Artifical reefs tagging program & report 10.12.10

Well didn't Tom Mclean and I just eat the proverbial at the B.E.T.S Bream comp on the Harbour last weekend! After a few days of pre-fishing and getting our bag we couldn't catch a legal fish to save our lives on comp day. We actually caught one but given the fact the weigh in was taking forever with 80 odd teams we chose to ditch it and head for home to beat the V8 supercar traffic at Homebush. We had fun catching fish just not the right species. That's fishing.

The trip out to Windemere with Riverina Sportfishing was cancelled due to flooding which was a shame. We'll have another go in March.

Whilst guiding on the Monday morning  in the Basin we wacked 20 odd bream and a reddie on bait for an early session then I managed a 70cm flattie and a cracking surface session in clear sandy flats for bream to 35cm on clear Jazz Zappa's and Maria Pencils.It was a fish a cast just as the wind came up in the arvo  and one of those days locked into the memory bank forever. Water temp cooled a little this week from recent rain to 24-25deg as opposed to 28deg in shallow, and this has certainly helped the surface action.

Water in JB is still around 17-19 and with howling noreasters and rain not too many people have ventured out. I'll update this on Sunday if we manage to get out there ourselves on Saturday.

As your reading this hopefully the fish are setting up home in their new digs in the Basin. Thanks to the club that doesn’t just take, take, take, the club that practices catch and release, educates, organizes successful bream and flathead comps and put’s back into fishing, that being the St George’s Basin Lure and Fly Club, the Basin is now home to NSW’s largest artifical reef. NSW Dept of industry and investment recently gave a presentation at recent club meeting on the deployment of the second stage of the Artificial Reef program. The club was instrumental in acquiring the necessary funding from the recreational fishing trust (our licence money) for the establishment of the reef. The latest stage has seen a further 600 concrete balls ranging in size from 700mm – 1200mm arranged in a squared grid pattern near reef no 2. There will be gaps in between each section to allow fish to settle in the sand  and travel, as opposed to just dumping them in a big heap on the bottom.  

Check out www.basinlureandfly.org.au

Also on the research front, I&I now has in place an acoustic tagging program in some NSW waterways. To date fish have been captured and surgically implanted with an acoustic tag. In excess of 500 “Listening” devices have been established, so as the fish swims past it registers an electronic signal and the data is captured. These tags have the potential to last 10 years in a fish if it is allowed to swim and doesn’t get caught in a net or on a line by a fisho who doesn’t give a ---t about fisheries research. If you do catch a fish with a yellow tag near the dorsal get the number, take a photo if you can, release the fish and contact the dept of I&I. The info which has so far been collected on the Shoalhaven River is amazing to say the least, and gates have been recently installed in the Basin. To give you one example of the info collected, a mullet tagged in the fresh water in Tallowa Dam has ended up in Sydney harbour! The first batch of data to come out of the Shoalhaven River has been amazing to say the least.

These pictures are from a recent tagging session in the Clyde River with Dylan Van Der Muelen from NSW Dept of I&I.

First off catch a jewie on a plastic

The fish is then placed in a tub and sedated by pouring in an anesthetic.

Ready for "Doctor Dylan" to begin the procedure.

 

A regular tag is placed externally on the fish. 

 A small incision is made and the accoustic tag is inserted. The tag is about the size of the top of your index finger. I missed the shot because it happened so quickly.

 During the surgery the gills are kept hydrated by splashing water onto them.

 A few stitches.

 A shot to ward off infection

 And a successful release.

It will be interesting to see what this summer brings on both a fishing and weather front. Given the fact that as of October NSW was officially out of drought and this part of the world has transitioned into a La Nina weather pattern we should see warmer east coast currents, more cyclone activity up north and some good inshore action at least. It’s anyone’s guess as to how long the Jervis Bay will stay cold for? But all the usual species have been on one day and off the next, and the LBG guy’s will be chompin’ at the bit for the annual run of small Marlin from the tubes. If the Shoalhaven River doesn't burst it's banks with a big flood this year I'll be very surprised. 

The xmas madness is not far away now!

See you on the water some time

Greg

0413 610 832

www.bayandbasinsportsfishing.com.au

Rain report Dec 2010

The ancient Egyptians  had a "Flood benefit tax". They well knew of the benefits of the aftermath of a big rain event. Whilst the current precipitation is hampering our ability to stay dry and comfortable during a session of a few hundred casts, we will benefit from this wet spell in the form of life giving nutrient in the system for fish and organisms to feed on.

We still fished on this week. I had one session in the Basin all day Monday for little in the way of reward in the lure casting dept. Old mate had come down from Canberra so considering conditions were relatively calm we persevered. Needless to say I'll be shouting him another half day trip when the sun shines and the fish come back on the chew. The Basin will benefit from the fresh just in time for the Xmas rush. Let's hope everyone does the right thing and put's the "big girls" back. I live in hope!

The water is still cold in JB, and for much of the coast in the aftermath of the current Northerly wind situation. Nothing to report this week for obvious reasons. The River is a chocolate mess but I managed an afternoon with Pat Brennan and the Fishing World crew after the weeks filming for the next "how to" videos was cancelled. We managed bream, Bass and Ep's in smooth conditions but no luck in the Jewie dept. Check out
www.fishingworldmag.com.au for more details.

