With our sincere thanks to Phil and Vicki Webster we have a fantastic raffle running for the year. All monies raised will be going towards next year's Peter Goadby Memorial Tournament and your ticket of just $100 could see you win an amazing cruise for 30 people aboard the amazing Lady Audrey, a 114ft Hatteras with food, local beer and wine provided. What a great Christmas party opportunity that would be on our beautiful Sydney Harbour.
The Peter Goadby Memorial Tournament presented by Little Audrey Charters was once again an amazing weekend. Fifty boats entered and on behalf of Sydney Game Fishing Club I would like to thank all of the competitors and sponsors who made the tournament possible including: Little Audrey Charters, IBW Constructions, Short Marine, Sylvania Marina, Furuno Australia, Marina Bayside, Otto's Tackle World, Pakula Lures, Fishing Station, Sydney Harbour Exclusive, Lewis Financial Management, D'Albora Marina, Okuma Rapala, Costa Sunglasses, Black Pete Tackle, Sheldon & Hammond Victorinox Knives, Tantrum Lures, Collin Forrest Jewelry, Wellsys Tackle, Global Tackle, Cons Milk Bar, Bowies Diving and Coffee Den. Our wonderful $50,000 cash prize went off to Rabbit from Port Hacking Game Fishing Club with a wonderful blue marlin capture of a 288kg fish on 37kg tackle. Our congratulations to Rabbit and crew as they have had an amazing run in our tournaments. In 2016 they caught a 171kg Blue to win Heaviest Marlin that year, then in 2017 they weighed an amazing blue of 348kg on 37kg to take home $25,000. Skip a year to 2019 and they take home $50,000. May the 4th (be with you) saw the Port Hacking 100 One Day Shootout Tournament and while unfortunately the weather gods were particularly unkind, 46 boats still ventured out into 20–25 knots of south-wester. New Club member Lew Nemec with his boat Game Changer, a 63ft Bertram came Runner-up Champion Boat - Capture with some of the Tantrum crew onboard. Makira Wright weighed a 138kg Blue marlin on 24kg which won Heaviest Marlin and Champion Junior Capture and we would like to congratulate Game Changer. We look forward to seeing this lovely big game boat around our weigh station a lot more in the seasons to come. Tight lines Tiddles
May, the last month of autumn is here and this brings the end to Summer Point Score for 2019, and introduces our short winter season. Hopefully the start of winter will generate the necessary seas and currents that will bring lots of tuna and sharks into our waters. Our trophies for captures on line class still run until the end of June plus the Last Marlin of the Season is still there to be won. Sadly we just experienced a difficult season that was blighted by some appalling weather and a surprising shortage of game fish and this was quite bemusing when you look at the previous season with its extraordinary run of good fish. Still, with the Winter Point Score in front of us and yellowfin, bluefin and big kingfish available there should be plenty to keep us busy and we do have the Mako Tournament as well.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
2019 SGFC Major Raffle of the year A huge thank you to Phil and Vicki Webster for their generosity for the 2019 Raffle of the year, a 4 hour cruise on Lady Audrey includes local beer food and wine for up to 30 people. Tickets are $100 each please see Annita. If you can help sell some tickets please see me. ALL PROCEEDS GO TOWARDS THE 2020 PETER GOADBY PRIZE POOL.
Calendar of Events SGFC May 2019 28th Committee Meeting June 2019 4th Club Meeting 25th Committee Meeting July 2019 2nd Club Meeting 30th Committee Meeting
The Sydney Game Fishing Club, located in Sydney’s Watsons Bay, hosted the Peter Goadby Memorial Tournament over the weekend of 13th and 14th April 2019. The tournament is proudly presented by Little Audrey Charters, Australia’s premier luxury game fishing charter. The tournament saw glamourous conditions and with the prize pool including $50,000 in cash, a total prize value of over $80,000 and a historical big fish. Over 50 boats took up the challenge and the fish arrived on cue and did not disappoint. With reports of good numbers of marlin, tuna and sharks throughout the entire fishing zone, the fleet stretched out between chasing the Stripes on the inshore grounds, while the sharkers and those chasing the big Blues and yellowfin went wide. Between the fleet, there was a total of 86 strikes and 67 hook ups. 25 marlin were captured or tagged, which comprised 21 Stripes, 1 Black and 3 Blue marlin. On the yellowfin tuna front, 9 were caught with many more big barrels earning their freedom while the sharkers got a mixed bag of tigers, makos, whalers and blue sharks. Congratulations to Zorro who took out Champion Boat Tag and Release, Undertaker who took out Champion Boat Capture and Rabbit who took out Heaviest Marlin over 250kg and the $50,000.00. Sydney Game Fishing Club would like to thank all of the competitors and sponsors who made the tournament possible including: Little Audrey Charters, IBW Constructions, Short Marine, Sylvania Marina, Furuno Australia, Marina Bayside, Ottos Tackle World, Pakula Lures, Fishing Station, Sydney Harbour Exclusive, Lewis Financial Management, Dalbora Marina, Okuma rapala, Costa Sunglasses, Black Pete Tackle, Sheldon & Hammond Victorinox Knives, Tantrum Lures, Collin Forrest Jewelry, Wellseys Tackle, Global Tackle, Cons Milk Bar, Bowies Diving and Coffee Den.
