Mar 09
Q: A
mate swears he caught a snapper off Rigby
Island . I told him he's got to joking .
A:
Yes this is possible. Over the years many
snapper have been caught in the Gippsland Lakes,
although they are generally not very big. They
begin to show up during the summer months when
the lakes are saltier.
Q:
Hi Mr. Morecroft. I an 10 years of age. Do I
need a fishing licence. Dad says no, but Mum
says I should check with you.
A:
No you wont need a licence until you turn 18
years of age. That gives you another 8 years of
free fishing, not a bad deal I recon. Now is a
good time to try and catch those big bream that
are hanging around under the jetties.
Q:
I saw a couple of guys use a spear gun to catch
some breams. Is that legal ?
By
the way, they caught two beauties who were
sitting under a jetty.
A:
No it is illegal to use a spear gun or Hawaiian
sling within 30 m of any jetty.
There are areas in the Gippsland Lakes where a
spear gun or Hawaiian sling can be used, such as
the compass beacons in Lake King, near Wattle
Point and around the groins at Lakes entrance.
It
is illegal in the rest of the Gippsland Lakes.
Return to top
Feb 09
Q :I got this $ 1000 from our
PM..... is it worthwhile buying a fish finder. I just
have a little tinnie.
A: I use a fish finder every day on my tinnie, but not
to find fish. I find it invaluable in letting me know
where the shallows and drop offs are.
I combine this knowledge with my knowledge of different
species habits, to assist in predicting where schools
of fish bight be.
Q : Sometimes you hear the locals
say : "The prawns are running " Assuming I can find out
where they are running to,
what do you have to do to
catch them ?
A: If you want to catch prawns find Murray Brown and
pick his brain. Murray has been catching 5 to 8 kg a
night with a dip net and light around Raymond island.
As for where are the prawns running to, - I am of the
view that the prawns can feel the vibration of the surf
as it crashes on the ninety mile beach, and
instinctively move towards this vibration. As a result
they will eventually run out the entrance with the ebb
tide enabling you to dip them out of the boat as they
float past.
Throw into this mix the moon - which the prawns do not
like, wind – which delays the tide and 100 other tinnies
anchored up in the channel, and the night can be very
eventful.
Some prawns as they move towards the sound of the surf,
go into Bunga Arm and are unable to get out. Anglers
that are attuned to this can clean up.
Q: I can not find a book or
magazine which concentrates on fishing on the Lakes. Do
you know of one ?
Your story on the website is
very good.
A: Fishing Monthly Magazine, has up to date comments on
what is biting in the Gippsland Lakes- available at all
good news agents.
You must remember that up to date information is always
2 weeks old.
It is always better to developed a rapport with local
anglers and keep your self updated on their success.
Jan 2009
Return to top
Q : What
is the difference between golden snapper and normal
snapper ? and where do you catch golden snapper ?
Answer: There are over
20 different fish with the word SNAPPER in their name.
Most of these appear to be located in the north of
Australia. I am not familiar with Golden snapper, but as
one of the common names is 'Fingermark bream' I think it
as also located in the north.
Q : What
are the different types of whiting and which one's do we
catch around East Gippsland ?
Answer: There appears
to be 4 whiting species. King George, Sand, School, and
Trumpeter Whiting. I am familiar with two, King George
and Sand. The most commonly caught is King George.
Mussel is a great bait for these fish they are
considered the best of all eating fish. For the
occasional fisher finding a school is difficult as they
are constantly on the move.
Q :
Flathead are a very hard fish to handle without getting
spiked. What do you do ?
Answer: When I am at
work I have cotton gloves on, these make it easier to
handle the fish. My first action is to grab the fish
firmly around the gills just above the spikes. This is
not for the faint hearted. Then if I have to I will hold
the fish by placing my thumb in the mouth. I still get
spiked and if they get you once they always get you
again before you can let go. The injuries often hurt but
do not require medical treatment.
