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Started with a rush this morning, 30 at the first spot, then off down the dam looking for the schools. Once again they had moved on, so hit the edges for a bit of fun. Managed 51 bass all up, 40 on shrimp and 11 on lures. Dino

My 2 favourites, a take on a spinnerbait and a take on a surface lure in a creek.

Hi all Here is my report from yesterday's' arvo session and today's early morning session. The first is quite average, but the second was way more exciting. I have a good clip in here, and I think this will be quite a long read because it's two in one, but I'm going to write it anyway. So, yesterday afternoon I went down to the park again with my mate. He brought his mate along this time, so the pressure was on me to catch fish. I chucked the lines out first up with dead prawn and frog mouth pilchard and got to work with the cast net. The first cast resulted in about 7 frogmouth pillies, so at least I had some salmon livies. I then re reeled the salmon line in and chucked them out, hoping for the best. After a while, it was evident to me the bait was either falling off or just getting picked up while I waited... While the others were watching my rods, I kept trying to catch some livies. From time to time I was getting a small live prawn and that would always go onto a rod. After about an hour now, we had nothing. I told my friend to maybe move the rods on the end of the jetty, and he started to get little nibbles. While this was happening, I was still throwing the net. After relentless throwing though, up came a surprise. I saw the head shape and thought it may be a whiting and it actually was. This was the only real catch of the day. Here it is - I suppose it is so salty that they have been coming up here. After that surprise, it just got quieter and quieter. It was about 4:30PM and I knew all I could do was wait. The lines were out but apparently today the fish weren't, LOL. In about an hours time we still had nothing and I still didn't have any good livies. This was most surprising as well, because if this kept up I might donut. I cannot remember the last time I've caught zilch at this location, so I guess that is saying something. In saying that, I see plenty of people come down fishing with worms and floats, wrong baits, etc and not getting results so I guess it is about having the right rig and using the right gear. While we were fishing, it was also starting to get pretty threatening. It was quite blowy, and I was still feeling a bit chilly with my three layers on. The clouds in the sky were also looking like they might pour down on us at any given moment. This wouldn't be to good because one of my mates didn't have a raincoat. Luckily though, the skies didn't rain, and we got out of there dry. Sorry that that was a pretty average report, and that I didn't get much to report about. The next report should be a lot more exciting, I actually did pretty well in it. Here are the statistics of this trip though - Stats of Trip Tide: Low at 1:00PM, .5M, High at 7:00PM, 1.7M. I fished the rising tide. Moon Phase: Third Quarter, so not the most run Weather: 21c, 52% humidity, 14Km/h winds, partly cloudy Bait caught: Few frogmouth pilchards, whiting, prawns Bait used: Prawns, frogmouth pilchards, live and dead Fish caught: - (First time I've dougnutted here in yonks) Tackle Used: 14lb mainlines, 30lb mainline, 15lb, 30lb leaders, 80lb trace (fluro and mono), 4/o circle and suicide hooks, large-ish barrel swivel, size 2 and 6 bean and ball sinkers, size 1000 and 2500 Shimano Sienna and Nasci, Size 650 Penn reel, 6"6' and 8" Ugly Stiks, 2M Rogue Firepoint boat rod Overall Success Rate: 30% - A donut but I caught a whiting which is a surprise That is that one done everyone, here is Session #23 (If you are still reading ). OK, so last night I made sure to go to bed at a decent hour and I put the timer on for 5:10AM this morning. Well when I got up I decided against creeping around the house and leaving because I could sneak in an extra hour of sleep . I got up again at about 10 past six and got ready. By 25 past I was at the jetty and I got the lines out. Once the lines were out, I got to cast netting. The first few throws were not what I was looking for - nothing. After a couple throws though, I got a little live prawn. This went straight out on one of the lines, and in about five minutes this line went off. I didn't think it was big at all, and I was right. I was quite happy though because it meant I didn't donut. It was a little perch, this one a nice silvery colour - A silvery perch taken on a small live prawn. He was actually barely hooked, so I got the hook out no problemo and gave him a quick release. It swum off well and I re baited and re casted. By now, I was running very low on prawns, dead and alive. Just as I was thinking this, I got another small one in the net. This went on the rod next to the pylons, targeting bream and cod. Nearly instantaneously, it was taken. I run over and to my dismay there was no bait. I then just looked down and to my shock the rod was going off. Yes! I ran down and picked up the rod, which was buckled over. Before I even felt the fish though, it spat the hook. I reeled it in to find a mangled frogmouth pilly, which may very well have been from the doing of a bully. By now, some others had rocked up and were fishing off the jetty. I talked to one of the guys for a bit, told them what I'd caught etc. The person dropped a line down just before my next hook up and pulled up a tiny catfish which would've been a good shark livie size if in Summer. The rod, which now had a prawn head on it though, then went off. I ran over, and when I picked it up it was still on! The fish was taking some really speedy runs and was putting up a good fight on the size 1000 reel. It was getting right up