key concepts that they raise. Biomass = numbers in the water (officially the weight of the numbers, but let’s keep it simple). Recruitment = ability to maintain or grow the population.
With all that in mind, let’s check out how our jewies are doing, given the most current research. Here are the links to the official status reports on black jew and mulloway… have a quick scan, if you want to dig in for yourself. In the meantime, here’s the guts of it:
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... and the southern species:
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With jewie stocks so clearly under threat in some areas where quality data is collected, I confess to feeling uneasy about the ‘undefined’ status in other key regions. This is primarily due to the lack of data from one of their dominant extractors… us.
Typically, rec fishers do not believe that they have as big an impact on our fish stocks as commercials… after all, they have really big nets! The truth is quite different, however, with a number of our favourite species. That’s because we’re becoming very good at our sport and, frankly, there are just so many more of us! Individually, we may only take one or two or our target species at any given time (depending on local regulations and our personal ethics), but collectively, we take tonnes! And sadly, our collective tonnage of jewies mirrors the declines in their stock.
Here’s the data: In 2008/09, the commercial catch in NSW hit a historic low of 37 t (down from ± 400 t in the ’70s) but averaged below 100 t since the mid–’90s. In 2000-01, our rec take was recorded and measured a whopping 351 t!
Fast forward a little and we find that the commercial catch was 59 t in 2016-17 (still way below our take), and the latest published data from our side (2013-14) records a fall to 103 t. That’s not from lack of effort! I think it’s easy to decipher that it’s likely from lack of fish.
So, recreational fishers take the most mulloway from NSW waters. If we didn’t participate in surveys and citizen science, we’d be bumbling along, believing that our impact on the jewie stocks were reflective of our personal take and ethics, forgetting that there are hundreds of thousands of us. And our mulloway would go the way of the dodo. I think we can assume that there’s a similar scenario in the tropics.
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Inner Circle member, Nadz Taylor cannot hide her delight at catching her first mulloway.
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Let’s change it up and talk sex
Like any rec angler worthy of respect, I pay heed to the size and bag limits of our species. Some people get really het up about this topic, and I used to get frustrated about it too… until I became involved in setting them.
They still frustrate me, but now it’s because many of them are inadequate. You might be surprised to know that many of the minimum size limits set for species management allow us (and commercials) to take a fish before it’s had its first spawning. I guess we assume that there are “plenty of other fish in the sea”. However, I wonder whether we wouldn’t be better off mandating that every fish be allowed to spawn once. Remember, we are not the only cause of death for fish.
Take our mulloway as an example. In NSW, we’ve recently raised the minimum length from 450mm to 700mm. This upset many, but when we know that a jewie doesn’t reach sexual maturity (spawning age) until it measures ±510mm for males and 680mm for females, simple biology dictates that mulloway were doomed without that change.
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Here’s a fun fact:
Black Jewfish take around two years to reach their sexual maturity length of around 890mm.
Strangely, the Northern Territory has a bag limit — but not a size limit on these fish —
even though they’re recognised as overfished.
That makes my jaw drop.
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In certain areas of northern Queensland, where there’s enough concern over the robustness of the black jewie fish stocks, a TACC (Total Allowable Commercial Catch) limit of (currently) 20 t has been put in place for east coast black jewfish and a 6 t limit for the Gulf of Carpentaria. The recreational possession limit has been set at one. Once the commercial limit has been reached, black jewfish become a no-take species for all fishers until the fishery reopens the following year.
This interim management measure was put in place in September 2019. Want to know something disturbing? The TACC limit was reached by March the following year, making black jewfish a no-take species for the rest of the year. Some folks report that as soon as the mandated advice was broadcast that 75% of the limit had been met, it was on for young and old. Recreational fishers went hard to make sure they got their share before the fishery was shut down. Who knows how many unrecorded tonnes were taken by our sector.
Given that these drastic measures are put in place to try to protect a fish in decline, does this mindset of “take what we can, while we can” serve us, I wonder?
Reflecting back on the stock status tables for the black jewies, I note that only the NT’s stock has a status of anything other than undefined, because only the NT has enough data to make a quantified call. As we are the dominant force extracting these fish, doesn’t it seem irresponsible that we’re not tracking our impact?
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Did you know that a female mulloway doesn't spawn until she's around 68cm long?
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WARNING! WARNING! DANGER AHEAD, JO!
Luckily, no-one can throw things at me from the other side of the interwebs! I’m walking into a traditional mine field now. Catch data collection from recreational fishers. EEK! I hope you’re following me in…
What do we fear about reporting our catch data? Losing access to a fishery? Guess what… WE WILL, more certainly if we don’t participate in its management! Worse than that, we might never be able to get it back. I have one question that always manages to cause a topic change...
What if we were able to demonstrate that we actively manage our impact on our fish stocks?