Q: I was
fishing down your way recently. I am surprised how many
angles are using soft plastic. I have had no luck.
except for one flattie. Is there a particular plastic
you know off ?
Answer: When fishing
for flathead I don't think it matters what type of
plastic you use, the action and location are the more
important aspects. Flathead that I catch regurgitate all
manner of small fish, ells and prawns.
Over the summer months
these fish move in to shallow water and are more active
just before sun down. Wade along the sandy drop off and
make sure the lure hits the bottom after each jig.
Q :Where
can I buy a fishing licence in Payneville
?
|
Answer; In Paynesville a recreational fishing
licence can be purchased at 'Clint's ski school'
( the video store) or you can go on line.
How do I Obtain a Licence?
Victorian anglers now have the option to buy a
three-year Recreational Fishing Licence for $66.
This presents a saving of $7.50 on the combined
cost of purchasing three annual licences.
Anglers can still buy the one-year RFL for
$24.50, the 28-day RFL for $12, and the 2-day
RFL for $6.
The
RFL may be purchased to come into effect on a
future date for up to one year from the date of
purchase. An RFL may not be loaned or
transferred to another person.
The
RFL is available from many DPI offices and more
than 980 retail businesses throughout Victoria,
including most retail fishing tackle stores. |
|
Return to top
Q : You hear it said all the time that
the Lakes are a complex ecosystem I've also heard it said
just because the swans can't find food is not an indication
of things being wrong ? Isn't that simply ignoring
indicators ?
Answer: Indicators are useful when looking at the health of
the Lakes, but interpreting what they mean is the difficult
part.
An example of this occurred after the floods, when most of
the sea horses and small black mussels died. One observer
concluded that this was an indicator of poor lake health and
attracted plenty of media attention with his views.
I thought that both of these species were marine creatures
that do not survive well in a fresh water environment.
Dec 08
Q: this is now the third time I've
come down fro Cup W/E ... and the winds are driving me mad.
Does it always blow here?
Answer: Spring is the windiest time of the year. Summer has
the sea breeze. Winter has the South westerlies, Autumn is
the calmest time of the
year.
Dec 08
Q :My grandson is bored with fishing
off jetties. He wants to go fishing in a river.
1 : Does he need a different rig
etc.
2 : What bait would you use ?
3 : Do you know any good spots
please ?
Sorry about all these questions.
My whole family loves your page !
Answer: No. he won’t need to change his rig if fishing in
the river. Peeled prawn is always good bait. I can’t help
with good spots to fish. Most anglers drive along the river,
and talk to other fishers. This way they find out who is
catching fish and who is not.
But your grandson may be too impetuous. I saw a fisher
catching bream in the straits at Paynesville on the weekend.
I also hear that there are flathead biting around
Paynesville. As summer roles on the jetties will get better
and
better.
Dec 08
Q :Where can I buy a fishing licence
in Paynesville ?
Answer: Good question I shall make enquiries.
Q : Caught a bream 1.44 ks. The
question I have is this. When you fish for snapper you can
not keep one OVER a certain size.
Why don't we have something like
that with bream ?
Answer: I would have to ask you what you think the advantage
of this restriction would be? Do you think these large
bream are the major breeders? What % of bream, that you
catch, are of this size? I suspect very few.
I believe bream have one million eggs per kg of body weight.
I understand that they reach sexual maturity at about 22cm.
By far the greatest biomass of spawning fish lies in the
size from 22cm to 28cm. The total weight of fish spawning in
a poor year may be over 50 thousand kg. i.e. 25 thousand
million eggs in any year. In a good year it may be 100
thousand million eggs.
These larger fish are only a very small number in the
overall spawning
biomass.
Dec 08
December 08
Q: My
grandson wants to know why dolphins never get hooked by
fishermen. ?
He
also wants to know if " lake" dolphins are different from
ocean dolphins ?
A.
My understanding is that
dolphins are highly intelligent. They probably recognise
that what is being offered is dangerous to them.