onto the retaining rock wall thingo (I don't know the name LOL), and just kept running like crazy. When the passers by saw, it surfaced and I identified it to be a big cod. He grabbed the net to land it for me, and with some good maneuvering we got it up. He looked a lot bigger than he was, but I lipped him, measured him and took a photo. Here he is - Nice Brisbane River cod He looked a lot bigger than what he was, but the lie detector doesn't tell lies . It was 37cm, and was considerably heavy. I gave him a quick release and he swam off back down to terrorise more prawns and bait. I think this shows how healthy the ecosystem around the Brisbane River is, because the amount of people passing me with a surprised look on their face when I tell them I've caught something half decent is amazing. Soon after the cod, the bite went quiet. I caught one more small prawn in the net, and then the tide picked up. The lines were still being manned, and much to my dismay I missed something on the rod out in the river (very suspicious that it was a perch). The next half an hour was very quiet, with no bait caught and no nibbles. I was really hoping to get a livie for the big rod, but I didn't get one then. The other people eventually pulled up a tiny bream (15cm) and it flopped off the hook before they could do anything with it. I still needed some more live bait, and I really wanted to get my line out there in case there was another big take. Well, after a couple scat and small herring I hit a jackpot. Two good size mullet in the one cast. I immediately fired up the aerator and they were very lively. I then went down to the jetty to reel in the line and re bait. After I pinned the mullet through the jaw I gave him a big chuck out and left the rod. I then went back up to the jetty to check on the other rods, which both required re baiting. After about 15 more minutes, I gave the other rod a bait check. Mullet, lively and swimming. after this was thrown back out, the cod/bream line started getting picked. I didn't manage to hook whatever it was, but my guess is either a tiny perch or bream which was eating my cod livies. To fix this up, I decided to try and put a live mullet on. I thought if there was a big cod there, it wouldn't shy away... After another bait check and re cast on the big rod (which also resulted in a bad tangle involving me cutting the line to clean it up and re tying my two lines) my Dad came down. We were just talking about what I'd caught (I showed him the pics) and then he practically yells "Hamish, is that your rod?!". I turn down to see my rod buckled over going out. I sprint down hoping for the best. When I struck I realised I was on and began fighting it. At first I am pulling up a dead weight, and I thought it might be a bully. Then, it took a little run. After that, I think it realised it was hooked. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! That is what it sounded like for the next twenty-thirty seconds anyway. I do have a little film clip, so here it is. I would also like to warn everyone there isn't very good language in it (Sorry, I was pretty nervous I'd lose it) and my voice is squeky as heck so that's why I sound like that. To summarise what I've said in it, here are the definition of the following - "It's gonna spool me!!!!" - Me after it took a big run, annoyed that my hard work pulling it up just went to waste. "Sh!t!!!" - Whenever I was nervous, scared, excited, or really really angry. "Don't get your hopes up" - My Dad being pessimistic. Here is the video though, please enjoy Getting done on a salmon.MOV Now to the heartbreaking one... Busted and dusted.MOV OK, so if you've watched that, you'll know... Well... That I got done... I was very sad and devastated about that, but I took it pretty well, just re rigging and getting another line out. I was so shocked to be honest that I had just hooked up to something that big at the park! It is taking a toll on me now though, I feel like I just lost a million dollars ! After that bust off, the bite went pretty quiet. No more hits on the big rod, no more live bait, no more picks. The other people left about an hour before me, so I said bye/cya and they left. When I was doing a final bit of cast netting though, I picked up another good size whiting (OH, and in case you're wondering, I mean it would be a ripper live bait, not that it's a good sized fish in general). I hope these become consistent enough so I could catch one on a rod and reel, it would be awesome if I could catch a new PB there too - Finally, just as I was cleaning out the esky, I found a prawn that was white all over. None of the other prawns were like this, and I'm 99% sure it is just frost from the freezer, but just in case, I didn't use it for bait. I don't think it would've been white spot disease either, because after it thored in a bucket for about 10 minutes it was normal coloured. Just wanted to check for anyone who knew, is this white spot disease? That is the report done now, I hope you all enjoyed. I will do the stats of the trip next. Sorry if the language in the video was offensive to anyone, and ellicat/AFO, if you want to take it down feel free to do so. I hope everyone stays safe with COVID-19 as well, and I hope everyone can get out for a fish. Sorry for any grammatical/punctuation errors as well. Statistics of Trip - Tide: High at 6:40AM, q.9M, Low at 1:45PM, .5M Moon Phase: Third Quarter Moon, so not to much run Air Pressure: 1021 Weather: 20c, Humidity 63%, Partly Cloudy Fish caught: Estuary Cod x 1, River Perch x 1 Time fished: 6:30AM - 11:30AM. 5 hour session or so. Bait caught: Prawns, frogmouth pilchards, mullet, herring, scat Bait used: Live mullet, frogmouth pilchards, prawns, live and dead Overall Success Rate: 75% - Some decent fish and what was probably the biggest fish of my life! Cheers Hamish

