Fishing with David LockwoodDavid Lockwood

Time for Dive Licences

I went snorkelling at Cabbage Tree Bay aquatic reserve. I parked at Fairy Bower, walked down the path to the beach, donned the mask and snorkel, and swum lazily out towards Manly. Wow! The aquatic reserve was seething – with scuba divers.
I watched divers stomp across the seabed, kick their fins in my face, and flail about in a most destructive way. Previously, my pregnant wife was kicked in the stomach here by an overzealous diver. Further out, there was evidence of sea urchins being smashed open to feed the local blue groper.
Back on the beach, what was previously a nice grassy knoll was nothing but a dirty, dusty patch for suiting up. The amount of foot traffic was incredible. It’s like Pitt Street … above and below the surface. And woe betide if you want to use the showers.
The notion that diving is low impact, especially on this scale, is baloney. It’s a massive industry that is growing unchecked and unregulated.
Scuba diving is a huge money spinner, too. My 14-year-old nephew Harry recently undertook a dive course. Cost: $500 for three days, plus $500 for gear. You can go cheaper but it’s not a cheap pastime. Besides the instructor admitted the load gear leaks. Nothing worse than a leaky mask, I’m afraid.
Anglers pay for their fishing licences, powerboat skippers do the same, and boats that do more than 10 knots must be registered. These funds help police and protect the environment from the odd bad apple.
Yet divers have no financial input in their future at all. Of course, all divers aren’t uncaring and diving is usually a wonderful experience. But I came away from Cabbage Tree Bay thinking the environment was under siege from thousands of clumsy divers.
It’s time divers paid their way, were licensed, and the industry invested in a much-needed education campaign. Tread lightly should be the message. And I’m not sure what the impact is of all those flashes firing underwater.
Fisheries inspectors are funded by anglers’ licences, but we can’t pay to keep the massive diving industry in check.
Oh, and another thing, local divers have been angling to ban boats from anchoring in Cabbage Tree Bay. It’s the only ocean anchorage and ‘roadstead’ between Sydney and Broken Bay and a pleasant spot on the right day. The odd anchor has negligible impact compared with thousands of clod-hopping loons.

Mako shark fishing is safe

The great mako. The fastest of all sharks. The one that leaps the highest. The aristocrat of sharks, as Zane Grey put it, prized for almost a century as a sporting fish, legendary in Maori lore, and so common in our waters you can still catch them by the dozen. But it’s only through anglers’ campaigning that this remains true today.
Due to a poorly considered decision, Australian anglers were faced with a ban on catching the mako from January 29. That ruling wasn’t based on sound science, economic rationale or common sense, but an international agreement signed by Federal Minister for Environment, Heritage and Arts, Peter Garrett.
Due to declining numbers of makos in Mediterranean waters, the shark has been placed on the international endangered migratory species listing. This means it requires urgent protection. However, the laughable thing is that the shark is not transitory across hemispheres. Our stocks remain fighting fit. Scientists agree and tag-and-release fishing proves the point.
Mr Garrett admitted in his own press release that there is no evidence suggesting that Australian populations of makos are threatened. Angry anglers lobbied the runaway minister and, low and behold, the decision was reversed. We can all fish for our favourite sharks once more.
Considered a key game species along the temperate NSW Coast, around to Victoria and down to Tasmania, the mako provides the impetus for many anglers to fish wide in the cooler months and, in so doing, contribute substantially to the fishing economy.
The first mako was landed in 1915 on rod and reel in Australia. Since then, the shark has formed an important part of the game fishing scene, with an annual Monster Mako Fishing Tournament held by Sydney Game Fishing Club each year. A 365kg mako was landed off Sydney in January.

