Saturday, December 3, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Hand Feeding Octopus
Recently on a fishing trip, when cleaning our days catch, an inquisitive octopus came up from the bottom of a rock pool for a feed. We hand fed the octopus with some of the fish scraps.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Shark Fishing
My daughter Maddii and I enjoy catching and tagging sharks for Fisheries NSW. A lot of fun and the information gained by Fisheries provides details of the movements and habits of these Whaler Sharks.
Winter Fishing Ocean
Winter Rock Fishing
The constant large swells (1.5 – 2m) that have run in from the south most of winter can cause a rethink when rock fishing. The rocks are a place to avoid when these swells are around, but if you look for the right locations that are protected from these swells then fish can be obtained. A typical location: - a north facing place where the swell is avoided and plenty of wash is created by the swell pounding onto a point to the east. The added advantage is the SW wind is behind you and this increases your cast distance.
In this location the use of 40 and 60 gram metal lures were used to cast out beyond the wash, allowed to sink and then retrieved from a depth back through the wash. This method produced tailor up to 1.5 kg. These fish are sitting at the edge of the wash and constantly moving in and out to attack any baitfish hiding in the white water. Tailor will hang around until the sun starts to get high in the sky. The best times to fish for these fish are mornings up to around 10.0am and late afternoons.
A typical catch at 9.30 am on a July morning .
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Winter Estuary Fishing
Winter Estuary Fishing
The fish are still there and it is just a matter of finding where they are, when the water temperatures are cool and the clarity high. In lake systems the temperature can vary considerably depending on the depth and movement of water as well as the prevailing weather conditions.
Over a period of years I have found areas in lakes that still produce fish when the cold southerlies of winter blow and the fish seem to disappear to the depths.
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| A typical location: July , southerly blowing, late afternoon and out of the wind. |
Lure fishing is the best option in these places as large areas can be covered fairly quickly. I avoid bib lures for two reasons. The places are very shallow (less than 0.5 m) and secondly there tends to be lots of weed. The bibless minnows seem to work fine. They can be either floating or sinking depending on your preference, but both fish equally well.
The time to fish these shallow locations is when you are protected from the prevailing winds and only afternoons when the sun has been out most of the day. With the sun shining during the day the shallow areas have warmed up a few degrees. Without the wind on the surface, again this allows the temperature to increase. Try these areas early morning and you will be lucky to even have one strike as the water temperature tend to be 3-4 degrees cooler.
These shallow wind protected areas also seem to accumulate schools of baitfish and they are an excellent indicator to the possibility of larger predator fish. Some locations need to be waded while others can be bank walked. So rather than sit out winter because the fishing has shut down, get out a map and find an appropriate location that can give you a pleasant afternoon fishing.
Three fish caught at the above location during an hour fishing, using bibless minnows:
Phil Turner- Forster July 2010
Fishing Article: Cockles & Winter/Spring Bream
Cockles & Winter/Spring Bream
Winter and Spring fishing gone quiet? Then this is the time to target large bream using a naturally found bait called the cockle. These bivalve molluscs can be found in shallow water on mud and weed beds and are easy collected. Most lake systems have shallow areas adjacent to channels that may contain cockles. The locations to look for are those that contain ribbon weed that grows to about 20-25 cm in a firm mud substructure. These areas are only covered by about 0.5 – 1 m of water at high tide. Collecting them is easy if you have a shallow draft boat. Just motor in when the water is about
30 – 40 cm deep, lean over the side and run your hand through the weed. If you are in the correct area then you will feel the golf-ball size cockles, which seem to cluster in large groups in their preferred habitats. The correct location will give you your bag limit (20 per person) in five minutes.
Fishing locations for bream are also easy to locate. Look for areas of sand patches mixed with areas of weed or sparse weed and mud bottom with a depth of 1-1.5 m. These areas must have some tidal flow when fishing. On the run-up tide anchor in the deeper water and cast onto the rise and shallows, while on the run-out anchor in the shallows and cast into the drop-offs and deeper areas.
The rods are 7 foot or longer, with 2 kg line and 4 kg trace. A small ball sinker (as small as possible) or no weight is used depending on the tidal flow. This is allowed to run above a small swivel with the trace of at least 1 m length. I place three rods at a near horizontal position facing the cast direction, which is with the current. The reel drag is off, so when the fish runs, little resistance is felt by the fish. Large bream do not pick at these baits, but simple grab and run at full pace, the longer and faster the run the bigger the bream. I use number 1 Mustard bait-keeper hooks, as they are large with the small barbs on the shank to help hold the bait. Once the bream is running it is just a matter of placing your finger on the spool to stop the run and tightening up the drag for the fight.
When fishing this way the best results are early morning and late afternoon, but large catches have been taken in the middle of the day at the right tides, providing there is minimal boat traffic around.
Quietness is essential when fishing for bream in these shallow locations and when two or three good fish have been taken, move at least 40 m further along and restart, and continue this procedure about every 30 minutes. A few times I have caught half a dozen in the one spot but usually each spot will only contain two or three.
To fish for these bream in the cold-water months, in locations where most anglers seem to avoid, using locally collected bait can be very rewarding. There is also the by-catch of large winter whiting, flounder and the occasional flathead, but without the small pickers normally found in the warmer months.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
ANSA Record fish Paintings - Australian Bass
Monday, February 14, 2011
Installing an Angel Ring
At some of the location I fish, many fishermen have been washed off the rocks when fishing at unsafe times, which has resulted in many deaths. At one of my favourite locations, a mate and I have installed an Angel Ring. As a result there has been only one death over the last six years, previous to which there had been seventy six deaths.
Poem - Towers in the Ocean
Towers in the Ocean
By Phil Turner
By Phil Turner
Created at the beginning of time itself
Never moving but full of life
Silent sentinels that tower above me
At war with the ocean
Their battles are violent
Often scarred and crippled but forever defiant
Ghostly shadows silhouetted during the night
They grey, then turn gold
As the sun is born from the eastern ocean
Giving flight to the eagle who rides their thermals
And life to the swallows that nest in their hollows
But unforgiving to those who climb their heights
In their presence I lie and they give warmth
In their alcoves I hide and they give me shelter
I stand in their aura and they touch my soul
Their ancient spirits entangle my mind
For when I am with them I feel their being
Never moving but full of life - Towers in the Ocean.
P.J.T.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Poem - My Mistress
My Mistress
By Phil Turner
She is my mistress, I love her so
I long for our encounters wherever they occur
But it’s our early morning rendezvous that fill me with delight
My heart beat quickens with anticipation
My senses absorb her presence, though I am blinded by the dark
I stop and breathe deeply her fragrance
Fresh and clean as a newly opening rose
I can taste her essence and feel the warmth of her being
Close to her now the breeze carries her to me
Her caressing touch
How many times have I remembered this feeling?
How many times have I enjoyed this feeling?
There, as the pale sun colours the early morning grey
She moves in all her shimmering glory
A million sequins an every growing spectrum
How could I ever resist this beauty?
Her mood is changeable and unpredictable
Sometimes sensual and calm, other times playful
Often she will brood for days
But when angry, she rages and often tests my patience.
And like others before I must be on guard
For like the black widow she has her dangers
To be complacent in her presence is inviting death
To turn my back or misjudge her mood can be fatal.
But she is my mistress, I love her so
For I am the moth, she is the light
Forever calling, she absorbs my time with her passion
Calming my soul as the hours pass like minutes
I cannot resist her call
As she has enchanted me all my life
What debt do I owe her?
For I am the fisherman and she is the Sea.
P.J.T.
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