Coastal Catches 17/1/2013
Recently, the Advocate reported that a Butterfly Mackerel had been caught out off the mouth of the Mersey river. This fish is an uncommon catch in Tasmanian waters and continues the trend of uncommon fish turning up in our waters. If you catch an unusual fish and you are not sure what it is there is a great online resource called Redmap. Redmap, a new and interactive website, invites the Australian community to spot, log and map marine species that are uncommon in Australia, or along particular parts of our coast. It has pictures and information on Australian fish species and if you do catch something unusual then you can report where you caught it and this in turn will assist scientists by providing them with information on changing fish distribution. Have a look at www.redmap.org.au .
We had a photo of a Kingfish that was caught in the far Northwest of the state and it’s great to see that they are back. There was another report from St Helens at Elephant rock, were a 9 kg specimen was landed. Locally they have been caught of Table Cape and Blackmans reef at Burnie in past years. They often swim under schools of Australian Salmon so if you are targeting them you need to get your lures down to where they are.
There have been good catches of Australian Salmon all along the coast. They are being caught off beaches and headlands such as Boat Harbour, Somerset, Midway point Sulphur Creek, and many more. Boaters have also been targeting them.
It is annoying that some anglers are leaving rubbish behind when they go fishing. Most people will clean up and take their rubbish with them but there are some that seem to think that it is ok to leave their mess behind. They might start to change their ideas when access is denied but unfortunately their actions will have implications for all of us.
A number of Snapper are being caught at the moment. A couple of boats reported some small snapper being caught in Emu Bay which were duly released. There were some bigger ones caught off Table Cape and there are reports of Snapper being caught in the Circular Head area.
Trout fishing has been a bit patchy and this has been mainly due to the wind. Up in the central highlands the wind has been fairly incessant but when there is a window of good weather there are some good fish being caught.
Gadget of the week:
Adapt A Cap Ultimate. This will give you maximum sun protection, is lightweight, durable and breathable. Only $29.95 at Tassie Tackle and Outdoor.
Photos:
Austen Ferguson with a couple of Calamari Squid that he caught at the Stanley wharf
Damian Kay with a Kingfish that he caught near Woolnorth