With the entrance to the
lakes being open all the time, Dolphins can and often do
come and go from the lakes at will. I understand from
information provided by the Dolphin Watch group, that there
are about 50 Dolphins that are sighted regularly in the
lakes.
It appeared that when the
alga was at its peak, last summer, most of the Dolphins left
the lakes. They appear to be back
now. Dec
08
Q :
In one of your photos I saw a turtle. How did that get into
the Lakes ?
A.
That was the only turtle I
have seen in the lakes, yet other fisherman say that they
see one every year.
I guess they come down the
east coast with the warm currents during the summer
months.
Dec 08
Q:
What would you use for bait to catch a Mulloway ?
A.
Mall George, the
notoriously dedicated Mulloway fisherman from Bairnsdale
(George's Hamburger Shop) uses fillets of Taylor.
I think there is more to it
than having the right bait. Location, patience, timing,
heavy enough gear
etc.
Dec 08
Q:
In today's Local is information that a forum on " How
Healthy Are The Lakes " is being held. All the speakers
are academics. Not ONE local " hands on " person is
invited. Do you have a comment ?
A.
Lots of locals have opinions, about the health of the
lakes, but they are JUST opinions. Nothing beats the
scientific information that the academics present.
I went to the forum on " How Healthy Are The Lakes " and
found it to be both informative and comprehensive. It
covered all the subjects people have been talking about,
such as; dams on and off stream; loss of runoff from logging
and wild fire effected bush; pharmaceuticals leaching
into the water from intensive dairy farms; sediment and
nutrient loads; different types of alga and their toxicity;
changes in seagrass; fish health, and a second entrance.
At the end of the presentation local experts had the
opportunity to asked questions of the panel.
I think the forum was well presented
and well run
Dec 08
Q
: In a recent
article in the Herald Sun it claims that the recreational
and professional fishermen say the Lakes have never
been in better shape? Being on the Lakes day in and out,
what is your view?
A.
From year to year the lakes change. The algae bloom was
another faze. I have seen a plague of crabs in the
fifties-sixties, there was not a skerrick of weed at this
time. Late eighties-nineties the weed in the lake was so
thick Eagle Point gained a reputation of being a very smelly
place. In the eighties there was a plague of bream. In
2004-2007 there was a plague of seahorses and black
mussels which die off when the water is fresher. I have seen
a number of nogalaria algae blooms, and old fishermen tell
me of blooms in the forties. There was a plague of flathead
in 2005-6 which we have not seen since the eighties.
Nov 08
The algae bloom in the
summer of 07-08, created a perfect environment for bream to
breed. I had reports of large numbers of small fish from a
number of commercial fishers at the height of the bloom. The
photo below shows 15 small bream that fell out of the
stomach of two flathead caught around Raymond Island in
February 08, when the algae was at it's thickest.
There are huge numbers of
whitebait in the lake, and I suppose it is these that have
attracted large numbers of Taylor into the system. I have
been catching half a ton of Taylor a week for the last 12
weeks. These fish will remain in the system until
late April, when they will return to sea.
I think the lakes are ok,
but that does not mean we should not carry out testing of
various factors that can be used to recognise trends. The
work that has been done in the irrigation areas to keep farm
nutrients on farm is great and should be continued. Areas
around the lake that have not been sewered, should be. Strip
development should be restricted.
Although it does not help
tourism, people need to jump up and down from time to time
as this is the only way politicians will allocate funding to
maintain the lakes as they should be.
Nov 08
Return to top
Q :
The grass beds are
gone. Is that forever ?
A.
No of course not. Every year is different. Different types
of weed grow at different times. I have noticed some green
weeds growing back on the rocks. There are plenty of swans
feeding out on the banks. This summer we will see what
develops. The large areas of sand are providing great
feeding areas for lots of small flounder. ‘09 may be a very
good year for flounder.
Nov 08
Q :
I am only an " occasional "
angler. I caught a flattie the other day. He looked
different from the run of the mill ones.