Tournament Statistics 18 x Stripe marlin 1 x Black marlin 3 x Blue marlin captured 7 x Mahi Mahi tagged 5 x Sharks captured 3 x sharks tagged
Peter Goadby Memorial Tournament Presented by Little Audrey Charters
Wrap Up
Prizes and Trophies – Capture 1. Champion Boat Capture Undertaker 37,042 pts PHGFC 2. Runner-Up Boat Capture Xstream 18,090 pts LMGFC 3. Heaviest Marlin Over 250kg Rabbit (Tane Butterwort) 288 kg PHGFC 4. Heaviest Shark Xstream (Damian Scadden) 269kg pts LMGFC 5. Heaviest Tuna Rabbit (Dan Payn) 58.50 kg PHGFC 6. Champion Adult Lady Angler Capture Not Won 7. Champion Junior Angler Capture Hammish Husband Undertaker 180,023 pts - 268 kg Tiger Shark PHGFC 8. Champion Small Fry Angler Not Won
288.7kg
Prizes and Trophies – Tag & Release 1. Champion Boat T&R Zorro 57,500 pts Broken Bay GFC 2. Runner-Up Boat T&R Markoo 47,087 pts SGFC 3. Third Place Boat T&R Hoodlum 33,058 pts SGFC 4. Fourth Place Boat T&R Ambition 20,000 pts SGFC 5. Champion Boat Under 8 Meters T&R Zorro 57,500 pts Broken Bay GFC 6. Champion Adult Lady Angler T&R Lubomira Belacova 11,500 pts SGFC 7. Champion Junior Angler T&R Jonah Levi 10,000 pts SGFC 8. Champion Small Fry Angler T&R Not Won
2019 Tag & Release Boat AMBITION AMBITION ANYFIN BIG BLUE BIG BLUE BIG BLUE EL PIRATA FANDANGLE HOODLUM HOODLUM HOODLUM HOODLUM HOODLUM JIGSAW MARKOO MARKOO MARKOO MARKOO MARKOO MARKOO MARKOO SPINDRIFT TEAM DOMINATOR X-STREAM ZORRO ZORRO ZORRO ZORRO ZORRO GALE FORCE BAIT ME MR PIG UNDERTAKER
Angler MIKE O'NIEL ROB COOPER MICK WILLIAMSON FRANCIS DEWILDE FRANCIS DEWILDE RUDI VANDER WAL MAT DWYER JACK MIEGEL PAUL LEAMING PAUL LEAMING PAUL LEAMING JOHN WISE JOHN WISE ISAAC CARUANA MAX DUMANSKI MATTHER SHEATHE MAX DUMANSKI MATTHER SHEATHE MAX DUMANSKI MAX DUMANSKI SCOTT HALIDAY STEVE SPINKS JEFF FETTERPLAC MATT SMITH ALEX QASABIAN JEREMY VOLZ JEREMY VOLZ JEREMY VOLZ JEREMY VOLZ LUBI BELACOVA JONAH LEVI OSKA DAVIS FLOYD HUSBAND
Status Species Line Class Points Male STRIPED MARLIN 24 10000 Male STRIPED MARLIN 24 10000 Male STRIPED MARLIN 24 10000 Male MAHI MAHI 15 29 Male MAHI MAHI 15 29 Male STRIPED MARLIN 10 12500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 37 8500 Male MAHI MAHI 24 25 Male MAHI MAHI 15 29 Male MAHI MAHI 15 29 Male STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 24 10000 Male STRIPED MARLIN 37 8500 Male MAHI MAHI 15 29 Male MAHI MAHI 15 29 Male MAHI MAHI 15 29 Male STRIPED MARLIN 10 12500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 37 8500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 37 8500 Male WHALER SHARK 10 3750 Male STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Male STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Female STRIPED MARLIN 15 11500 Junior STRIPED MARLIN 24 10000 Junior WHALER SHARK 10 3750 Junior BLUE SHARK 15 2875
2019 Captures Boat CASEY MIDAS TOUCH RABBIT SEADEUCE SNIPER UNDERTAKER UNDERTAKER UNDERTAKER X-STREAM
Status Species Line Class Weight Points Male BLUE MARLIN 37 187 5670.65 Male BLUE SHARK 8 100.5 4576.68 Male BLUE MARLIN 37 288 13450.38 Junior BLUE MARLIN 24 176.5 11941.7 Male TIGER SHARK 15 138.5 4795.56 Junior TIGER SHARK 15 268.5 18023.06 Junior BLUE SHARK 8 93 3919.08 Junior MAKO SHARK 6 100.5 15100.5 Male MAKO SHARK 15 269 18090.25
Angler LEE CHEESMAN JAMIE COOK TANE BUTTERWORT BLAYNE HEYWARD PETER VARDIS HAMISH HUSBAND HAMISH HUSBAND FLOYD HUSBAND DAMIEN SCADDEN
The good, the bad and the ugly!!! (And I’m not talking about Danny, Mitch and Casey)
As we all know, the Peter Goadby Comp every year is one of the best on the coast. Team Casey were out to capture the $50k and Mitch knew spot X (we all know spot X right???) had every opportunity to get the magic fish. Having analysed the charts, we left nice and early and proceeded north to find the good water. Knowing it was a fair way out we set in for a long ride. The water out wide was nice and blue, with some bait however the temperature did not match what we were after. When we finally found the temperature break the warmer water greeted us with a nasty green tinge! So we proceeded north weaving in and out of the blue and green to see what we could find. Mitch had a plan to proceed to spot X then move in closer if need be. As soon as we hit spot X with sauries jumping everywhere, one of the riggers got hit