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THIS WEEK'S FISHING HOTSPOTS:
SHIT - HE'S BACK! Greg has returned to ABC 891 radio - his weekly fishing hotspots segment on Thursday night after 8-30pm with the wonderful, one & only SPENCE DENNY!
FOR SALE - Two (2) absolutely unique & exclusive watercolours by 1st Nation artist Winnie Bamara. Winnie Bamara (personally known to my family) painted these watercolours of the Southern Flinders Ranges in 1967. Here's the link:
ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_nkw=Winnie+Bamara+watercolours&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p4432023.m570.l1313
ANZAC WEEKEND 2025
TOP END/NORTHERN TERRITORY My radio segment with the fabulous Spence Denny (ABC891 @ 8.30pm every Thursday night) will soon have a Top End (NT) element - direct from Our Man in Berrimah, Jason Deigan at Compleat Angler! In the meantime - here is a brief snapshot: # The wet season is almost over as large run-offs occur across the Top End into swamps, creeks, etc., # Barra from 60cm to 97cm were caught off the Daly River last weekend., # Mud crab reports are that pots set in slightly deeper water-holes off mangroves are doing best., # Several locals won up to $50k for each catching a red-tagged barra in the NT comp., # Happy fishers caught 75cm barra from Lake Kununurra this week over in northern WA.
METRO WATERS: ANZAC Day & the last week of school hols are upon us! Mullet schools are making their way into the Gulf, with fish in isolated groups off Aldinga/Sellicks Bch, Seaford/Southport & even around Tennyson, but many are small at this stage. A few mullet are also off West Lakes & the Nth Haven breakwater. Garfish & a few squid on the drift are out from Hallett Cove, Brighton, Seacliff & then West Bch to Semaphore with blue crabs really dropping back - the tape weed grounds north of St Kilda are best for blueys in late April. Squid & a few isolated but good size KG whiting are off Brighton, Marino & Hallett Cove, with the lead up to the change in the tide (about 30mins or so) & a fresh bait with minimal berley working well. Local jetties have either squid & tommies or squid & blueys, depending on where they are - jetties south of Glenelg don't have blueys & those north do - late afternoon is a good time to take the crabnets & squid jags out. Big snook are chasing sprat tommies out from St Kilda & Outer Harbour. Tommy ruffs are off the jetty at Pt Noarlunga & there are night-time mulloway & bream from the Onkaparinga river mouth & in the draining surges at West Lakes. Mullet are in the Port River along with a few silver bream. The Happy Valley reservoir has Murray Cod (catch & release) & a few redfin atm.
FLEURIEU/RIVERLAND/RESERVOIR: The slightly unusual event of School holidays, EASTER and ANZAC Day all happening pretty much sequentially just brought ever-increasing numbers of cars, caravans, boats and kayaks to The Fleurieu last week! Even with the damaging effects of the algal bloom still fresh in our minds the boat ramps and jetties all experienced plenty of fishing activity until those strong south westerly winds cracked in late on Saturday afternoon and then continued on for several days. KG whiting, squid (on clear water days), garfish, snook and flathead were the main reports from boat crews fishing off O'Sullivan's Beach, Sellicks, Myponga, Normanville, Wirrina and Rapid Bay to Cape Jervis. Tuna to 10-12kilos are inside the rips at Backstairs Passage if weather conditions permit, but there have been some big ocean swells running at times. The jetties at Pt Noarlunga, Normanville, Second Valley and Rapid Bay enjoyed lots of fishers trying their luck for squid, tommy ruffs and garfish, with lazy drummer occasionally cruising the jetty piles at Rapid Bay. A steady berley trail works well for the ruffs and garfish. Along the Coorong there are mullet and salmon trout from the 28 Mile Crossing and The Granites with increasingly large numbers of vehicles becoming bogged and stranded on the Goolwa beach as high tides caught unwary or ill-prepared travellers. Inside the Goolwa river mouth there are overnight soapie mulloway here and over at the Scab channel and Hindmarsh Island. Upstream anglers caught Murray Cod (catch and release) and redfin perch from Swan Reach and Nildottie and the Myponga res has redfin perch. There are reports of snapper, gar, squid and nice KG whiting offshore from Victor Harbor but anglers need to be mindful of the continued water pollution and residues.