Is
that a mutation ?
A.
I don't know, I did not see
it.
Nov 08
Q
: Are any of the
professional fishermen on the boards that manage the Lakes ?
A.
No. We do what we can when we think it is necessary.
Nov 08
Q :Is there a difference between size
limit of Luderick and Bream.
A. ( as at Oct '08 )
Bream are 28cm, Luderick 22cm. Some fish sizes will change
when the impending new regulations are introduced
Oct.08
Q: Why does a Luderick fight harder
than a bream ?
A Luderick are bigger and stronger than Bream, This is
probably because they feed predominantly in running water. I
think they cut a much better fillet than a bream.
Oct.08
Q: Do you fish off jetties. If so,
which are the best jetties to fish from?
A. Over many years Gov. organisations removed snags and
other structures from the waterways to make boating a little
safer. But these structures have been replaced 10 fold in
the form of jetties. The bream, luderick and other species
use them for shade and protection. In mid summer it is quite
common to see large numbers of fish laying in the shade. If
fishing for bream I like to use my kayak to cast an un
weighted, peeled prawn in under the jetties. If a fish takes
the bait and I hook it, it will always run out into the deep
water away from the structure. This gives one an excellent
chance of landing a big fish.
Luderick are fished for from the jetties and one requires a
stout rod to keep them from getting back under the
structure.
The best jetties- go and
look.
Oct.08
Q : Will we be able to buy sandworms
in the future. None for ages !
A.I hope not. Using sandworm as bait is like throwing
lollies into a school assembly. The kids pounce on them the
teachers would get very few. Little bream are suckers for
sandworm. Thousands of little bream are killed as a result
of anglers using inappropriate baits and J hooks. Both
should be banned.
At each stage of a fish's life it eats different foods. Just
out of the egg it eats algae and small larvae, as it grows
so the food changes. A 28 cm bream will eat tougher and
faster foods. Some of the best fishers I know use blue shell
for bream as this bait catches fewer small fish. I prefer
white bait which small fish will
reject.
Oct.08
Return to top
Q: Run of prawns. Could not do any
good last season. What do you think the future will hold?
A. The older fishers in the area suggest that after an algae
bloom we get a good run of prawn. It is suggested that some
have been caught at Tambo Bight already. We will know in the
next month.
Oct.08
Q : Two years ago lots of Flatties.
Now they are gone! What's the future?
A. All the fish come and go in waves. When conditions are
right for a particular species we get a flush of fish. There
is a smaller run of flathead on the way, but they are only
30cm long at the moment.
Oct.08
Q : Why are the Lakes full of jelly
fish one day and none the next ?
A. Jelly fish are only just mobile. They are easily moved
around when the water moves. If you want to see how much the
water moves - tie a piece of rope to the wave breaker on a
jetty and let it dangle in the water. Look at it each
day.
Oct.08
Q : Do you think we will ever get a
second entrance ? What's your view on that ?
A. No. They can't keep the one they have
open.
Oct.08
Q : Years ago you could catch the
occasional Mulloway . Are they gone forever?
A. I spoke to a fisher last year who was catching mulloway
in the rivers. I also spoke to a diver who had sighted
Mulloway under structures in the rivers. They are there all
the
time.
Oct.08
Q : Have you ever heard of sharks in
the Lakes? Someone told me they come here to die? What's
your opinion?
A. I don't know if they come in to die, those that I have
caught, in the lake, over the years looked healthy and
tasted ok.
Oct.08
Q : Did the recent condition of the
Lakes affect the presence of Dolphins ?
A. Dolphins come and go from this system and other systems
at will. When the algae was thick in 2007 most left the
system. Lots have now
returned.
Oct.08
Q : Do you shell the prawns you bait
up, or leave the shell on ?
A. I prefer to shell the prawn. I think this helps the sent
disperse faster.
Oct.08
Q : Do you take out passengers? If so,
how much do you charge?