and Danny was on!!! We had heard of a few fin being caught and this appeared to be a nice fin. With Danny hitting the hour mark we knew we had a good fish and he was giving it heaps. That hour turned to 2, then to 3 and 4. Getting close to the 5 hour mark we had the fish 20 meters away. Casey saw the fish and said it was the biggest fin he’d ever seen. Sickles approx 15-18 inches long! We were talking a fish of a lifetime. With the 20 meters going on and off it seemed like we’d finally broke it when disaster struck. The hooks just fell out!!! We were devastated. Especially Dan who had done an excellent job on the rod. We called it in and commenced our 50 mile trip back to port. Day 2. We decided that we would have another crack at the area again so proceeded north. Going up passed the Wave Rider off Long Reef we saw a free swimming marlin and sounded a few too but we were after pepper pig and $50k. Knowing the water would have moved a bit we adjusted accordingly and set ourselves in again. As soon as we hit the mark Mitch said look a marlin 20 meters down. We watched the lures with anticipation to see a nice blue hit the long corner. It missed and disappeared. What seemed like forever (or we are just impatient) nothing happened and then it came out of nowhere and took the same Tantrum lure. I was on strike and hooked up solid. It did it’s good first run and aerobatics before setting in reasonably deep. We chased the fish around for 20 minutes before the nice, ugly storm hit which wasn’t the most fun. An hour in, the runs had gone and we upped the drag to winch it up. This seemed to go ok and we got our first shot. Unfortunately it was still too green and off it went to about 100 meters below the boat and just sat there. It was then a case of get back what we could. I still recall Mitch saying “get a wind” which I could only do my best with. It felt like a dead weight and running prob 15kg’s of drag, ol' chicken legs here was starting to hurt. Hitting the 2 hour mark we were 20 meters away and Mitch’s great driving got us the shot we needed. We had planned to tag the fish but quickly realised the hooks were in the gill plate (which explained the fight) and it was bleeding quite badly. The silver earrings came out and we boated a solid, fat fish but knew it wasn’t close to challenging the 288kg that had been weighed earlier. Knackered we reset the lures but that was all we saw. We got back to port in good time and it weighed in at 187kg! We had a great weekend and winning $500 in the lucky draw was a bonus too. Next year.........
Placings Champion Team T&R – Cookie, PHGFC - 1 Stripe Marlin on 37kg - 4 Yellow Fin Tuna on 37kg Champion Team Capture – Sharkin, Botany Bay GFC - 219.5kg Mako on 15kg - 181kg Mako on 15kg Runner Up Team T&R – Hermatage, PHGFC - Tag stripe marlin on 24kg Runner Up Team Capture – Game changer, SGFC - Capture 138kg Blue Marlin on 24kg Makira Wright 3rd Place Team T&R – Doghouse, PHGFC - Tag Stripe Marlin on 60kg 3rd Place Team Capture – Mr Pig, CCGFC - Capture 155kg Mako on 15kg Oska Davis 4th Place Team T&R - Dark horse, PHGFC - Tagged Mako on 15kg - Tagged Tiger on 15kg 4th Place Team Capture – Dark Horse, PHGFC - Capture 128kg tiger on 15kg Champion Lady Capture Senior Lady - Kate Gurdy, Sicario, LMGFC Champion Angler T&R Junior - Elly Offord, Cookie, PHGFC Champion Angler Capture Junior - Makira Wright, Game Changer, SGFC Champion Angler T&R Small Fry - Preston Essex, Bruised Tuna, PHGFC Champion Angler Capture Small Fry -Jayden Essex, Bruised Tuna, PHGFC Highest Point Scoring Team T&R (Sharks) – Dark Horse, PHGFC Heaviest Shark Over 200kg – Sharkin, Botany Bay GFC, Mako 219.5kg Heaviest Capture by a Junior / Small Fry – Oscar Davis, Mr Pig, CCGFC – 155kg Marko Heaviest Marlin – Makira Wright, Game Changer, SGFC- 138kg on 24kg
46 Boats fished - 1 day shootout
SHIMANO Port Hacking 100 Tournament - wrap up: It was fantastic to see 46 vessels take part in this years one day shootout format due to the wild weather from the south thrown our way. However there were still a range of great fish tagged and captured on Saturday. We had a fantastic Presentation Lunch with over 220 people attending. HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR LOYAL SPONSORS AND ALL THE TEAMS THAT LOOK PART.