Speaking of online mags, check out my latest article on using surface lures in ET"s new E-mag. Go to www.escapewithet.com Registration is free and it has some great articles.

The next few weeks should see a few fish on the decks as I'm competing in the Sydney Harbour leg of the B.E.T.S Bream series. Tom Mclean from the Basin Lure and Fly Club and myself spent two days this week on the Harbour getting a feel for the place prior to Sunday. Let's hope the fish co-operate. I'll be off to Lake Windemere guiding clients with Jamin Forbes from www.riverinasportfishing.com rain permitting, and the week after that on the Harbour guiding for Craig McGill for Fishabout Tours tackling Kingfish. I've got a few new Tuff Tackle reels which will be christened that week and I'm very excited. Check these reels out. They're Aussie made and in some cases come with a 10yr guarantee. www.tufftackle.com.au

Tight lines and good times.

Greg Reid

www.bayandbasinsportsfishing.com.au

Fishing report 26.11.10

Check out Rapala's new "Ice Jigs". They have a nice spiraling wounded bait fish action.

Tim Copes with a Basin Longtom on a popper.

Tools of the trade.The Sammy 65 and NW Pencil from Luckycraft and the new Maria Pencil.

FISHING REPORT 26.11.10

JERVIS BAY- The Bay has gone colder again this week after a good run of strong 20-30knt northeasters and the fishing would have been uncomfortable to say the least from a small boat.Lets see what happens after a few days of southerlies next week. Salmon, Tailor are still holding around the headlands in the washes. Size down to some 4lb and have a bit of sportfishing fun with small chrome slices and stick bait style plastics. You pretty much can’t go wrong on the flatties inside the bay in 10-20m and outside the bay on the 30m line. If your coming down for a break get yourself a marine park map to avoid being caught in a sanctuary zone because it will cost you $500 pp no questions asked.

Did you know that Jervis Bay is twice the size of Botany Bay or eight times the size of Sydney Harbour. Travelling from one side to the other is the equivalent of a 5nm offshore voyage. It has the whitest sand in the world and patches of temperate rainforest that will have you thinking your in the Daintree! It’s a beautiful place but it’s also massive stretch of water with little in the way of boat traffic at this time of year so be prepared and log onto to marine rescue Jervis Bay before you head off.

It’s worth mentioning that any of the reefs in the bay hold snapper on plastics year round. Tie on a 3” gulp pepper prawn or 5” nuclear chicken on a 4-9 gram jig head and try your luck.

ST GEORGES’S BASIN- The Basin continues to produce some good results this week, in fact the pan sized flatties have come back with a vengeance this year. Lets hope it lasts. Water temp is now spread around 19-27deg. I fished with Craig McGill and the team from Fishabout tours from Sydney on Monday. Needless to say it was nice to achieve a flattie and a snapper on the first two casts of the day. Stoked. I also had a fun bait session with four Korean born fella;’s who live in Canberra. We cracked a nice bag of bream and pinkies on bait and finished the day at the boat ramp with a spread of soy and wasabi and some lovely sashimi. It tasted better than being cooked!

Bream, whiting and flathead are now steadily taking surface lures, and I personally would rather catch one bream on a beautifully cast surface presentation than 100 bream on bait. Surface lure fishing is a very visual and really exciting way to catch fish. Give me a call if you’ve never had a crack at this form of fishing.

Do the right thing and throw back any flathead over 60cm as they are breeding females and we all want the Basin to stay one of the east coast’s premier “Big Girl” destinations for years to come. You’ll be surprised by the rush you’ll get when you let a big fish go and feel better for it. Big bream of 39cm and above are potentially 15-20 yr old fish and prime breeding stock so only take what you need.

CROCODILES IN THE BASIN!

If you If you want to put yourself in the picture to have a chance at catching a big Basin flathead then “croc” season is still ticking over. We won the 2010 Basin Flathead Classic with a 90cm fish so we know where they are. October/ Nov are the prime months so book now for some fantastic spring lure fishing. If you’ve never caught a fish on a lure and you want to escape the city crowds then give me a call today on 0413 610 832 or check out the website on www.bayandbasinsportsfishing.com.au

JEWFISH IN THE RIVERS!

This week we have had great tides around the moon for a jewie. No joy for us this week on Thursday throwing plastics for jew in the Shoalhaven but all reports from the Clyde say that it is fishing better than this end of the coast. I’ll let you know how I go on Sunday?

SYDNEY HARBOUR

Yes that's right Sydney Harbour. I will be doing a few day's guiding for Fishabout Tour's on Sydney Harbour in Mid December. We've got  a few new Tuff Tackle reels to tangle with some Harbour Kingies so let's hope the fishing god's are kind to us. I'll also be spending a few days later next week in preparation for next weekend's Sydney B.E.T.S bream round on the harbour.  

Tight lines and good times

Greg Reid

0413 610 832

www.bayandbasinsportsfishing.com.au