I found this knot the other day. I love it so much. For an old fool like me I find it hard to tie braid to anything. This knot is sooooo easy and so fast. I can do it on windy days on light line no problem. Thanks me later haha.

If you are concerned about overnight security you could try Horizon Shores (https://horizonshores.com.au/boat_ramp.htm). Will cost you $20 but they have onsite security.

It will be cool @ellicat. When I said BoM I was talking about MetEye and it is looking great.

Interesting. Both BoM and WillyWeather have got great forecasts for the Bay this weekend. Seabreeze must be forecasting for offshore? It is still only Tuesday so things might change by Saturday. That Seabreeze forecast is classic example of what is known as “bosses’ weather”. It used to frustrate the hell out of me when I was still working.

I need to find a job that allows me to fish mid week. So many times weekday weather is mint before blowing a gale on weekends. Let us know how you go.

Okay, The cast net is now free to a good home. I've learnt they are a pain to cast because they get heavy when wet. Get some free lead. GONE

Bring it on!!! Can’t wait to be watching 16 hours of NRL every week again. I just hope that it all goes well and shuts up all those naysayers who have been deathriding the kick off since it was first announced.

It is a great knot for sure but @AUS-BNE-FISHO just keep it simple and use a uni knot and kreh loop knot. I see your in scouts so wont take you long to master these

G'day Drop Bear Thanks for that, I remember my Dad and I learnt that out of my knot book (which I find extremely handy for new things) but I haven't used it since. I might start using it with some of my salmon rigs, seeing as though the line I use (80lb) is like cord... Cheers Hamish

Looks like freezer burn on what we call a Coral Prawn. They are bycatch when trawling for School Prawns in the shallower waters.

Hi All, Getting back into fishing more regularly after kids. Mostly hitting up the freshwater lakes around Canberra, with mixed results. I just found the forum today so I thought I'd join up. No boat at the moment (1st boat went to help buy the house), but hoping to get another in the next couple of years.