Port Hacking Game Fishing Club 2019 Shimano Port Hacking 100 (4-5-2019)
What are parasites and why do we care? By definition, a parasite is an animal, plant or fungi that has negative impacts on its host in order to benefit itself. Essentially, parasites damage the fish they live on in order to get food and shelter. However, if they get greedy and take too much from their host, they could end up killing it. This would leave the parasite homeless and hungry. So ideally, parasites try to maintain a balance, take as much as they can, without killing their host. Game fish are host to a wide variety of parasites, while most of these are sea lice, they also host all sorts of copepods, isopods and worms. However, not many scientists have done research into these parasites, and therefore, we don’t know much about them. Why do we care? Why would anyone throw time, money and effort into something as nasty as parasites? Well, there are two main reasons for researching parasites. 1) We can use parasites to understand fish Parasites, like most animals, have a specific geographical range they live in, limited by the conditions the parasites prefer (including water temperature, water quality, currents and depth). So, if a fish has a parasite on it, we can assume that that fish entered the parasites range. Therefore, if we know the range a specific parasite species has, and we find that parasite on a fish, we can work out where the fish has been. Parasites are essentially naturally occurring tags! Unfortunately, since not many people have researched parasites, we don’t know the range they have. That’s why we need to research parasites. If we understand them, they could help us work out where game fish move. 2) Parasites can impact the health of fish As mentioned earlier, parasites try to exist in a balance with their host. However, this doesn’t always work out. Sometimes, parasite numbers can get out of hand leading to the death of their host. While this can sometimes happen to healthy fish, most of the time, if a fish has a parasite problem, there’s a pretty good reason. Things like increased stress and rising water temperatures are both known to raise the number of parasites living on a fish. Water temperatures are getting warmer and different human activities are known to increase fish stress. This means that in the future, parasites might become more common, causing more fish to die. This is where research comes in. If we don’t even know what parasites occur on fish, how are we supposed to predict what might happen and protect our fish from a potential parasite Armageddon?
TagTimes April 2019
Photo Comp Winner for January: Ben Knaggs Exmouth GFC sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
Steve Agius and the family with their recaptured striped marlin
First Striped Marlin Recapture of the Season The first striped marlin recapture for the season was reported on 20 February, 2019, by Steve Agius fishing south of Eden, NSW. Watching the sounder for bait Steve noticed a large arch sitting deep. The crew sent a live slimy mackerel down to depth and hooked the striped marlin straight away. After an acrobatic aerial display, Steve and his son noticed the tag positioned in the shoulder of the fish. Once the
Welcome to the latest edition of Tag Times This newsletter has the latest information on interesting recaptures and program updates. Please be advised that the Game Fish Tagging Program has a new postal address. When submitting your completed tag cards please send to PO Box 4291, Coffs Harbour NSW, 2450. You can contact the program by calling 02 6691 9602 or via email at gamefish.tagging@dpi.nsw.gov.au Game Fish Tagging Reports The game fishing season for the east coast has been challenging for many to date, with striped marlin moving south, down the coast early on in 2019. The tag cards coming in suggest there has been a consistent run of striped marlin between Eden and Mallacoota. The black marlin fishing has provided some reasonable numbers, particularly for those in southern Queensland. The Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast regions have also had a productive inshore season thus far, with many boats regularly tagging up to five or more black marlin in a single session. Over on the west coast steady numbers of billfish tags have been returned from consistent hot spots such as Exmouth and Dampier. In Victoria and South Australia the southern bluefin tuna (SBT) season is really starting to fire. There has been decent numbers of school fish being tagged while the 'barrel' reports have started to flow from locations such as Portland. DPI Fisheries proudly support the tuna champions program. Hints and tips on andling and tagging SBT can be found on the Tuna
Be sure to get your images in for the next competition which will run until the end of May 2019. Email your photos of correctly tagged game fish species to gamefish.tagging@dpi.nsw.gov.au. Please let us know if you are happy for us to share your photo in this newsletter or on the NSW DPI FISHERIES Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NSWDPIFisheries/ Season so far! The 2018/2019 game fishing season started July 1, 2018. There have been over 4300 fish tagged and 205 fish recaptured for the season to date. The top ten species tagged so far are given in the table below:
Once the fish was boat side, the tag was removed and reported to the program. After a few quick photos, the fish was swam and released in excellent condition. The marlin was initially released by consistent Eden Sport and Game Fishing Club skipper Brendan Chippendale on board Seahog. Brendan had tagged the marlin only 23 days prior north of Eden, NSW. The fish had traveled 10 nautical miles during its time at liberty. On both occasions the marlin was estimated at 230cm lower jaw fork length and between 90-95kg. Congratulations to Brendan and Steve on the first striped marlin recapture for the 2018/19 season!
