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THIS WEEK'S FISHING HOTSPOTS:
ASK PROFESSOR PLANKTON - ALGAL BLOOM NEXT STEPS - WHAT TO DO? As we now should all know, Algal Bloom is the result of a rapid increase in harmful algae and is primarily caused by nutrient-polluted fresh waters running into our ocean. So where is our Statewide Call to Action - are the authorities no longer Fit for Purpose? Here is what the rest of the world is doing:
#Remove the main culprit (agricultural chemicals) by immediate industrial scale water filtration activities
#Activate biological control techniques
#Employ future flocculation (water cleansing) strategies
#Be innovative in the use of the Murray River lock & barrage system - they can allow dual water flows.
There is so much more the so-called experts should be doing. Waiting for a storm and a high tide is not one of them. Maybe we can start on our beloved South Australia?
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JULY 19-31, 2025
TOP END/NORTHERN TERRITORY From Jason Deigan at Compleat Angler Darwin! My radio segment with the fabulous Spence Denny (ABC891 @ 8.30pm every Thursday night) now has a Top End (NT) element: #Local billabongs around Darwin all have hungry barramundi after recent rains - as does the Daly River #Offshore at Dundee Bch crews are hooking up to billfish & barra # Darwin Harbour fishing well for Queenie snapper & mud crabs!
METRO WATERS: Changes to South East snapper & Statewide squid (Southern Calarmari) rec limits apply from July 1, 2025. Catches of KG whiting are about for boat crews using fresh bait off West Bch, Brighton, Seacliff & Semaphore/Nth Haven, with fresh cockle (top hook) & softened squid (bottom hook) often being the rig with best results. The whiting may well drop back as the waters clear, allowing squid catches to improve, plus garfish, tommy ruffs & snook. Local jetty with legal access fishing has tommy ruffs, squid, mullet (blue-line) & even a nice legal KG whiting on the chew, while the shore-based fishers are picking up late in the season mullet, salmon trout, bream & overnight mulloway from West Bch, The Pat, Port River & the Onkaparinga river mouth. Salmon to 1 kilo are in the shallows at Seaford (just south of the main surf break), Southport, Christies Bch & Moana. Boat crews are reporting a few nice garfish from the Horseshoe Reef at Christies & north of the O'Sullivan's Bch boat ramp.
FLEURIEU/RIVERLAND/RESERVOIR: At Victor Harbor boat crews had to wait until late into last week to launch their craft and run out for KG whiting and some flathead from the inshore grounds and snapper, red nannygai and kingies further offshore. Then those strong and cold northerlies built after a little rain as upstream anglers targeted Murray Cod (catch and release), yabbies and redfin perch at Loxton and Berri/Renmark. If you are snapper fishing and/or squidding over the next few days, please remember the changes to recreational bag limits. Shore-based fishers are reporting mullet (still) and salmon trout at the 42 Mile Crossing and The Granites. A few tommy ruffs are in the mix around Victor and shore-based crews are back at Waitpinga for salmon and mullet, but I would be strongly advising care before consuming local seafood catches if the Algal Bloom is still present. Wirrina and Cape Jervis produced a few nice KG whiting before the late weekend strong winds and the Rapid Bay jetty has tommies and squid. Carrackalinga, Lady Bay and Myponga Beach grounds have squid, red mullet, flathead and garfish. Shore-based fishers are catching black bream and mullet from the rocks and sand at Triggs, Seaford and Southport.
SOUTH EAST/COORONG: There has been some well documented extreme damage to several South East jetties inc Kingston & Robe, so pse check local jetty access before you want to walk the planks. Inside the Coorong at the Northern Lagoon - if you are fishing here - there has been a reported incident of algal bloom - so pse be careful if you plan to consume locally caught seafood! Tuna catches are few & far between with those caught coming from experienced boat crews running far & wide of Cape Northumberland, Port Mac & beyond - fish in the 40 kilo range are the main reports. Red nannys, snapper, kingfish, sweep & flathead are closer to shore from Nene Valley, Beachport, Carpenter Rocks & Robe/South End waters, but watch the swells as they are big this Winter! The more sheltered waters like Nora Creina Bay, Little Dip, etc have gar, mullet & squid. Shore-based anglers are trying to avoid the Algal Bloom chasing mulloway, salmon to 2 kilos, mullet & flathead from the 42 Mile Crossing, The Granites, Lurline Bay, Carpenter Rocks & Canunda then all the way down to the mouth of the Glenelg river in Sinaloa (Mexico). Boat crews fishing well west of the Margaret Brock reef caught KG whiting, snapper & large sweep during the calm conditions of this week, but it was cold work!