Starlo puts out an interesting report that I thought you might like to read. Uncrowded surf beaches are great places to practice a little socially-distanced fishing. From Starlo’s Desk… We desperately need to let the powers-that-be know we exist, that we represent a significant slice of the Australian populace, that we spend a lot of money and support a lot of jobs… and that we’re sick and bloody tired of being ignored or patronised. We want our say, and we want our share! Have you ever felt like you’re invisible? As a keen angler, I often feel that way. Despite research consistently placing recreational fishing among the top three or four most popular outdoor activities in Australia, our sport, pastime, hobby or whatever you choose to call it hardly rates a mention in the mainstream media, and is rarely taken seriously when it is discussed. It’s as if we don’t exist, and our passion for doing what we love doesn’t count… That makes me angry. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister and others went to great lengths in their regular press conferences to spell out exactly what we could and couldn’t venture outside our homes to do. This included such seemingly esoteric niche activities as “boot camps” and something called “barre”, which the PM struggled to pronounce and I had to look up. (It’s a hybrid workout combining ballet-inspired moves with Pilates, dance, yoga and strength training, in case you’re ever faced with that question on a pub trivia night!) Yet fishing rarely, if ever, rated so much as a mention, even in passing. Boating, yep. Kayaking, sure. Surfing, yes. But fishing? Nope, never heard of it. It obviously can’t be as popular as barre! We’ve begun fishing again on a limited basis. Steve’s first foray back to the surf produced this cracking silver trevally. So, at the height of the social distancing lockdown, I was hardly surprised to learn that the second most commonly Googled question in Australia one week (following closely on the heels of “Can I visit my relatives?”) was “Can I go fishing?”. It seems a whole lot of folks wanted to know about this supposedly obscure pastime… even more, it turns out, than were asking about barre and boot camps! Who’d have guessed? Yet, the subject of recreational fishing continued to fly well under the media radar and was rarely, if ever, mentioned during those extensive daily briefings from state premiers, police commissioners and chief medical officers. Even when the question of whether we could still go fishing was eventually addressed, the answers were mostly ambiguous and confusing. Apart from Victoria, that is, where the message through the height of the pandemic’s first wave was (and remains) a clear “no, you can’t”. Whatever you might think of that strict stance (and many fishers are pissed off about it), you’ve got to at least give the Victorian state government some points for clarity! I wish the same could be said of our various other jurisdictions. Their messaging has been “mixed”, to say the least. As it turns out, limited recreational fishing (ideally close to home, with a maximum of one companion from the same household, and while maintaining strict social distancing) has continued to be tolerated in every part of Australia (except Victoria) right through the crisis. Despite this, Jo and I (along with a lot of other anglers we know) chose to hang up our rods for five weeks or so from late March, for reasons I explained in last month’s Fishotopian newsletter. We’ve only now begun to venture out again for some very limited local sorties. This apparent “invisibility” of recreational fishing as a valuable part of Australian society is a serious problem, and not just at times of pandemic shutdown. It’s a problem because it means we too often get left out of important decision-making processes, at all levels. So, Snowy 2.0 might pump noxious redfin perch up into Lakes Tantangara, Eucumbene and Jindabyne, threatening mainland Australia’s best trout fishery? Not a problem. It’ll only impact a few funky old fishers in their tweed caps, right? And what about proposed marine parks that might stop people fishing in big chunks of our public waterways? Doesn’t really matter. They’re only fishers. Besides, you can still do barre or stage boot camps in the parks along the foreshores, right? The possibility that Snowy 2.0 will spread redfin through our alpine dams needs to be taken seriously. Our invisibility is a huge issue, and it’s getting worse. We desperately need to let the powers-that-be know we exist, that we represent a significant slice of the Australian populace, that we spend a lot of money and support a lot of jobs… and that we’re sick and bloody tired of being ignored or patronised. We want our say, and we want our share! In the final analysis, the only way to achieve that goal is to demonstrate the size and importance of our sector, and the best way to do this is via indisputable facts, figures and statistics. Those mostly come from surveys, and the last proper one looking at recreational