Champions website below: http://www.tunachampions.com.au/ T-Shirt Competition Winner The Game Fish Tagging Program team would like to thank all the fishers who have recently sent in photos of their tagged fish. The winner of the Tagging Program competition is Exmouth GFC angler Ben Knaggs with a black marlin tagged and released off Exmouth aboard boat Buckhunter in early January 2019. Congratulations Ben!
estimated to be 70kg. Fast forward 955 days and over 900 nautical miles south, experienced anglers Tony Lenthall and Marcus Ulrick recaptured the shark whilst fishing at the mouth of the Macleay River at South West Rocks, NSW. The shark was measured at 213cm total length. After a few quick photos, the bull shark was then re-tagged and returned to the river.
Mako Shark Swim Map
Junior angler Ben Massurit hooked up to a black marlin that went on to be recaptured Swim Map
Moresby, Papua New Guinea by a commercial long line vessel. The fish was estimated to be 150kg. The black marlin spent 421 days at liberty and travelled an estimated straight line distance of 200 nautical miles.
Gold Coast GFC angler Ayden Wass with the black marlin recapture
Dolphinfish FAD to FAD Recapture A dolphinfish originally tagged and released whilst fishing the DPI Tweed Fish Aggregating Device (FAD) has recently been recaptured….on nother DPI FAD 370 nautical miles south. During the Shimano Shootout competition on 27 October, 2018,
Gold Coast GFC boat Redonkulous, skippered by Adam Argus, tagged and released 12 dolphinfish in a short 20 minute bite period. The dolphinfish that went on to be recaptured initially measured an estimated 75cm and 3.5kg. Fast forward 88 days to 23 January 2019 and Broken Bay GFC boat Murriweeni recaptured the fish whilst fishing the Port Hacking FAD. Skipper, Rod Findlay and angler Matt Antaw estimated the fish at 105cm and 6kg highlighting significant growth. Studies have shown dolphinfish are one of the fastest growing fish in the ocean, they can reach 1kg after 6 months and 10kg after 1 year. The DPI FAD's program is your fishing licence at work.
Catch-up Sometimes the program is lucky enough to receive information about recaptures from many years prior. Four weeks ago we received some tag recovery forms from Caroline Sanchez who works for the Oceanic Fisheries Program of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. These forms had come from a remote village in Papua New Guinea. Four recaptures were reported, two of which feature below. Hicks Reef to PNG Black Marlin A black marlin released by Tom Williams fishing aboard Bite Me on 14 October, 2013, whilst fishing Hicks Reef in Northern QLD, has been recaptured. Skipper Tony Van Stratten released the estimated 110kg Black marlin after a brief battle on 60kg line. The fish went on to be recaptured south of Port
A 'dolly' hanging around a DPI FAD - Photo by Dylan Hannah Photography Swim Map
Recapture map for the bull shark Swim Map
Bull Shark Swims South A bull shark tagged by keen land based angler Marco Schmitz has gone on to be recaptured. Fishing solo off Ellis Beach in Northern Queensland on 16 June, 2016, Marco managed to subdue the bull shark on heavy tackle before tagging and releasing the fish in excellent condition. The bull shark measured 176cm and was
Dolphinfish Swim Map Swim Map
An example of a perfectly tagged Mako Shark
Junior Black Marlin Recapture Barwon Banks to Gold Coast A juvenile black marlin tagged at the Barwon Banks has gone on to be recaptured. On 20 April 2018, keen small fry angler and Sunshine Coast GFC member Ben Massurit caught the black marlin while fishing on his dad's boat Athrill. Ben managed to quickly subdue the black marlin on 15kg tackle before tagging and releasing the fish in excellent condition. Skipper and proud Dad, Tim Massurit, estimated the fish at 25kg. 275 days later on 20 January 2019 experienced Gold Coast GFC angler Ayden Wass fishing aboard Onabender recaptured the fish whilst fishing the inshore marlin grounds off the Gold Coast, QLD. The fish was estimated conservatively at 50kg, however the photos suggest it may have been a bit bigger than that! After a few quick photos the black marlin was re-tagged and returned to the water, ready to be caught again!