SOUTH EAST/COORONG: Our poor old Coorong & South East waters can't take a trick atm, with the abalone ban followed by the Karenia Mikimotoi (algal bloom) contamination that is now killing much of the Goolwa cockle population. Strike Me Pink! Local jetty-based fishing has a mix of tommies, squid, garfish & snook at Kingston, Robe, Beachport & Port MacDonnell. Big boat crews caught snapper, red nannys, big flathead & kingies off the Pt Mac deep water shelfs, while smaller tinnies found squid, KG whiting & garfish much closer to shore. Over at Nene Valley & Cape Northumberland there are a few crayfish (a PIRSA licence is required), KG whiting to 38cm, mullet, gar & big squid. Squid, gar & whiting are also off Carpenter Rocks, Beachport, South End, Robe & south of the Margaret Brock Reef at Kingston. Mullet & mulloway along with salmon to 1.5kgs are in the surf at Salt Creek, The Granites, Little Dip Salmon Hole, Stinky Bch (south of Nora Creina Bay), Canunda & Picanninie Ponds. Flathead, mullet & KG whiting are also around Boatswain's Point & the Surfer Bch at Beachport. ABALONE BAN:PIRSA has announced a 12 month ban on the taking of abalone from the Southern Zone Abalone Fishery - here's the link: pir.sa.gov.au/alerts_news_events/news/biosecurity/closure_of_southern_zone_abalone_fishery_due_to_avg.
YORKE PENINSULA: Wallaroo: Some great fishing weather quickly gave way to a few scattered showers and then strong south westerly winds as last week progressed into the EASTER weekend. Tommy ruffs and a few squid are at the jetty, while boat crews ran out for KG whiting and squid from Bird Reef and the Ballast grounds. Moonta Bay/Port Hughes: Strong tides helped anglers who made the trip down to Cape Elizabeth and the Steamer channel for whiting, snook and flathead, with late afternoon gar also inside Moonta Bay. The jetties have squid and there are a few mullet off the sand at Second and Weetaulta beaches. Point Turton: Nice garfish were caught south of Bluff beach and Port Rickaby before the cooler weather and the whiting should return after the winds drop back later this week. Squid and gar are in the shallows at Point Souttar, Magazine beach and The Pines. The jetty has night-time squid and not much else. Stenhouse/Marion Bays: Berry Bay and Gym beach hold small mullet and salmon trout on the high tides for the many shore-based anglers camping and holidaying along the south coast of The Leg. Boat crews caught red nannygai, whiting, flathead and squid with tuna reports very much on the slow side. The jetties have a few squid and tommy ruffs and there are garfish at times at Penguin Point. Edithburgh/Stansbury: KG whiting, squid and snook were the main reports from Klein's Point, Coobowie, Sultana Point and Marion Reef with a few big, fat whiting off the deep water at Troubridge Light. The jetties have tommies and squid on the high tides. Black Point/Ardrossan: Boat crews launched from busy ramps and congested beach access points for a few gar, very few blue crabs and some squid. Rakers are noticeably absent in the cooler weather, while the Ardrossan jetty has best results for squid after dark in the mosquito haze!
KANGAROO ISLAND Catches of nice KG whiting are coming from the north coast of KI, as fish up to 36cm are off the sandy beaches at Smith's, Emu Bay, Stokes Bay, Snellings Bch & Western River Cove. Garfish, squid and flathead are here also in reasonable numbers & this part of KI generally offers some protection from those dastardly southerly sea breezes! Nepean Bay/Kingscote, American River, Vivonne Bay & Antechamber Bay (Dudley Pen) hold tommy ruffs, gar & squid, with shore-based fishers reporting mullet, salmon trout & flathead.
ANZAC SEAFOOD RECIPE: ANZAC Day Seafood Pies. Ingredients: salmon fillet cubed, green prawns cleaned, 1 carrot, 1 leek, 2 spuds chopped, flour, milk, fish stock, white wine, 1 egg, 3 sheets pastry, butter, seasoning. Preparation: cook chopped veg with butter in hot frypan, adding milk, wine and flour. Simmer for 3mins and add seafood. Season and cool. Pour mix into pastry lined dishes after brushing with egg wash. Bake for 15mins @ 180C. Serve with a glass of draught beer. Bonzer hard monga tucker mate, Australian Digger slang for Bon Appetit.
SPENCER GULF/WEST COAST: Kingfish up to 15kgs have been caught from Pt Augusta & Pt Lowly rip along with lots of pesky small snapper (which must be returned to the water), plus a few blue crabs, gar & whiting to 34cm. Large snook are running off Whyalla, Cowell, Tumby Bay & Port Neill, also with blue crabs, garfish & whiting. Tumby has whiting to 34cm in the bay with much larger fish (50cm) out at The Spilsby Is group. Pt Lincoln town/caravan park jetties have early am whiting, gar & squid with Farm Bch & Coffin Bay also producing whiting, gar, large snook, squid & mullet. Big boat crews are managing to find tuna to 40kgs, red nannygai, kingfish & trevalley from the offshore marks at Longnose Point, Waldegrave, Olive & St Peters Island groups. Streaky, Baird & Venus Bays have nice KG whiting to 38cm, squid, flathead, garfish & snook, while mulloway & salmon to 3kgs are off Point Brown, Claire & Fowlers Bays, Yalata & the Dog Fence Bch. TIGHT LINES!
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Greg James' Fishing Pathfinder 4th edition
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Stories of men and women from WW2