David_C

Some of the fishing clubs are landbsed and would be a great resource. Our club (NDSFC) is more boat based - we do  the occasional land based event but find it is normally poorly attended. Although in saying that, we are going to try a coorong trip. Will be boat based but will be camping in the dunes :)

2 hours ago, Plectropomus said:

Bill Sawynok from InfoFish sent me this extract from their 2018-19 Annual Report. He is going to analyse the snapper tagging data and send some plots too. Thorough gentleman!

 

West Australian Dhufish

For the last 10 years from 2009-2010 to 2018-19 there were 708 West Australian Dhufish tagged. Figure 54 shows the numbers tagged each year, average length and the size range of fish tagged over the past 10 years. The largest Dhufish tagged was a fish of 1,260mm in 2002/03.

Figure 54: West Australian Dhufish tagged, average length and size range (bars)

 

Depth of capture was recorded for 2,301 Dhufish and Figure 55 shows the recapture rate for fish tagged at different depths. The recapture rate for fish tagged in over 100m depth needs to be treated with caution due to the low number (14) of fish tagged. The highest recapture rate was for fish caught from 0-19m at 12.5% and from 20-49m at 12.0%. There appear to be little difference in the recapture rate for fish tagged in depths up to 50m.

 

Release method was recorded for 1,142 Dhufish and Figure 56 shows the recapture rate for fish released using different release methods. The highest recapture rate of 12.1% was for fish released using shotline (release weight used to return fish to the bottom) while venting has the lowest recapture rate of 7.4%.

 

 

 

Figure 55: West Australian Dhufish tagged at different depths and recapture rates

 

 

 

Figure 56: West Australian Dhufish tagged and recapture rate from different release methods

 

It's definitely interesting but these are only based on recapture rates - so the survival rates may be higher. We just don't know.

For me, the way the fish is released makes all the difference. Unfortunately there are some fishoes who don't give a damn and sadly, many of these fish are unlikely to survive. How the fish is netted, how it is held, how long it's out of the water - makes a significant difference. I've seen some people gaff fish they are going to release - what the heck!

17 hours ago, Plectropomus said:

Could I get hold of that video from Fishing Guru somehow? is it on YouTube?

Here is the link

Hunter, they are absolutely everywhere, so we keep having to move to get away from them (this is metro).

9 hours ago, Plectropomus said:

Good on you!!! From the point on these I assume you are puncturing the lower jaw to get them in? I tried longer, blunt, hook section to avoid this by slipping it under the gill cover and out the mouth....but (as you say) solo operation means they sometimes slip off before you can get them back in the water. It just needs care and attention.

Great to see these being made. I have not seen any in North Queensland tackle stores. 

Is SA having any media campaign to help anglers release snapper with barotrauma? It would be good to see your product (and its use) highlighted with a video clip on social media. There is lots of negativity on the facebook sites, so your release weights would be a nice bit of positive news for a change.

Some folk up here just toss the blown fish back in to float. 

The closest place to you that stocks me is at noosa. I don't advertise to businesses anymore - it's now all word of mouth and keeps expanding!

PIRSA were very strong about venting being an issue and asked me to make these for the SA Market. Mine are based on an existing design but with a thinner wire gauge.

With snapper, we put it into the corner of the top jaw - this is the safest place to put it without potentially puncturing the swim bladder - if expanded. PIRSA were going to do a campaign but then the snapper ban came in, so it never got done. So Dan from The Fishing Guru organised a very informative video on the matter

Heaps of people make their own and eventually, they are likely to be required on all boats, given the amount of snapper around (based on feedback from fishoes, not PIRSA). I sell all of mine for $10 - regardless of size - as it's all about encouraging people to use them. There are a lot of other species that suffer from barotrauma that they would work on as well.

David

These are the ones that I sell. The trick is to use the heaviest weight possible - my heaviest is 1.45 kilos.

A lot of states are getting into these - I'm in the process of sending 250 of them to DPI NSW

I find it easier to have two people to release the fish but still not perfect

1 hour ago, SurfcaztR said:

Try tying on  some lead weights,should see an improvement within a couple weeks.

I have weights up to 4.5 kilos - but suggest starting with smaller increments

Or just ask your doctor for some medication....

On 26/9/2020 at 9:12 AM, Territory Lad said:

Yes and no. Depends on the item / brand and whether its a new item or part of an existing catalogue. I imagine it is also a case of stores not wanting to hold stock that they may not be able to sell due to the current climate.

 

It's interesting. Normally between the Easter and October long weekends, I normally go through about 200 kilos of lead over that period, then picks up again for the summer period.

I was expecting no sales due to cover but instead, it's been like the Christmas period every month - averaging 450 kilos a month, with my biggest month being 700 kilos!! It's been amazing and the good thing is that as everyone is struggling to send lead overseas, I'm able to pick it up quite easily

It's been great that our local tackleshops have been so busy though - fishing tackle must have been on the same shopping list as toilet paper

Contact South Oz rods. Rob often gets them in. He loves them but I prefer the standard design

I've been using cloth jigs for as long as I can remember. I've tried a number of weird and wonderful ones but many of those unusual ones have ended in the bin when doing big clean outs.