Club in Focus – Newcastle & Port Stephens GFC The Newcastle and Port Stephens Game Fishing Club is one of the largest game fishing clubs in NSW. The club is situated at Shoal Bay Beach in the picturesque town of Port Stephens. The club consistently has over 450 members and over 90 boats in their fleet. Key Tournament The Newcastle and Port Stephens GFC hosts the annual Garmin Billfish Shootout Tournament. The tournament has been run and done for this season, but it is looking to go even bigger and better next year. More information can be found on the club website: http://www.npsgfc.com/club/ Tagging contribution summary (2008-2018) The Newcastle and Port Stephens GFC has been a valuable contributor to the program. Over the past 10 years the club has tagged over 4,300 fish. A summary of the top 10 species tagged, along with the top 10 contributing boats can be seen below
The Junior Team this year was invited by Newcastle GFC to participate in their Tournament which I greatly appreciated. I drove to Newcastle on the Friday morning arriving at noon. My friend Harry donating his boat again for the team to use, a great gesture and one that I really am grateful for . Also this year another friend of Harry’s and mine Arman offered to Deckie for the team. Harry and Arman left Port Hacking early Friday morning, after a really great run they arrived about the same time as I did in Newcastle. Harry and I then went shopping for food, drinks and other items for the next two days we needed on the boat for the team. Once done with that we went to the Ibis Hotel in Hunter St, Newcastle to meet the General Manager Jo-Anne Ashby. Note: Harry had work connections with the Ibis and had organised the Ibis to Sponsor the team by providing 3 rooms and food for the week-end. The Hotel was great and they even provided early breakfasts for us which was appreciated by all. If anyone in the game fishing fraternity is needing a place to stay in Newcastle I highly recommend the Ibis Hotel, in Hunter St, their Sponsorship was a great help in keeping the teams costs down so as we always say in fishing please support our Sponsors. The juniors and their parents arrived at 2.30pm as arranged, once we all met I showed them their room, the parents left, we had a short team meeting during which mentioned what was expected of them over the week-end and that they were to best on best behaviour as they were representing NSWGFA, their Clubs and their families. I also gave each one of them a team bag with fishing items, team shirts and Certificates for representing NSWGFA. I then drove them down to the Marina to see and learn about Nemo. Harry giving a tour and showing where all the safety gear was. Up to the NCYC for dinner and the briefing where the Junior Team were welcomed and introduced. The Team consisted of Taj Newcombe from Kiama GFC, Harley Meneghel from Canberra GFC, Ralph Chapman from Broken Bay GFC and James Dunn from Lake Macqu arie GFC. We fished both days with the result of one Blue Marlin on day one for Ralph and one Mahi Mahi for Ralph on day two. The boys were all taught a lot of different fishing techniques, rigging skip baits and rules over the two days. They all had equal time and the rods which kept them ready and active all the time. Generally fishing was pretty tough with not a lot of fish, however the seas and
The NSWGFA Representative Junior Team 2019. Newcastle GFC East Coast Classic Tournament.
We were sent this photo over the weekend by Mark Watson and Phil Dance. They caught this 101 kg SBT and were planning to let it go, unfortunately a seal damaged the tail whilst they were resuscitating it boat side. When they began to take the fillets off they noticed something quite odd (and gross)! After consulting with Paul Hardy-Smith we believe it is an example of 'caseous necrosis'. Basically an area of muscle tissue got infected, an abscess formed and the body created a pocket which isolates the infected tissue from the rest of the muscle tissue. The body then draws moisture from the capsule of infected tissue, leaving a hard cheese like texture inside - the green colour comes from the infection. The rest of the meat outside the infected area would be fine to eat due to the isolation of the infected area. The infection could have come from an external source (maybe tag, but sounds like no tagging scars), or internal - like a spike from a prey item in the gut piercing through the gut into the muscle. We have a sample of the muscle tissue and will send it off to have this confirmed. But definitely an unusual sighting.
Now here is an interesting one!! Scroll past if you have recently had your lunch....
This one has me scratching my head. Usually catch slimey mackrel or jack mackrel/ yellowtail for live bait, but this one looks like a hybrid. Not a red bait either. Julian Pepperell Def a roughear scad (Decapterus tabl), as others have said. And yes, too slender to be a red tail scad (plus some other features visible in the pic). I've seen them caught off Port Stephens on the bait grounds a fair bit. If you get any more, the Australian Museum might be interested in getting a specimen, to positively identify and record locality. Oh, and it's not a redbait, which are in a different family altogether and don't have scutes of any kind.