YORKE PENINSULA: Wallaroo: Mid to late in the week saw boat crews launch from the ramp to run out for KG whiting, squid and even garfish from Myponie Point, Riley Shoals and off The Magazine. The winds picked up over the weekend and the jetty was a cold place to be - results here were few and far between. Moonta Bay/Port Hughes: Tourist numbers do not appear to be at the level of previous years and those cold northerlies certainly cracked with some rain and plenty of white caps out in the bay. The jetties have gar and squid at times, while boat crews caught whiting from Cape Elizabeth and West Light. Pannie snapper are in Steamer channel but they are still a protected species. Port Victoria/Balgowan: I have a couple of rellies with homes in Balgowan and they managed to fish for several hours last Friday in the fine and reasonably calm weather. Squid, medium whiting and red mullet were their main catches. Big boat crews are also catching KG whiting from around the Songvar wreck and the north west Wardang Island grounds. The jetty at Port Vic has been quiet. Port Rickaby/Point Turton: Shore-based anglers braved the often onshore winds at Bushes, Bluff and Parsons beaches during the week as they tried for mullet, salmon trout and flathead. Down at Point Turton a few mullet and salmon trout can be caught in local small bays off Flaherty's, Cockle and Collins beaches as well. Boat crews are finding the fishing slow with the adverse tides with only a few garfish off The Pines and Point Souttar. Stenhouse/Marion Bays: Tommy ruffs and squid were the main targets for jetty-based fishers during the week. Boat ramp problems still remain at Marion Bay as crews tried to run out for red nannygai, kingfish and large flathead on the inshore grounds. Update - Edithburgh/Stansbury/Black Point/Ardrossan: On Friday of last week I travelled to Ardrossan to check the dreadful damage left by the Algal Bloom. The scene of dead and dying sea life is right before our eyes. Nothing, absolutely nothing is left. I spoke with local business operators and sight-seers to the jetty - and in the middle of the school holidays - town tourism is well down on holiday-makers. The jetty is surrounded by dead fish and only the local seal colony and a few sea birds remain. It is a maritime version of Chernobyl and the destruction runs all the way past Edithburgh. I am very sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there are no fish here and probably won't be for some time.
KANGAROO ISLAND <
JULY SEAFOOD RECIPE: Prawn, Asparagus & Sesame stir-fry. Ingredients: sesame seeds, peanut oil, ginger, garlic, 1 sliced brown onion, asparagus spears, 12 green & shelled prawns, 1 sliced chilli, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar. Preparation: cook sesame seeds in a dry wok & remove. Stir-fry oil, ginger, garlic, onion & asparagus then remove. Stir-fry prawns in oil & add asparagus mixture & chilli to hot. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds. Prijatno! Bosnian for Bon Appetit!
SPENCER GULF/WEST COAST: Salmon to 3 kilos are off those Elliston surf beaches with Almonta, Sheringa, Talia, Convention & Scott's being the standout locations - whole pilchards with a double-ganged rig worked best. Boat crews caught KG whiting from Whyalla (Leeton Tug, Dump, Cowled's Landing) grounds & squid from Point Lowly. Point Lowly marina & boat ramp has had schools of pannie snapper in recent days - so many that you cannot count - but they are still on the no-take list as they gobble their way through juvenile whiting, tommy, cuttlefish & squid schools. Point Lowly to Miranda also has a few kingfish. Pt Pirie has snook, gar, squid & whiting from Cockle Spit to Port Davis but the algal bloom has recently hit Pt Broughton with large & small marine creatures the latest to be destroyed - it is a bloody disaster of all proportions. KG whiting catches are good in the bays of Coffin, Scaele, Venus, Streaky & Baird, along with gar, squid, salmon & mullet from the shore. Way out west there are salmon trout at Point Brown, Haslam, Davenport & Acraman Creek, Fowler's Bay & Point Sinclair. TIGHT LINES!
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