Wouldn’t we be able to hold up that evidence proudly in the face of criticism? Wouldn’t that take the wind out of the sails of those who claim we just don’t care?
What if we were to participate in tracking our activities and worked with the resource managers to respond to peaks and troughs, so that we ensured balanced and excellent fishing into the future… however we define “excellent”?
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Here’s another fun fact:
The southern species of mulloway can grow up to 2m long!
There’s photographic evidence in the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum that this was once the norm ... Astounding! What are the chances of us returning them to their former glory, I wonder?
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Just imagine if we were able to create fisheries, through monitoring and proactive stewardship, that produced bigger and more abundant jewies, simply by understanding the biology, stock status and our collective activity — and then proactively managing their numbers and viability. What IF we cared enough for fishing and our fish to do that?! How good could our fishing be?
The issue I see is actually in application. We don’t fish to be bored or to get bogged down in admin! We fish for fun! So, in this world of electronic addiction, competition and thumb-spun entertainment, what could we innovate to make data collection fun and easy? Can you imagine a way to help us become a part of the solution, rather than the problem that plagues our mulloway future? If you’ve got ideas, I’d value hearing them.
So, how will you and your mates fight for the last jewie?
Will you fight for the dubious honour of catching the last individual? Or will you join the fight to save us ever getting to that point?
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Until next month, FISH ON!
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----- > SCROLL DOWN! There’s much more below ;)
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Being able to confidently cast your lures into dense cover is a sure-fire way to catch more fish. In this new, members-only video, Starlo demonstrates some crafty tips to help you hook more fish... and less snags.
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Tips like this can be found throughout the public area of Fishotopia.com
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 CLEAN UP AUSTRALIA DAY
Australia-wide, Sunday, 7 March
Register now!
 PIRTEK FISHING CHALLENGE
This year across two days, Australia-wide!
Saturday & Sunday, 17 & 18 April
Sign-up now!
 WORLD SOOTY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Join Starlo at Eungella Dam near Mackay!
Saturday & Sunday, 1 & 2 May
Register your interest in attending
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Rec’ anglers across Australia are gearing up to do their bit for Clean Up Australia Day, this Sunday March 7, with more than 20 waterways set to be cleaned by local OzFish volunteers.
Australia is blessed with extraordinarily beautiful estuaries, inland rivers and lakes, but our precious waterways can’t be the homes our fish need without our help.
That’s what’s motivating fishing-mad volunteers to join the chaarge. They’ll be out on kayaks, boats and walking the river banks and beaches to remove as much litter as possible.
BONUS: As part of OzFish’s partnership with Tangaroa Blue’s Look After Your Tackle program, fishers will record what their clean-ups find in our waterways. Data from an OzFish clean-up will be entered into Tangaroa Blue’s Australian Marine Debris Database and used by researchers to guide litter prevention projects in the future.
All clean-up volunteers must register online before participating in any activities. Registration includes official event trash bags, hand sanitizer and gloves to ensure volunteers’ health and safety. These items will be available for collection at a clean-up location prior to the event kick-off.
Full details about the OzFish clean-ups can be found on ozfish.org.au. Registration is now open, and participants of all ages are encouraged to come out and be part of this annual tradition to keep Australian waterways clean and beautiful.
OzFish Clean Up Australia Day events will be held in the following locations:
Ballina, NSW (Jali Saltmarsh)
Brisbane, QLD (Wynnum Redlands Canoe Club)
Busselton, WA (Vasse River)
Cairns, QLD (Saltwater Creek)
Coffs Harbour, NSW (Newry Island)
Coorong, SA (Ocean Beach)
Darwin, NT (meet at BCF Millner)
Gold Coast, QLD (Coombabah Creek)
Illawarra, NSW (Wollongong Harbour)
Lake Cathie, NSW (Aqua Reserve)
Leeton, NSW (Euroley Boat Ramp)
Mackay, QLD (Far Beach)
Mildura, VIC (Mildura Riverfront)
Mount Crawford, SA (Warren Reserve)
Newcastle, NSW (Throsby Creek)
Noosa, QLD (Tewantin Boat Ramp)
Nyah, VIC (Nyah Boat Ramp)
Tenterfield, NSW (Tenterfield Bowling Club)
Tumby Bay, SA (Tumby Bay Jetty)
Tweed Heads, NSW (Ukerebagh Passage)
Wagga Wagga, NSW (Eunony Reserve)
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Now Available FREE To Inner Circle Members!
Fishotopia’s Inner Circle members now enjoy unlimited, round-the-clock access to episodes of “A Fisherman’s Life with Starlo”.
This no- nonsense, advertising-free series of cutting edge programs is made exclusively for Fishflicks.tv and is normally only available to subscribers to that streaming service. However, thanks to a special deal between Fishotopia and Fishflicks, our members can now access these shows without paying anything extra on top of their Inner Circle subscription fee.