I weather were great so all had a good time. Nemo came 11th overall, a good effort considering 55 boats entered and when you look at all the boat points we were only 2 fish behind the winning boat, plus our junior Ralph was 3rd on 11531 with the winner only on 12531, the difference being a marlin on 10kg against ours on 15kg. Also when you put Ralph’s score into the open category which our team was also entered in he was 8th place overall in the adult section. One of the highlights for the boys was the Saturday night dinner were David Teasel, NGFC President again introduced the team and asked the boys to come up on stage. Mitch from Pure Fishing Australia who are the Penn Reel Distributors for Australia then presented the boys with a Penn reel which was a wonderful gesture and one that is greatly appreciated. See picture below. Left to Right: Grahame, Ralph, Harley, Also is a picture of the team on Nemo. I was very proud of the team for their effort and perfect behaviour over the week-end. The boys were a pleasure to look after and their parents and clubs should be very proud of them. Special thanks go to David and his Committee for inviting us and really looking after us throughout the Tournament. Also to Harry for providing his boat and time and Arman for his time and expertise.Also the Ibis Hotel for Sponsorship of accommodation and food. Also each boy has written a short story which I recommend all to read. Grahame A Williams, OAM
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Words by Linden Brockhill
Guatemala, a place most people in the world question, “Why would you go there?”. Simple, it’s a place that we as anglers can only dream of! The journey started a few days before fishing began arriving in Antigua to meet-up with the crew to enjoy a few Cervezas (Beers) for New Years Eve and check out the local town. With the crew together for week 1 we had Simon Fisher, Daniel Kirby, Luke ‘Weepy’ Wilson, the flamboyant Italian Alessandro Zattini and myself. Captaining our trip we had Nicholas Martin who had quit his Sydney construction job and put his second role as Skipper of Ocean Hunter Charters on hold to move to Guatemala and skipper out of the Blue Bayou Lodge after falling in love with the place a few years earlier. After checking out the sights of Antigua, we moved down to the coast to prep for our first four days chasing sailfish, blue marlin and tuna. Day one was eye opening to say the least. Heading out into what we were told to be worse than usual conditions, with there being a half-metre of long period swell and no breeze, with one of the most beautiful coastlines in the background full of active volcano’s and coal terminals. Once we got out to the area, the deckhands Chepe and Chiente set the spread,which made for a busy wash! There were no less than eight lines in the water at any one time. With four teasers, four swimming ballyhoo, two marlin pitch baits ready to go and the occasional marlin lure in the mix. Day one hit with a nice blue marlin grabbing a swim bait on 10kg, Alessandro grabbed the rod being the only one not to have a billfish under him, and was introduced to the billfish game. The 80kg blue put on a great show and went down to battle, after a 2 hour battle we finally managed to get the tail wrapped fish up to the surface. Alessandro was absolutely broken but after a quick nap and an amazing burger whipped up by Chepe, was back in action. The rest of the afternoon, along with the next day was very quiet with a number of soft bites and shadows appearing and then disappearing in the spread. Day 3 brought up a couple of opportunities on the sails with Simon landing one, along with a couple nice mahi for the boat. The mahi were rapidly transformed into ceviche and some spectacular burgers by onboard chef Chepe. I guess cooking is easier when the ocean allows you to put your drink down on any flat surface without it even threatening to tip over. Day four brought on ‘Pirate day’, our inshore reef and Rooster fishing day and live up to the name it did! A few small snapper were caught before Simon brought up a good size diamond trevally which took a Jig Parra slow pitch jig. With the beers and rumbos flowing at a threatening rate the fishing turned on but not as expected after we found a nice patch of yellowfin tuna and mahi mixed together! CLICK THE IMAGE FOR A VIDEO ON THE GUATEMALAN FISHERY
Guatemala
Love the SAINT LoL Love THE SAINT Love THE SAINT
SAINTLY WHISPERS A Woman Goes To Her Boyfriend's Parents' House For Dinner. A woman goes to her boyfriend’s parents’ house for dinner. This is to be her first time meeting the family and she is very nervous. They all sit down and begin eating a fine meal. The woman is beginning to feel a little discomfort, thanks to her nervousness and the broccoli casserole. The gas pains are almost making her eyes water. Left with no other choice, she decides to relieve herself a bit and lets out a dainty fart. It wasn’t loud,but everyone at the table heard the pouf. Before she even had a chance to be embarrassed, her boyfriend’s father looked over at the dog that had been snoozing at the woman’s feet and said in a rather stern voice, “Skippy!”. The woman thought, “This is great!” and a big smile came across her face. A couple of minutes later, she was beginning to feel the pain again. This time, she didn’t even hesitate. She let a much louder and longer fart rip. The father again looked and the dog and yelled, “Dammit Skippy!” Once again the woman smiled and thought “Yes!”. A few minutes later the woman had to let another one rip. This time she didn’t even think about it. She let rip a fart that rivaled a train whistle blowing! Once again, the father looked at the dog with disgust and yelled, “Dammit Skippy, get away from her before she shits on you!”
