Coastal Catches 29/1/2015
Well that’s the Australia day weekend gone for another year and by all reports there was a fair bit of fishing done even though the wind did its best to hamper everyone’s efforts. Hopefully it will settle and allow for some serious fishing.
Fishing in the highlands has been tough, mainly due to the weather, but there are a few places that are worth having a go at.
Arthurs lake has been yielding a few fish for the Fly brigade and the fish have been around the shores feeding on Duns and Black Spinners. While a lot are on the small side it is more than made up for by their great condition. A boat or kayak is an advantage as Arthurs is still high and getting around the shore is difficult. The Nineteen lagoons area is well worth a look on the right day and poloroiding is the best way to fish out there. The Great Lake has been tough but the reports are that the fish that are being caught are in good condition.
It was pleasing to see that a good sized Blufin Tuna was caught down at Eaglehawk Neck earlier in the week. There have also been some reports of a few Albacore Tuna caught out wide on the East Coast so things are starting to look good for the upcoming gamefish season.
There are still plenty of reports of King George Whiting being caught around the traps all the way from Montague right around to St Helens. The Tamar estuary around Low Head is another hot spot. If you want to target these fish there is a great article in the Dec/Jan Tas fishing and Boating news that gives some great tips. A rod with a reasonably soft tip will give you an advantage, size 6 hooks and fresh bait such as pippies or nippers complete the set up.
There were good numbers of Australian Salmon caught at Strahan heads over the long weekend. Spinning with silver wobblers was a successful method and there were a couple of anglers using soft plastics that caught fish. Another successful method is the Instinct fish skin rigs. They are easy to use as all you have to do is tie them on your line and attach a sinker and wait for the fish to bite.
There are some decent sized flathead around the North Coast and the 40 metre mark seems to be the depth to start fishing. The pre made Jig Em Rigs work really well and they can be used with or without bait. The secret to using them is to make sure the sinker you are using is heavy enough to drag on the bottom.
Rodney Howard and Kim Butterworth with a couple of Kingfish from the Far North West
