Locals and visiting anglers continue to have amazing marlin catches as the run of hot, blue, bait-filled water continues, with lots of big dolphinfish thrown in too.
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Rob Josifovski, a keen golfer from Tuross Head, last week took great delight in landing a magnificent 22.5kg dolphinfish on a live slimy mackerel bait fishing 2km out of Moruya Heads on the boat ‘Old Salty’ skippered by Jason Bussa and Brendon Rolfe.
Other locals including Darren “Dash” Bowater, David Moran and Rick Diaz have all posted great dolphinfish catches in the past week. As always, check out all the photos and catches at the Fish Files page on the Narooma News website.
Dave Moran took his mates Paul Martin and Billy Alves on his boat Moon Shadow getting six keepers and 15 in total, and said it was one of the best sessions ever on the boat.
Game boats are still returning to Bermagui flying up to 10 marlin flags. Then there was the whale shark sightings off Bermagui, although it was unclear whether it was the same of different sharks. The water was currently a very warm 24.5 degrees on the Continental Shelf and bright blue, perfect for tropical species.
Skipper Crusty from the Tru-Dee V reckons there could even be tropical game fish such as wahoo heading down and he suggested trying trolling around Montague Island in the early morning for one of these sought-after but rarely encountered species in local waters.
Two Bermagui fishermen last week had a black marlin chase a kingfish at the Fowl House area of Montague Island. While the kingfish continue to be sporadic, there have been some big fish landed by those putting in the time.
Staying out at Montague Island, Narooma father and daughter diving pair Jon and Georgia Poyner had another great dive with grey nurse sharks on Thursday. They counted around 10 individual sharks at the island. This follows similar numbers encountered on another dive a few weeks ago.
The estuaries are really now firing too with the warm weather making for some great whiting and bream fishing from Tuross all the way down to Wallaga Lake. Up at Moruya’s ‘Brewing, Camping, Fishing’, owner Ray says the beach fishing has been going off for those getting beach worms. There have been good salmon and tailor for those fishing off the breakwalls using metal lures and pilchards, while there have been some big flathead at Four Ways on Tuross Lake.
For the commercial fishermen, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is hosting free workshops across NSW to assist commercial fishing vessel owners to understand future regulatory changes. Vessel owners will be guided to develop safety management systems. The meeting is at Bermagui Fishermen’s Co-op from 9am to 2pm on Wednesday, March 2.
Catch and release comps
It seems catch-and-release fishing competitions are catching on, and about time! These tournaments are proving much more popular than the old kill and weigh competitions.
The Narooma Sport and Game Fishing Club will again in its annual ANSA Sports Fishing Convention coming up next month on March 11-13 have a catch-and-release section, in addition to the traditional line class and weight divisions. The competition is open to all anglers not just ANSA club members, so contact NSGFC president Les Waldock on 0411 392 608 to get involved.
The other two big tournaments coming up are both completely catch and release. Tuross Head Fishing Club’s flagship event, The Flathead & Bream Tournament also on March 12-13 already has 170 entries out of the 250 total maximum. More info on their Facebook page. Tuross fishing club meanwhile has also made its monthly competition based on length rather than weight, so anglers can choose whether to bring back their fish or not. Let’s hope all our local clubs adopt this method soon. It’s in their and the fishes best interest.
The Million Dollar View Narooma Flathead Challenge, also a catch and release event, is coming up on February 26-28 and more than 80 teams are expected to take to Wagonga Inlet, photographing and then releasing their catches.
Bermagui Country Club Social Anglers’ Club
The Bermagui Country Club Social Anglers’ Club members and hosts enjoyed their get-together with the Bermi Hotel Fisho’s last Sunday, meeting up for their bi-annual comp. With much pleasure, club president Fran accepted the shield, having been won by a very small margin, presented by Sandy Livingstone. While Ian Reid won the club’s off-shore reward – the winning angler from the Bermagui Hotel was Frank Kovacs. The raffle allowed prizes for Roy Nagy, Gwen Symes, Irene Sutton and Jim Manton. The Club welcomes new members Ian and Jeanette – “welcome aboard”. Many thanks to all who contributed to a successful day. – Drifting