Mahi mahi on the menu

Dolphin fish, dorado or mahi mahi. Call them what you will, but the fish never fails to excite offshore anglers looking for a great fight and even better fillet for a fresh fish burger. Best of all, the mahi mahi are now at a FAD near you.
Such is the mahi mahi’s attraction for floating objects that there’s a whole series of public FADs or fish aggregating devices deployed off the NSW coast to improve angling prospects. See www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/saltwater/fads/map
Far from a secret, you need to be first at the FADs with a live bait in the water to fool the biggest mahi mahi. Competition is fierce from small fish and, at other times, spearfishers.
Generally speaking, the deeper FADs hold the biggest fish, which are the males called bulls characterised by a bluff head. Numerous 15kg-20kg bulls have been seen from Port Macquarie to Sydney in recent weeks.
Another nice thing is that mahi mahi is incredibly common, wide ranging, and fast growing. The minimum size limit of 60cm and bag limit of 10 fish per angler in NSW is designed to prevent black-market harvesting.
But the upper size and bag limit that allows each angler to keep only one fish over 110cm makes no sense at all. You would think you could keep more than one big fish for future meals, especially given the amount of fuel and effort needed to reach the FADs, and the healthy fish stocks. The answer is to take a crew with you and share the fillets around.

fishDavid Lockwood’s Guide to Fishing – March

As I write this, hundreds of anglers are gearing up for the Billfish Shootout and Interclub game fishing tournaments at Port Stephens. The three weekends of fishing, and the mid-week women’s days, will see more than 1,000 anglers and about 200 boats take the high seas.
Despite the fishing effort, more than 90 per cent of the pelagic or oceanic fish are tagged for scientific research these days. Circle hooks that lodge in the fish’s jaw rather than gills are also used. So survival rates are high and some of the recaptures are nothing short of amazing, with fish swimming across to distant Pacific islands before being recaught years later at a much bigger size.
The Port Stephens game fishing events are also perfectly timed. With 24-25˚C water swirling down the coast, the fishing is hot to trot. The lead-up event, the Big fish Bonanza at Lake Macquarie, produced a couple of big blue marlin and on average about two striped and black marlin per boat.
But local Port Stephens skipper Tim Dean says Port Stephens has since come alive with scores of feisty striped and black marlin in the 160 metre depth. The bait is easy to find and, as ever, that’s what the fish are shadowing.
Big mahi mahi are also kicking about the warm water, with Captain Dean stumbling over a school of 15-20kg bulls, as indeed have many others. But the marlin are the mainstay and the fishing is truly world class once again, with catches of a half dozen per boat per day.
Meanwhile. although there aren’t too many game fishing reports off Sydney, the current charts tell me things are firing out the front. Fish the 120-metre mark for marlin and mahi mahi, especially around the FADs. And game fishing reports are hotting up further south, too. It’s looking like a really great season.
Back inshore, the reefs are fishing really well for kingfish. But in March, jewfish, teraglin, snapper and amberjack and Samson fish usually join in the action. Pick your weather – the north easterlies should be easing – and fish into the night for the best catches. Given the balmy nights, you may as well head upstream and sleep over.
Paul Minto from the Central Coast says the fast current has been making life tough. Up top, bonito are thick as thieves, rat kingfish are among them, with small dolphin fish on the traps. But they are hard to find since the current is dragging the buoys and FAD floats under water. Thankfully, March should see that current ease and the reef fishing pick up.
Trolling minnow lures around the headlands has been incredibly productive for bonito, with this one of the best seasons for the scrappy fish for many years. Small kingfish are plentiful, with tailor and Aussie salmon mixed in. Pittwater has also been great for kingfish this season.
The Hawkesbury, Harbour and Georges River have all been great for jewfish, though many of the fish are throwbacks. Expect better fishing for bigger jewfish this month. The rain has also helped the beach fishing, with Narrabeen Lake opening with gusto and bringing jewfish close to shore. Beach fishers scored a number of 7-8kg specimens. A heap of whiting are also biting on live worms.
Estuary fishers will find the flathead are eager to jump on lures and that the fish have increased in size. March is the peak time for schooling bream and luderick, which are starting to gather over the seagrass beds.
Before the rain – and February is always a wet month – blue swimmer crabs, prawns and squid were about in good numbers in our coastal lakes and lagoons. Further upstream, the Aussie bass have been doing battle. Head up the creek with a paddle for a change of pace or try prawning and crabbing this month.
But as much as the estuary and inshore fishing is firing. March is game fishing’s high season. If you have tickets on catching something really big, this is the month to troll the 60-120 metre reefs in your trailerboat.
Look for birds and bait and you’ll find the marlin and mahi mahi. Catching these trophy fish within clear view of Centrepoint tower really is something else. Head offshore if you can.