fishing nationally took place two decades ago. Luckily, there’s another one happening right now. Don’t worry: the people running it don’t want to know exactly where you fish or what you catch (such questions rightly make us nervous). Instead, they want to know what you spend, how important fishing is to you, and what you get back from being an angler. Please… do this survey now. It closes very shortly. Have your say and help give us all a voice. You can find out how here. FISHING AFTER THE PANDEMIC Compared with many other parts of the world, Australia has fared exceptionally well so far in the COVID-19 pandemic. Let’s hope it stays that way. But, as we keep hearing, our world has changed, and it may never be quite the same again. That applies to fishing as well as every other aspect of life. But in what ways might things change? Most anglers try to avoid crowds, and these days we have extra reasons to do so. Gazing into my personal crystal ball, I can see five significant trends in Australian recreational fishing that I believe will far out-live the COVID-19 pandemic. Here they are: Crowd avoidance: Most keen fishers have never been big on crowds, and I reckon our deep love of solitude and Castle-style “serenity” will only grow following the pandemic. Expect to see lots more savvy anglers fishing alone or with just one or two companions, while shunning those spots such as jetties and popular rock walls that tend to draw the big mobs. Reduced air travel: For at least a few years, I suspect many people — anglers included — will be less keen on travelling by air, especially internationally. This may be compounded by increased airfares and reduced competition. The exceptions for Aussies might be New Zealand and our near-Pacific neighbours, who’ve come through the first wave of the pandemic well, like us. But I expect to see a lot more fishos taking local holidays and driving to their chosen destinations. Increased emphasis on fishing for food: Shortages, queues, high prices and a reluctance to shop more often than we absolutely had to made many of us appreciate catching a feed of fresh fish even more through this pandemic than we had before it. I’m guessing this newfound respect and appreciation for the “hunter/gatherer” aspects of recreational fishing will linger after the crisis. Efforts to reduce our reliance on imports: Expect to see a little more in the way of locally-produced tackle in coming seasons. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to extend to complex, high-volume products such as spinning reels or baitcasters, but it will definitely be reflected in more home-grown lures, flies, rods, boats, apparel and angling accessories… and that can only be a good thing! Greater willingness to embrace science: Through the pandemic, the sources we came to trust were scientists, doctors, chief medical officers and other “experts”. We found the information coming from these people to be far more reliable than that offered by the media, politicians and “Karen on Facebook”. Hopefully, this return to a deeper respect for science, reason and logic will continue, whether it involves management of fish stocks, responses to climate change or a myriad other issues. So yes, our world will be different after COVID-19. But in some ways, it may also be a little better. I sure hope so. Tight Lines. Share Tweet Forward ----- > SCROLL DOWN! There’s much more below, including lots of iso activities. Catch My Drift? Thoughts, reflections, insights and epiphanies that occurred to Jo this month... Reflections “Life without fishing is no longer unimaginable. We’ve had a taste… and it’s bitter.” As I put digit to keyboard for this editorial, I can’t help feeling like an errant Catholic in the confessional… “Forgive me, fellow fishos, for I have sinned. It’s been 40 days since my last fish and I’m finding it too hard to cope, so I snuck out and broke my promise to stand with Victoria.” It’s been very difficult to stay abreast of the undulating temporary regulations from state to state, with some Aussie fishos managing permission to stay afloat, while others are summarily grounded. As iso restrictions slowly lift like a stubborn sea-fog, I hold Victorian anglers in my thoughts… their cloud is still thick. I do believe that there are glimpses of the horizon now, though. My fingers are crossed for good news this weekend! I confess to feeling a little disappointed in myself. I had promised myself that I would not wet a line until all other Aussie anglers were allowed to do the same. I broke. I went for a sneaky beach fish this past week. My rod rests in its holder as the sun sets on my first foray back to the water. In self-reflection, I feel that it was the right thing to do. You see, I’d started losing sleep and getting really twitchy. When I did sleep, my dreams were very weird, with many being underwater. My fishing foray (which resulted in a quality salmon off the beach) coincided with the loosening of visitation restrictions in NSW, meaning we could see our daughter for the first