The Fish Whisperers

1 : Shark Fishing

2 : Fishing Competition.

The Shark we targeted was a Bronze Whaler (Carcharhnus Obsurus). These are one of the most prolific sharks in our waters and very aggressive. We used Mac Tuna as bait on 400lb wire trace with 10/0 hooks. These traces were rigged on heavy standup game rods with large 2 speed overhead reels. Dave had 80lb braided line on his outfit with approx 20lb of drag setting.

The fight was a total of 58 mins and we were in 100ft/30m of water.

Landing the Shark for release is done by tail roping the shark. In order to do this, don’t try and put a loop over its tail, we form a sliding loop in the rope and the angler fighting the fish stands in the loop and feed it over him, then the rod, down the line and over the sharks head first & slip it tight at the butt of the tail. Once the shark is tail roped we roll it on its back with its head down and tail out of the water for reasons we cant explain the shark falls asleep. This allowed us to unhook and until the shark and gave Paul the chance to kiss it before it woke up and swam away.

We competed in the Yamba Family Fishing Festival in the teams event. This was a catch and kill comp where the total weight of fish for the 4 anglers determined the winner. We only had 3 Anglers with Dave & Paul as well as a good friend Ryan Farnham. We actually signed up our lovely camera chic Kell as the 4th competitor.

We fished out wide off Yamba, NSW in about 80-100 metres of water with metal jigs and squid baits. Species caught included, Yellow Tail King Fish, Pearl Perch, Chinaman & Spotted Leatherjackets, Snapper, Amberjack, Sampson Fish and Trevally.

The event we competed in actually went for a total of 21 hrs but we only fished for 6 hours. All the fish we caught were donated to the event and auctioned off with the proceeds going to local charities.We also got a lovely big trophy.

3 : Blair Bream

4 : Spinning for Tailor

Obviously we were targeting Bream (Acanthopagrus Australis). These fish are a fantastic night time species as they will congregate in large numbers to feed. We fished a manmade rock wall in the middle of the river. The rockwall has been there for around 100 yrs so it is covered in oysters and growth as well as crabs, shrimp etc. A natural feeding place for the fish. Catching Bream requires good fresh bait (we used green prawns) sharp hooks, very little weight and light lines. Bream are considered to be an above average eating fish and a very good fighter and can grow to in excess of 9lbs or 4kgs.

We also caught a Maori Cod (Epinephelus Undulatostraitus) although this was possibly the smallest we have seen these are an excellent eating fish obtaining a weight in excess of 13lb or 6kgs.

We apologies again about Dave dropping fish and we have received numerous complaints about this via email. Unfortunately this appears to have made Dave edgy and he is dropping more than ever.

We have caught Tailor (not Taylor) (Pomatomus Saltatrix) before but in this episode Paul takes Waz to his “Secret” spot. The guys are actually spinning for them with very light gear and small metal lures. This is a very effective way of catching these fish but be aware they have very sharp teeth and you must use a heavy monofilament trace to avoid a bite off.

Paul’s “Secret Spot” is actually a man made reef off the Gold Coast in Australia and as you could see a very popular spot for not only the fish but everyone else. Paul being the Number 1 TV Fishing personality on the Coast and telling people nightly that the tailor are running on the reef possibly doesn’t help!. If you would like the Gps Marks for this spot Paul’s Number is 0407 XXXXXXX.

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5 : Fishing Structures

6 : BlackFish

This episode was designed to show how you can find fish in any creek, river etc near you. If you are just starting or trying to teach your kids how to fish, this is where you should start.

We found the junction of a small creek and the main river with the tide just turn to run out. We then found some submerged timber and a couple of trees that have recently fallen into the creek. This provided us with the structure that holds fish. Fish use structure to hide from predators as well as a place to ambush food. Our technique is to use light lines with very very small or no sinker on a Number 1-6 Hook. Bait used included beach worms, prawns and white pilchards.

Technique is to present the bait un-weighted as much as possible upstream of the structure and let the current take the bait to the fish as natural as possible. We caught small bream, flathead and whiting but you just never know what’s living there. Although we didn’t land any Laviathans of the Deep there are times when fishing these areas can catch lots of quality fish.

Blackfish also called Luderick (Girella Tricuspidata) are a very sought after fish from southern Queensland to Victoria on the east coast of Australia. These fish are considered vegetarians predominately eating a green or black moss like weed that grows in the saltwater estuary or a cabbage, sea lettuce (Enteromorpha or Ulva) which grows on the rocks on the seaside.

Catching Blackfish is a great challenge that every angler should try and master in their life if they get the chance. Be aware it can be very addictive with some people like our guest Alan Townsend (The Grand Master) spending every moment on the water chasing his beautiful Luderick.

Fishing for Blackfish requires some specialized gear. Firstly the Rod is between 9ft (2.7mtrs) to 11ft (3.3mtrs) long and very soft to avoid the bust off when the fish dives a the boat. Secondly the reel, we believe the only reel to own is an Alvey Centre Pin Reel. There are about 4 models in there range with the new Luderick Special my preference.

Line is just an 8lb Monofillament main line with a 4 to 6lb trace. A float is always used to keep the bait at the right depth and to indicate a bite. Hooks are very small Number 8 to 10 French Pattern and small split shot leads are used to weigh the float down to almost sinking so as the fish feels no weight or float when taking the bait.

Remember to Burley – we used chopped up cabbage (from the rocks) mixed with wet sand to bring the fish to our baits. Always bleed your catch by cutting the throat as this will improve the eating quality.

7 : Cooking

8 : Species Feast

Waz & Dave were cooking some blue spot flathead they had caught that morning.

Dave says that any fish worth eating shouldn’t require any fancy sauce or additives. We had earlier filleted, boned and skinned our fish and place them in the fridge under cling wrap to set for several hours before cooking. If you can leave them in the fridge for 24hrs it would be better.

Fillets are then pressed into plain flour until fully coated. This should be done just prior to cooking, as flour will start to absorb moisture from the fish and go gluggy.

In a hot Pan pour in approx. 1/4 cup of good quality virgin olive oil, then add 2 tablespoons of margarine. The marg. should start to sizzle straight away. The minute the last of the margarine dissolves, place the fish in, watch the side of the fish for color change as it cooks. When it is cooked to almost half way, turn and cook till just a thin line of clear fish is in the centre of the fillet, turn back to the first side for 10seonds to crisp up and serve immediately. Just salt and maybe a squeeze of Lemon.

If you want to dress it up a bit, put 2 teaspoons of Turmeric in the plain flour and always cook an extra piece for Lottie the cat!

We went drift fishing for this episode. Drift fishing is a very popular way of deep sea fishing as you can cover a lot of area with very little effort. We found a substantial area of reef (rock & coral bottom) in about 30m / 100ft of water. That was not showing schools of fish but just the odd one here and there. So with Paternoster rigs and 4-6oz snapper weights we just shut the motor off and let the current, wind and tide push us over the reef. We used a sea anchor, which is just like a wind sock only it catches water and slows the drift down as well as keeping the boat from spinning around.

Baits used were pieces of squid and blue pilchards. Putting a piece of each on a two hook rig gives you some idea of a species preference. Species caught were: Red Scorpion Cod (Scorpaena Cardinalis) Snapper (Chrysophrys Auratus), Pearl Perch (Glaucosoma Scapulare), Yakka (Trachurus Novaezelandiae), Sergeant Baker (Aulopus Purpurissatus), Sand Flathead (Platycephalus Arenarius)

Tips: Only fish with people who can tie knots and bait their own line unless of course “your” best mate is a “surgeon” too!.