After a day of rest and a bit of a change of crew including the addition of Anthony Dimech we were ready for another three days. The currents looked to be pushing further inshore and the bite was finally starting to heat up. We headed out with high hopes and stay on that high we did! Throughout the day we had sails coming left, right and centre. For our first big day there was a learning curve! And we all felt it. To hook these fish on the swim baits was very unique. The baits were run through a clip and drop back system but with no ratchets on the reels and the drags set as light as possible. The idea being the crew on deck had to identify which of the web of lines out the back the fish were onto (often during multiple pack attacks) and get to the reel(s) before the dropback had been sucked out the back and the reel overran. We all had to be on the ball when a fish came up as a minimal bite would result in an almost immediate overrun. Over the next two days we totalled over 30 landed sails with a combination of double and triple hook-ups. Thanks to Nicks spectacular driving, following the fish whichever way they were heading and continuing to tease the following packs of sails up to multiply the hook-ups. In amongst all the sails there was countless 4-8kg mahi and similar sized yellowfin making for a beautiful lunch each day. It was also great to see how Nick was able to apply the gamefishing theories that he had learnt off Sydney to a new fishery on the opposite side of the world and keep some of the top skippers in the sailfish capital of the world on their toes. The fishing, as with all good things did unfortunately came to an end and it was time for us to part ways. I had planned to continue to travel around this spectacular part of the world and for a few of the others it was time to head home. The trip was eye opening to say the least! The introduction to new methods and ways of fishing is always a stunning thing to experience, whether to incorporate them into your own personal methods or even just to understand how else it is possible to excel at our sport. Thanks to everyone on the trip as it would not have been the same nor possible without everyone involved.
Nestled in the quiet leafy suburb of Hunters Hill on the Lane Cove River lies a sleeping giant. This Mist Green 54’ Viking is a seriously well decked out fishing weapon with many awards under its belt. The following is an account of my first day out on SGFC Club boat “Gale Force”. We arrived on board before first light and were greeted with a glowing green deck light. A few more flicked switches and the big girl started revealing herself from the darkness. We loaded on our food, drinks and a mountain of snacks in preparation for a big day out in the deep blue yonder. The crew for the day was Michael and Daniel Kirby, Pitchy, Martin, Lubi and myself. The team were quite organised and went about their business getting everything prepared, stowing everything away and sneaking in a slice of toast or two as 2 big Man 1550 HP engines came online. A beautiful sound. Ropes were cast off and we started heading up the Lane Cove River, passing Cockatoo Island and then eventually enjoying the sunrise over the Bridge and Opera House as we headed out the heads. The seas were calm, the sun was shining and the winds were calm. It was already looking like a glorious day to be on the water. The back deck on Gale Force is quite roomy and contains both a quality game chair, double outriggers (2 lines on each side) and double teasers, all the normal deck washes and accessories, a freezer and 2 under seat fridges (what a neat idea!) and a backward facing lounge with a view of all the action for 3-4 people. A ladder on the left hand side leads upwards to the skippers home and that of his trusty lookout for the day. Entering the cabin from the back deck you are presented with a set of 5 comfortable soft leather lounges, a big screen TV connected to the sounder and the kitchen with 2 bar stools and a small eating table. Downstairs leads to the sleeping quarters and toilets with a double bed and en-suite on the left, more beds on the right and twin cross over beds in the bow (formal sleeping for 6). I am told they squeeze in 7 in tournaments with an additional person crashing on the lounge out back! The fly bridge is accessed from the ladder at the back deck and it presents as quite spacious with 2 chairs and a front lounge to chill and view the action. Daniel spent the day up here at the helm finding the birds, temp breaks and so on but one thing I really noticed was how much Michael (working the back deck) loved being out there and how “hands-on” he really was. He didn’t sit still, he was constantly adjusting, checking and monitoring everything that was going on. It was great to see him in action and he got a stripey this day as well. If you ever get the opportunity, I would highly recommend a day on Gale Force!
Monsters Prowl Lord Howe Beaches
It's not just sharks lurking around the Island waters; there's some other monsters out there that are the talk of the town. In early February Wayne Foss, ex-pat Tasmanian and a member of LHIGFC, thought he'd catch some dinner at the local surf beach. Sporting a beach rod and some squid for bait, Wayne made his way down to Blinkey's Beach and cast out into the breakers. When the line took off on a howling run, Wayne thought he'd hooked a Kawai from hell, but to his surprise, when he'd finally managed to wrangle the fish to the shore it turned out to be a monster 9lb plus BONEFISH! A fantastic effort considering the numerous bombies and reefs that dot the beach. These "Grey ghost of the flats" are an incidental, but regular capture around the Island and are certainly worth a shot should you be lucky enough to visit this great fishing location. The pictures hereabouts show what a brilliant fish Wayne had caught and it was not wasted. As Wayne told me," Despite a lot of internet references to the Bonefish being inedible...., I found it to be quite tasty and the bones weren’t a problem for someone who grew up in Tassie eating ‘couta!" (As they say,´"You can take the boy out of Tassie...." :- The LHIGFC Wahoo comp kicks off shortly and I look forward to giving everyone an update when it's run and won.... Garry Sexton Double Trigger
