David_C

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
 

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

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
 

I have weights up to 4.5 kilos - but suggest starting with smaller increments
Or just ask your doctor for some medication....

Bjorn, here's a small Australian owned business here in Northern Tasmania at Spreyton which is near Devonport that makes a variety of clothing.. I know they make school uniforms, work clothes etc.. now making COVID-19 masks as well.. site details below.. 
https://www.tasclothing.com.au/
cheers
Adrian

I have weights up to 4.5 kilos - but suggest starting with smaller increments
Or just ask your doctor for some medication....

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

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

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

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

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

Wow has that shop changed in stock and the bait selection is huge,expanded from one shop to three.Don't think any tackle shop in Adelaide would have that amount of bait choices on offer,plus that bait vending machine is so handy out of hours.Prices are good on tackle i won't be buying from ebay any more,so glad to see that shop pushing ahead for us fisho's.

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

Yeah but no matter how quick they go to the bottom - much of the damage done on the way up can’t be repaired by a quick descent  
all those hernias, prolapses, ruptures and haemorrhaging have already occurred.
 
it might be worth passing that on to your customers. Because I bet the average angler thinks these weights provide more benefits than they actually do. I know I used to.
 
.......all fish exhibited various clinical signs of barotrauma, including a prolapsed cloaca (60% of fish); gastric herniation (46%); ruptured swim bladder (73%); organ displacement (48%); and kidney (3%), liver (73%) and coloemic-cavity haemorrhaging (33%);with the frequency of nearly all positively associated with capture depth"
 

Yeah I remember watching Starlo talking about deep sea fishing on Rex’s show
It was words similar to. “There is no catch and release fishing out here. Get your bag, then go fish shallower water if you want to catch and release”

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

I just saw some footage on 7news Adelaide, traffic near bumper to bumper through Port Wakefield....
Looks like every man & his dog are heading to Yorkes... 
cheers
Adrian

Great video and product for the Snapper.
I have heard a lot about boaties needing and using release weights but I never knew how they worked - now I do  

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.
 

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.
 

Didn't know he retired. You can still chat with him on the other web site. You have quality products David at sensible prices.