A.
No
Oct.08
Q : Do you smoke your own fish? Any
hints?
A. No. Those that do say Taylor is the best local fish to
smoke.
Oct.08
Q : We look like having a hot summer,
does this mean with the warmer water we will have a good
fishing season.
A. Fishing is always better under the jetties in the
summer.
Oct.08
Q :
Is there a difference between skip jack and a Taylor.
?
A.
No
Oct.08
Q:
There does not seem to be a lot of weed for swans to feed.
How do they survive ?
Answer. Swans feed on a number of different things.
Growing weed, grass, and shellfish. They are not tied to an
area and will readily move if there is insufficient food for
them. Feeding them bread regularly is not good for
them.
Oct.08
Q:
Not many cormorants around. Will that improve the fish
stocks ?
Answer. The number of fish
is dependent on breading success. There are not a lot of
cormorants around at the moment, but as the Algae is
starting to clear, more and more will return. Last year was
an excellent year for breeding bream. Large numbers of small
fish will attract large numbers of
cormorants.
Oct.08
Q:
When trailing for Taylor, what depth do you set the lure ?
Answer. Early in the
season, Oct-Nov, I like to get the lure down as deep as
possible. This may require different depths in different
depths of water. From Dec on, when the birds begin to work,
the lure can be worked near the surface. I caught two Taylor
on a silver wobbler on Saturday (19/10), in Lake King.
Oct.08
Q :
Ludericks. What is the best weed bait ? And can you buy it
commercially ?
Answer. Luderick will take any green weed. My favourite is
cabbage. I don’t think it is available commercially.
Dedicated luderick fishers always have an eye out for weed,
and they keep it’s whereabouts to them selves. I recommend
people go and
look.
Oct.08
Q :
There are so many large bream being caught . Where do they
come from?
Answer. Bream travel all
over the lake, at about 3km/h. See below for a very
interesting story on the movements of bream.
Tracking the
movement patterns of black bream in the Gippsland
Oct.08
Q : There are plenty of carps in
Lake Wellington. Why not here ?
Answer. European Carp don’t survive very well in salty
environments. If there is a good flow of fresh water coming
down the rivers, carp will feed in the lake then return to
the fresh water before the salt kills them. In a big flood
carp will be flushed all over the lakes, but as the surface
fresh water mixes with the salt water below, they become
stranded and
die.
Oct.08
Return to top
Q: Is
there a way to tell the age of the big bream being caught. ?
Answer. The only true way is to age the fish by removing the
ear bone and counting the rings.
It was suggested for years that bream grow about 1.5cm a
year. But recent research shows that when numbers are down
and there is plenty of food about they will grow much faster
than
that.
Oct.08
Q : I
have a tinnie . Where can I go to catch some trevally ?
A. No idea, Trevally come
in to the lake at this time of year but they move around so
much. You could catch them in one area today and they would
be gone
tomorrow.
Oct.08
Q :
Don't laugh, but I heard of people eating carp. I have
looked for recipes on Google. Do
you have a have one ?
A.
No
Oct.08
Q :
The whole family loves eating bream, but the fine bones
drive us mad. I find it difficult to fillet. Is there a
secret ?
A. The secret is to go to
the fish shop and get the expert to show you how to do
it. Then buy the ones he has just
filleted.
Oct.08
Q :
We often see you coming back from work. Never "going to"
work. What time do you start in the mornings ? And do you
fish in all weathers ?
A. I leave Paynesville at
first light. No, not in all weather. I fish when it is safe.
Experience tells me when that is. I am right most of the
time.
Oct.08
Q :
Very few terns around. Why ?
A. Terns arrive with
spring. They are very mobile, so aggregate where the best
food supply is. Reports indicate that Wellington is full of
white bait, so they may be thicker up
there.
Oct.08
|
was
set out much better. The 3 litre turbo diesel motors
ran very well at top speed and gave us great economy
(10 lt /100 km).