time since February, and congratulate her and her new fiancé on their engagement. So, a greater sense of normalcy has led to a greater sense of wellbeing… and relief from insomnia. This doesn’t diminish the importance of my return to the water. Normalcy is an individual and personal reality. Fishing is part of life, as I know it. It’s not an “old normal”, or a “new normal”, it’s just normal! Abstaining as we did has made me reflect on this. Anyone who knows me knows how dedicated I am to shoring up our recreational fishing future, so whilst thinking about the importance of fishing in our lives isn’t a new thing for me, I have evolved through a subtle epiphany… I’m no longer advocating for recreational fishing from the same position. I don’t believe I need to ask people to imagine life without fishing anymore. I believe we all have a pretty real sense of how bereft our lives would feel if, indeed, we lost our right to fish. Even those Aussies lucky enough to have been able to continue fishing, albeit in a limited capacity, would be more able to see how life would be if those who abhor our sport achieve their goals of shutting us down. Life without fishing is no longer unimaginable. We’ve had a taste… and it’s bitter. Remember when public outcry drove off the Geelong Star? We need to recognise that we can succumb to the same power, if public sentiment turns on rec fishing. So, this is a call to action. It is our actions as a cohort that we must be wary of. The preservationists and animal libbers who seek a cessation of fishing can only win IF they have a case against us. Their case can only be built on our own irresponsible behaviour. We need to listen to the banshees and reflect on their criticisms. Take a look at the presentation we make to the non-fishing public… consider their perspective. With the banshees in their ears and the evidence presented from our own side (public activity, social behaviour, online posts and imagery, etc.), is our case to continue fishing in the publicly owned waterways strong? Prior to this pandemic, many folks would probably have been very (shall we say) Australian about their feelings. I’ve copped a few “I’ll bloody do as I please”s and “they don’t own the water”s in my time… but given that we’ve all just experienced some semblance of what it might be like if we lose, I wonder if we’ll see a little more contemplation. Am I being too optimistic to hope that the rebellious nature that our big island blood instills might be curbed towards a more strategic mindset? Probably, but I hope not. I believe it’s incumbent on all of us to find a way to curb the defiant passion we see — whether in ourselves, or our fishing mates — so that the public face of recreational fishing in Australia is one the public actually likes… for it is the public, not the banshees, who ultimately support us, or withdraw that support. If the latter happens, we lose. So, that call to action I mentioned… it’s this: Whenever you notice a fellow fisho displaying poor judgment, bad behaviour or irresponsibility, pull them up. Ask them if they remember what it was like when we weren’t allowed to fish. Then ask them to join us in the fight to shore up our fishing future. Let's rally the troops... "Fish on"! Share Tweet Forward ----- > SCROLL DOWN! There’s much more below Will you give 15-20 minutes of your time to help the National Recreational Fishing Survey account for the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our fishing stats? It’s vital that they measure the impact of the pandemic on Australia’s fishing economy and how the lock-down has affected your well-being, so that the data collated in the National Recreational Fishing Survey takes these variables into consideration. Take The Survey Now Have You Checked In On Your Aussie Anglers Almanac Today? Tips like this can be found throughout the public area of Fishotopia.com Network News LOCKDOWN LOW-DOWN Here are the rules about fishing nationwide, as they stood on 2 May, courtesy of Keep Australia Fishing and AFTA. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve devoted a great deal of our time and effort to creating, collating, assembling and disseminating information and resources intended to keep our fellow fishers sane while they’re stuck in lockdown or socially isolating at home. This has been especially important for our Victorian cousins, as well as those in other parts of the country who chose to join us in hanging up our rods for the first peak of the pandemic and staying at home right across April. You can find all of this wonderful material, along with lots of great suggestions for lockdown activities by simply going here. We’ll keep this section going, even after the pandemic, as it has proven to be immensely popular. Share Tweet Forward NEW INNER CIRCLE CONTENT Of course, not ALL of our newly-generated material has been pouring into the free, open section of Fishotopia.com. We’ve continued to look after our VIP Inner Circle subscription members, as well. The past few weeks have seen new Hot