Got Smashed today

[Neil Stratford]

Thought I’d better have a mackerel fish on the last day before the next closure.Started trolling at 745am and it didn’t take long to find some.In fact the Spanish were absolutely on fire this morning , but unfortunately had to feed the sharks well to put a few specimens in the ice box . Came away with a nice feed and a sore back. Had to sacrifice probably 10 fish to get 3  but managed to break in my new  fishing shirt! 

 

[Kat]

Looks like an exciting day.  Some good fish there - freezer must be jam packed by now.  Your new fishing shirt looks like it is 10 years old .

Wonder if I will ever be able to catch fish like you do?!

[ellicat]

Haha, nice way to 'blood' the new shirt. Those sharks are so frustrating.

On trolled baits ?

[Kat]

Off the GC?  Or elsewhere?

[Angry51]

You'll get your botton smacked going home with your

new shirt looking like that.

You'll have to throw the fish through the door first.

[Neil Stratford]

Hi Kat , No unfortunately it’s a brand new , nice heavy cotton  work shirt .My wife has a circuit machine and put a couple of Krackens on the front two pockets ,which indicates to me that I can use it squiding , and a very cool angry mackerel on the back , which indicates it’s  also mackerel proof - all good !   . It’s now soaking in the laundry , nothing a little bit of bleach won’t fix (I Think /Hope)
Yes plenty of fish in the freezer , but it’ll be all gone in two weeks. Already given away a couple of big slabs of mackerel  to a neighbour and just had some of the  Sweetlip for dinner. Going Bass fishing with the Bass King later this week , so I’m sure Ray won’t  knock back a few boneless mackerel steaks.
No opposite coast  - They were caught on the Sunshine Coast., but I’m sure if you put a  Bonito or Tuna  out and slow trolled it off the Gold Coast you’d get an inquiry with similar results.

Hi Ellicat yes trolled dead baits.

 

Neil

[Kat]

Not Bleach!!!! Take it out quick and soak it in Sard or Napisan for a day or two

[Neil Stratford]

Thanks Kat , yes your right , chlorine  for whites , Oxygen based  for colours . Soak in cold water for blood. 
Hopefully all good!
I shouldn’t be hugging those fish so tightly. 

[Bob9863]

Sounds like a good day, Spaniards are a great fighter and that definitely makes for a good day. 

[Andrew_P]

If you sacrificed 10 and landed 3, there are 10 that were lost to sharks, and 13 fewer mackerel swimming around.

Is this a common occurrence?  If so, then there is little wonder spanish mackerel stocks are in need of rebuilding!

[Neil Stratford]

Hi Andrew , No I don’t usually loose that many to sharks. Usually only a few and sometimes none. I fish near a pretty heavily fished area where at least 3 pro boats work  . I’m now wondering whether the recent mackerel  closure , meant that the resident sharks went hungry for three weeks? Could be just  like not feeding your aquarium fish for a few weeks and dropping a little food in  I suppose.
I give my mackerel frames , shark attack details  and  any remains to Qld Fisheries .If others report on increased shark activity I’d say they might look at what happens at the end of this  next three week closure 

Dont fret yet , the jury is still out on the Spanish mackerel biomass.DNA testing is stilling happening , but fisheries need more frames to do this successfully.They will come to your house to pick them up , so if you catch any in the next few months call them . 

[Andrew_P]

Thanks for your reply Neil. Sounds like you are helping out the researchers.

There are lots of uncertainties around estimates of stock abundance but if scientists don’t know that sharks are having an impact like your experience yesterday, 3 fish would be recorded as 3 fish not the 13 that were actually removed from the stock. So more than 4 times the number of fish you landed were removed from the stock. When you start thinking about this on a larger scale, you can see how important recording/reporting/estimating the impact of negative shark interactions with fishing (known as “depredation”) is! And thinking about our impact we have as rec fishers and joint custodians of an important State resource. 
 

I personally believe (science background; contributed to Qld stock assessments in the past but not SM) that the news on mackerel will not improve, and support the restrictions (closures, bag limit reductions) to give them a fighting chance. Population and fishing power are booming, and likely catchability of SM in SE Qld by increasing local water temps. Think of it as black Jew but with far more information (biological monitoring for 15+ years). 
 

happy to discuss further 

Andrew

[Old Scaley]

Well said @Andrew P. @Drop Bear and I were lucky enough to attend the World Recreational Fishing Conference in Melbourne last week. The emphasis was on the role science plays in maintaining a sustainable fishery, and how citizen science contributes to that effort. It was very reassuring to hear speakers from around the world talking about how much science goes into managing fish stocks. Australia is right up there in terms of fisheries management and we are so lucky to have a great fishery and a comparatively low population. We still have the opportunity to make sure that rec fishing is a viable pastime into the future. Despite what you might read from keyboard warriors claiming that fishing regulations are made up by desk-bound greenies, all these very smart researchers are very keen fishermen themselves who have a vested interest in maintaining fish stocks for future generations.

Congrats on the catch @Neil Stratford and good on you for contributing to the science of fisheries management.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Great haul Neil, shame about the fish lost to sharks. 

[Bob9863]

If shark predation is that big a problem, it's probably worth catching some sharks. 

The smaller ones under 1.5m are great eating and put up a good fight, better then many more targeted sports fish. 

[Neil Stratford]

Yes Bob , I think it’s time the powers to be have a look at relaxing the size and bag limits on the bull sharks. I’m not partial to eating them but many people do like them. This might take some pressure off other species. The ones giving me the issues are pretty much all full grown specimens -  all over 8foot long . They’re magnificent creatures  with appetites to match , they  take 25kg mackerel in the blink of an eye.