There are currently six episodes available, with new episodes coming on line across 2021, making this far too good a deal to miss! Find out how to join the Inner Circle (and enjoy all the other great benefits of belonging) by clicking the link below.
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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:
• LiPo Batteries
• Fly tying and tackle dens
• ‘Trout meat’ — entomology from around the world
• Fly tying patterns
• Home-made wooden lures
• Innovations in drop shotting
• 39 Hours & Fly vs Jerk
• How Covid has impacted our fishing
• Bass comps
• Where the fish have been biting and fighting
• SHARKS! Especially the whale shark in Bermagui
... and much more.
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AMAZING BONUS MEMBERSHIP OFFER!
Have a gander at our very attractive Inner Circle membership 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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LURE WINNER
This month’s hand-crafted RTBroughton Lures timber Shimmey minnow goes to Rory Muller of Tassie, who (like several others) got hot under the collar in response to Starlo’s editorial about fishers’ litter. Here’s Rory’s email... and we confess this was a tough decision. All responses were heartfelt and worthy:
“Hi Starlo & Jo
Couldn't agree more Steve. I regularly fish a small obscure little rock platform in Frederick Henry Bay about 45 minutes from Hobart's CBD.
Being retired I probably fish this platform at least 4 times a week. It is rare to come across another fisho during the week but on weekends there are sometimes anglers trying their luck. I am constantly surprised and disappointed at the thoughtless and lazy attitude of some of my fellow anglers. Plastic bait bags,drink cans, quick noodle packs, braid and nylon fishing line strewn around, often with hooks still attached. Most fishers take a bucket or ruck sack to their chosen fishing spot. How hard is it to pick up your rubbish????
In a state of Australia that looks for tourism and trade based on its cleanliness and pristine environments it is a disgrace that such vandalism and thoughtlessness exists.
”
~ Rory Muller
*** Remember, all you need to do to be in the running to pick up one of Ray Broughton’s hand-made wooden lures is send us an email in response to anything in this month’s newsletter. Please direct your email to admin@fishotopia.com.au and note that while we do read all emails received, we don’t always have time to respond to each one individually. ***
So, what are you waiting for?
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“PHONE A FRIEND” MEMBERS’ OFFER
Courtesy of Romen and Roaming Productions, we have 14 copies of his wonderful, 93-minute “Green & Gold On The Road” DVD (valued at $25 each) to give away exclusively to Inner Circle members! This action- and information-packed production covers Googong, Burrendong and Pindari Dams and explores a range of techniques targeting cod and goldens.
To pick up a copy, all an existing Inner Circle member needs to do is to convince a friend or family member to join us on the inside before Christmas by signing up for a full year’s membership (and YES, they can take advantage of the book and lure BONUS Offer already described above!). As soon as they sign on, we’ll send both you and your mate a copy of the DVD! How good is that? But only the first seven sign-ups score this double-barrel giveaway, so pick up the mobile now and “phone a friend”!
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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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ANNOUNCING OUR NEW MINI-CHANNEL IN THE LIBRARY OF STARLO GETS REEL VIDEOS...
Already boasting a number of short and sharp videos, this new library shelf will continue to grow with bite-sized, handy how-to's, like this one on simply rigs. Members can check it out here .
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Non-members can go to Starlo Gets Reel on Youtube (NB: in future, more advanced tips will only be available to members).
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Have You Checked In On Your Aussie Anglers Almanac Today?
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THREE FOR THE PRICE OF TWO!
Speaking of special offers and Ray Broughton’s great timber lures, Ray has a ripper deal going at the moment allowing you to effectively buy three of his Shimmey timber minnows for the price of two! That’s right… buy a trio of RTBroughton Shimmey timber minnows (1 x 50mm, 1 x 60mm & 1 x 80mm) in your choice of colours (4 colours* to choose from) and you’ll save a cool $21!
You’ll receive a 50mm Shimmey normally valued at $23, a 60mm Shimmey worth $25 and an 80mm Shimmey with a standard price of $27 (a combined value of $75) for just $54, plus $9 for packaging and postage. So, you pay just $63 all-up for a pack of 3 hand-made timber lures that would regularly cost $84, delivered to your door!
How do you take advantage of this amazing offer? Simply go to Ray Broughton’s RTBroughton Lures page on Facebook, “LIKE” the page, recommend the page to at least ONE of your friends, and then quote the code #starlosentme when ordering your three-pack by messaging Ray on the page… It’s as simple as that! Get over to the RTBroughton Lures page NOW and secure your bonus offer. Stocks are limited, so first in, best dressed!
* Please note, because each lure is hand-painted, small variations will naturally occur and your lures may look slightly different to the ones shown here.
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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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