Spots area guides go live, along with lots of wonderful interaction on The Wall, which is our private version of a social media chat forum. This little haven has been especially welcome through a time when mainstream social media is being constantly bombed, flamed and spammed by all manner of wacky conspiracy theories, bogus cures and inflammatory posts. If you’d like to come in from the cold and sit around the metaphorical campfire with a group of like-minded fishing fanatics, you know what to do… Join up! You may have noticed that Mako Oil have been advertising with us here in the newsletter and on Fishotopia.com since day one. We really appreciate their wonderful support… but we appreciate the amazing product they produce even more! Steve was first introduced to Mako Oil back in his days as a TV presenter for “The Offroad Adventure Show” and he quickly became a “believer”. Mako Oil now plays a vital role in all of our tackle and gear maintenance regimes, as well as many other jobs around home, and we absolutely swear by the stuff. We particularly like the fact that it seems to have no adverse impacts whatsoever on fishing lines, and that its fish-based formula means it doesn’t turn fish off biting, even if sprayed directly onto hooks, sinkers and lures… in fact, it might even attract them! You can watch Starlo’s video explainer about Mako Oil and its many uses by clicking the play button above, or cut to the chase and view a shorter, how-to clip describing our regular after-trip tackle maintenance routine here. Honey Holes & Hot Spots Cape York Sitting atop the bucket list of many an adventurous angler is Cape York, But get a few things wrong and it’s possible to miss out on the best action, even in this tropical paradise. That’s why we’ve put together this D.I.Y. Cape trip planner in order to avoid potential disappointment during your dream trip. Members can CLICK HERE to get the good oil on starting to plan their breakout trip to the Tip. Enjoy A BEER WITH STARLO With ISO barring beers with buddies, we haven't been able to blow the froth off a yarn or two for some months, so we thought we'd flash back to an episode that’s available to everyone. In this one, Matt Tripet enjoys A Beer With Starlo as they retrace the paths trodden to create one of Australian fishing’s favourite good-news stories — The Fly Program. Grab yourself a coldie, settle back and click the image above, so you too can enjoy A Beer With Starlo. Putting The Boot In Correct choice of fishing footwear is critical, especially for anglers who like to hike the back country or wade in our freshwater rivers and lakes. We’ve used a bunch of different boots and waders over the years, but in recent times we’ve settled on the Simms range as our go-to favourites. For the past year or so, Steve’s been putting a pair of their aptly-named Flyweight Wading Boots through their paces, and so far he’s impressed by how well they perform. If you’re in the market for some new wading boots, click the image above to watch a short clip about the Flyweights, or read Starlo’s more detailed review here. USE YOUR ISO TIME TO LEARN TO TIE FLIES! Learning to tie flies is a wonderful pastime. The satisfaction of catching a fish on a fly you’ve tied yourself never leaves you! In this period of isolation, there’s never been a better time to pick up this fulfilling skill. Our friends at The Essential Flyfisher have a Wapsi fly tying kit that has everything you need to get started. It’s a beginners’ fly tying starter kit put together by one of the world’s leading suppliers of fly tying materials. Easy step-by-step instructions. All the materials to tie 100s of different flies, including bead head flies, beetles, ants, woolly buggers, scuds, spinners, caddis and nymphs. Fly tying vice and tools included. Comes with Wapsi Booklet and the good people at The Essential Flyfisher have added a BONUS Australian fly tying book, “Pursuit of Fly Tying” by George Rowney, valued at $30. Total cost is only $220 and includes postage. You’ll also receive the current edition of Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News, FREE! Buy Now Fly On The Wall The Clubhouse Wall is our Inner Circle Members’ private forum. This section of our monthly newsletter highlights some of the topics discussed in our virtual “Clubhouse” over the past month. The above collection of pics has been collated from some of our favourite posts of late. Topics of interest have included: • staying sane during lock down • honouring our Anzacs • carp on fly • hand gathering yabbies for tucker • heritage tackle & fishing history + more... Fishotopia’s happy band of Inner Circle members enjoy unlimited access to a constantly growing library of articles, e-books, videos, reviews and area guides. 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Hi ellicat Well that's a shame, 20-25 knot winds... My dad was feeling a bit crook anyways so it might've not been the best weekend (he "went" to the doctor which was a phone call and was told it wasn't COVID-19). Cheers Hamish