One that I found recently was a clear yellow yamashita. Caught most of the squid on the first day at Wallaroo but nothing on the second day. With this colour, apparently they were on run out as they weren't a popular colour, so ended up buying six of them - just in case

Now that all the main bloodworm runs are done and we are having some weather to stir up the water, the local scene will fire up again

It's under the how's ya tackle brand. Boyd designed it over a few years to perfect it

20 minutes ago, Hunter69 said:

Nitro squid  -  does it catch fish. 

Great idea tho. 

Haven't used the nitro squid but the nitro burley definitely works well

On 24/7/2020 at 8:33 AM, yellow door 1 said:

Graham Keegan from MRFAC Says 90% of snapper that go through the release weight process die. 
 

So while it may be the best case scenario. It’s still a pretty dismal scenario

I personally don't support catch and release from deeper water but people do it.  In my discussions with PIRSA, the quicker the fish get to the bottom, the better for the fish. At the moment, my heaviest is a 48oz but I'm hoping to create something around 3 kilos - although I'm not sure people would be happy to pay the price for that type of weight. I would say my most popular size is 24oz unfortunately, as many people just want to meet the regulations, rather than do the best thing for the fish.
David

32 minutes ago, Rybak said:

How do they know that it is successful?? & if the fish survives afterwards?

They based it on recapture records when they were trialling them. But they have to be used correctly (i.e. don't puncture the bloated stomach when putting it into the jaw (as per the video).

I have been selling quite a few of them locally and just sent 50 of them to QLD earlier in the week 

Only 11 whiting today - caught in a 30 min burst and then spent a couple of hours without adding to the tally. At least there is always tomorrow

Just fishing local - a session planned for each day, wife permitting

Whiting have been in good sizes /numbers but given it will be busy on the water, will use this time to explore other spots, so not to give away where I normally go. Also hoping that the water has cleared, as we have no squid in the freezer!

Very excited

Release Weights - they are a requirement when targeting snapper in South Australia and in other jurisdictions but do you know why and how they are used?
Daniel Waye from The Fishing Guru has teamed up with Graham Keegan from MRFAC to explain them in the youtube video below.

27 minutes ago, Rybak said:

 SFS are really knowledgeable especially when Yatsey is there.

Agreed - but David Yates retired in December following his stroke. I do miss having some good chats with him as well - but he seems to be recovering really well

I definitely support that tackleshops that support my business as well and I also appreciate the support that I get from the general public. 

David

11 hours ago, yellow door 1 said:

My negative fishing experiences with contaminates like sunscreen and petrol on my hands have shapeD they way I look at metho soaked baits

 

and my experiences with the salting down of fish flesh have me wondering why guys use metho

 

have you tried just putting the worms in a bag full of salt and draining the juice after a couple of days

 

this method turns fish flesh, to some where between fresh and jerky, with no metho required - and it lasts forever 

I just dry in newspaper until they start to bleed, then straight into bags and the freezer. When I defrost, I just put some paper towel in the bag to ensure they don't go soggy - works a treat

I normally wait for Rob from South Oz rods to confirm the dates, as he is the worm whisperer! The June run is normally slow - we normally do July or August.

14 minutes ago, Kelvin said:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1x-2pk-Spring-Style-Berley-Cages-Made-in-South-Australia-The-Fishing-Guru/272095782848?hash=item3f5a2c27c0:g:szMAAOSwDk5T7MZk

I think they also stock them in Let's Go Fishing at Christies Beach, when Dan (the fishing guru) works on a part time basis

They already have a stack of info available on jetties, online, phone apps, etc - so there is really is no excuse.

If they really wanted to be sure, the only way to really do it is send out material to every household in SA.

Then they need to enforce the limits, with appropriate fines and forfeits, not the little nothing fines that don't do anything. Word will spread in all communities very quickly and things will change pretty quick as well. No excuses and no cautions. This will then pay for more fisheries officers.

Personally, I wasn't brought up in a fishing family and self taught when I was around 13/14. So it can be done and currently use my role in the sector to educate as well, particularly as not all my customers have english as a first language. I also deal with a number of single mums who are trying to get their kids into fishing but have no idea about what to do. It's great seeing some of the results they are getting as well. As I say to them, you don't need expensive gear to get results - but you have to care about what you are catching, as it's a finite resource that we need to look after.

David

Not sure. Some people from the club believe this relates to the previous change that happened months ago - but this was only released late this afternoon. So not sure

Hi all

We don't seem to have a MRFAC tab, so have just put this under general.

Just received a PDF copy of a media release, given to us from the ANSA president about an hour ago, sent to our fishing club

EDDIE HUGHES MP 

HUGHES - whetstone's fishing council sinks.pdf