Fishing Key Fishing Key —

B    Bream
Berleying with chopped pilchard and floating lightly weighted pilchard fillets back into the berley using light tackle and fine line. Suitable method from both boat and shore. Hook size No 1 to 2/0. Or try using the latest soft-plastic lures jigged around the harbour wharves, jetties and rock walls on ultra-light flick sticks and 4kg braided line with a 4kg monofilament trace.
DF    Dolphin fish
Head to the fish aggregating devices (FADS) off Sydney – locations found at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/ recreational/saltwater-fishing/fads/locations – at dawn or fish into the dusk to beat the crowds. Cast live baits at the FADs for the biggest dolphin fish. Smaller specimens fall for pilchard baits, lures and saltwater flies. Great sport and, when kept on ice, delicious eating.
 F    Flathead
Drift with whitebait or frog-mouthed pilchards hooked through the eyes and bounced along the sandy bottom. Glue reflective tape to the sinker for added flash and appeal. Early morning before busy boat traffic is best. Or use rubber-tailed jigs flicked around the foreshore.
J    Jewfish
The prize of the estuaries, jewfish gather in the deep holes in our harbours and bays from November through to the end of summer. The fish is most active right on dusk, especially when that coincides with the last hour of a run-in tide. Use large cut baits of mullet, slimy mackerel or tuna, or fresh squid strips, set on the bottom. Berleying with cut fish pieces can help attract the fish to your bait. Ranging from 3-8kg, though specimens to 20kg aren’t unheard of, the general run of jewfish is easily subdued with 10kg tackle and a 4/0 hook.
K    Kingfish
Fish the deep, tidal shores or around the harbour channel markers with live or strips or heads from fresh-caught squid. Stagger the depth at which you fish the baits until the school is located. Berley helps keep the fish around your boat.
L    Leatherjackets
Found around kelp beds and foraging off wharf pylons, retaining walls and other submerged structures. Easy to catch with a long-shanked hook topped with peeled prawn or try using the flesh from mussels gathered at the fishing grounds.
MAR    Marlin
In a good season with warm water, marlin pass just a few hundred metres from shore. Troll a staggered spread of assorted small 15cm-long skirted lures at 7-8 knots from 40 metres to 120 metres of water, concentrating around the bait schools, birdlife and current lines. Striped marlin join in the party, along with dolphin fish and sometimes wahoo out wide. And the game fishing is even more fun when you can see the city clear as day.
S    Snapper
Fish the inshore reefs in 30-50 metre of water with 6kg-10kg tackle. Anchor up and berley with chopped pilchards and chicken pellets. Drift a half pilchard bait on a 4/0 chemically-sharpened hook back down the berley, with a pea-sized running sinker or just enough lead for the bait to waft down to the bottom. Dawn and dusk is best.  
T    Tailor
An aggressive schooling fish, named for its ability to slash baitfish to ribbons, the tailor is a snap to catch. Troll or cast and retrieve lures around the schools of fish hunting around headlands and estuaries in winter. Or cast a pilchard from the shore or boat during the flood tide and at night around Sow and Pigs or The Spit.
W    Whiting
Warm water heralds the whiting run along the beaches. The sweet-tasting fish are a cinch to catch, the only prerequisite being live worms for bait. Fish in the deep gutters and where there are rips and no surfers. Night sessions can be most rewarding from the harbour beaches.