Hi ellicat I'm counting down with you and everyone else. Cheers Hamish

10 days to go

Nice one, I had fun casting to the edges last week and forgot how hard they hit a spinnerbait !

Got some lessons from last week to apply, so pick me please @Drop Bear.

Hi Dinodadog That looks like a good session, good job on the bass. 30 fish in one spot still seems heavenly to me, so good job Cheers Hamish

Good day again at NPD. I had a full crew with Hai,Stew and stews mate Guy.Took a few spots before we found a good school in 50 feet of water near the fad opposite the fig tree.Hai increased his pb with a good trophy bass whilst Guy got a workout with a couple of forkies, Stew being a gentleman said I will release it for you and promptly got spiked in the hand for his trouble. When Guy caught the next one he was told to look after it himself. Both forkies were too big for percy and the eagles. We knocked off with the counter showing 107 bass and 2 forkies. Cheers Ray

Don't get him started on that again Robbie, I think he's only just finished calming himself down ......... Great session there Ray and very good bass to forky ratio.

Looks like a good opportunity to get out. Good luck mate.

Hey Drop Bear Sounds like you are going to have fun, if the wind is down for a while maybe I could go to the POB area in the yak again (preferably not as my dads windshield ). Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to finish my school work off so I'll be stuck in the house (that's if I was allowed to come). Good luck! Cheers Hamish

Hey Drop Bear Thanks for that, all good. I like writing them so glad you like reading them. I didn't think it was white spot either, just thought it was freezer burn (I had to resort to using old baits instead of stuff I catch myself because I couldn't and I ran out of good prawns LOL). Hi aussie123 Righto, thanks for ID-ing the prawn as well. Seems to make sense because I had about 4 big Australian Farm Prawns left over (bought well before white spot was identified in that Logan prawn farm). Cheers Hamish

Where u going , rouse? I mite take my boat out Wednesday arvo

They have been so delicious. Keen to get out again when this wind drops.

Nice one mate. Thanks for the great report. It is very unlikely that that is white spot. But great that you are aware and looking out for it.

Hey ellicat Yes, I googled it on my mates phone (I still haven't got around to looking because I fished so much this weekend ) and what it showed were some very distinct circular spots. That made me think it was just frost, but it didn't initially come off when I chucked him in a bucket. It was a shame too, I would've just wanted to see if it was a big salmon or something else. The big run was just crazy as well, because that was on a pretty tight drag with thirty pound line. I have watched the video a couple times over to see what I could've improved on, and I think loosening the drag right off when it is in the pylons may allow it to swim out. The cod was pretty good too, it certainly fought well. Cheers Hamish

No idea if that is a really bad case of white spot disease or not. The pics I've seen the prawn has distinct white spots, but that could be a lot of spots joined together. I'll be interested to hear others' opinions. Maybe @benno573 will have a better idea. Such a shame you lost the fight. It looked like a really good fish. You fighting style looked good. Nice cod too.

Hey Junky Righto, that's good. Also, LOL, I don't normally get mad but I could feel the strength of that (the brute power) and I was so devastated to see it go. Now no one wins, the fish has a big length of line hanging out of its mouth and I have a "one that got away story" opposed to a "bragging story". Not complaining though, I was happy with the fight it put up before I lost it. Cheers Hamish

Nice box of Mackies Steve and Robbie I love it when plan b comes together

Hey all Well I am excited because now I can go back to watching the footy and seeing who won the tip. I think the Broncos will win this year. (Totally not biased judgement here.... Hehehe). Cheers Hamish

So could 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, etc, etc, etc ..........

Yes, that and also the Tigers won't finish the season at 9th again, although that could still happen.

That's good, Kelvin didn't win afterall.

I just had a read and the tipping will remain unchanged (apart from the draw itself changing), so if you have tipped into the future you will need to change them once the draw is settled. From the NRL website - " Tipping Status The 2020 NRL Tipping season remains suspended in pre-Round 3 state of the old draw. NRL Tipping will be updated to implement the fixtures for the new 20-round NRL season approximately 48 hours after the fixture update is published by NRL.com. State of Origin matches will not be included. WNRL fixtures may still be included in the 2020 NRL Tipping competition. We may also need to make some other adjustments to the advertised game length or play (e.g. the Streak competition, WNRL). Should such changes occur they will be clearly communicated well before the next round of play gets underway. Further updates on this will communicated ASAP. Your Tips Until NRL Tipping returns you can continue to interact as if the new round(s) is(are) imminent. This means that, currently, future round tipping is based on the original, unadjusted draw. Once we have updated the fixtures to align with the new draw, you will need to ensure you alter your future-round tips, as all previously made tips for future rounds will not exist. Competitions As the NRL Tipping competition had officially begun your tipping points and the associated public/private competition ladders and rankings remain unaffected. The game remains active and we will adjust fixtures and the season length as advised above. Currently, you can still manage your competitions and check your competition results as normal. "

Ownli A p.E teechr ...........

Doesn't look like it, Hamish :( https://www.seabreeze.com.au/weather/wind-forecast/brisbane