Base pic: Redwood
PUBLISHED 04Feb13
Hey, 1/12 of the way through 2013 already! During 2012 we did pretty well, I think, and a flick through the unprecedented 139 Trip Reports and the ten Noosa Yakkers News (monthly, starting with March 2012) will reveal that we expanded our horizons and membership, and noticeably reduced our waistlines.
Unfortunately we had one setback, but I don't think it was the fault of Noosa Yakkers. The move of Richmond (Jeff) from Noosa to Tasmania made it unviable for him to remain as a committee member. Jeff and Jenny were farewelled by the committee at Raj Indian restaurant during January and I know that he knows how much we appreciated his boots and all involvement in Noosa Yakkers. Our loss is Tassie's gain and if you're heading for Tassie you could do worse than contact Jeff as he’ll be able to provide local fishing advice, I'm sure.Who knows what 2013 has waiting for us? Only one way to find out: get out there and fish. Take care.
Kev
With the large volume of bait in the bay towards the end of December 2012, we all held high expectations for the upcoming month. January certainly turned out to be a mixed bag.
We started the month with hot dry northerlies fanning the remains of the bush fires on the Noosa North Shore and finished up with cyclonic conditions including gale force winds, a huge swell and torrential rain. Well, it is Queensland!
Despite these rather average conditions, members recorded 17 trips during January with the highlight of the month being on the 18th when tour leaders Jimbo and Jaro showed the new boys Soren and Emil how it's done. In total, the fab four landed 13 Spotties on the day.
Young Emil (on right) looks pretty happy with his catch, Jaro even happier. Emil out-fished his Dad (second from left) by 3 to 1!
Other bay catches during the month included Doctor Dog's beautiful LongTail Tuna, Crofty's Sweetlip and Jaro's Snapper with Mangrove Jack, Hairtail, Tarpon and a Barra taken in the river by Carlton and Eyetag.
Well, that's about it for this month. Signing off with a previously unreleased photo of Carlton's Mangrove Jack, courtesy of EyeTag.
Until next month,
TurtleBoy
NY DennisT is arranging a calm water and surf demo day for Sunday 23Feb in Noosa. Exact locations not yet decided and will depend on the weather. More info
Or email Dennis directly
Hi Yakkers
Before the main event I'd like to once again give a big thanks to Jimbo who was looking after all the membership duties over the Christmas break while I was away. Most appreciated!
A new year has once again rolled around to present us with many opportunities for quality fishing, and hopefully to take on some more new recruits. Last year saw our numbers fluctuate considerably with the cleanup and consolidation of our old mailing lists, but we now see the numbers steadily rising once more. My prediction is for over 100 members this year, and I think it's a pretty safe bet that we'll get there. We are also starting to note a few more regular faces on the beach too, which is excellent to see. It always helps to have that extra knowledge and experience on the water.
The new year has started with a bang for memberships. Another six additions this month has seen our ranks swell to bring our total memberships to a quality 88. Keep them coming guys!
Dave Tunnington (Tunny)
Dave is 53 years of age and lives in Twin Waters. He uses an “Eric’'s Tunny” kayak (which is a South African make similar to the Stealth, see pic above in this month's banner) which he brought over from South Africa with him in 2009. Dave has previously fished offshore from his kayak in South Africa and New Zealand, so doing a few kilometres chasing pelagics shouldn't be an issue for him and his well travelled yak.
Daniel Caldwell (Dano)
28 years old and from Taringa in Brisbane, Daniel has paddled kayaks and skis for about 15yrs, but has yet to try fishing while paddling. Daniel's AKFF nickname is Danielc, and his KFDU nickname is dano_mung.
Kim Prosser (KP)
Kim has moved to the coast from the chilly Canberra climate at the wise age of 55. Currently Kim is enjoying a spot of land based fishing, but is very keen to join our ranks on the water.
Andrew Samios (Zorba)
Andrew is 44, a Brisbane-ite, and a chippie by trade. Andrew holidays with his family here every year, and a Perception Swing 400 is his current weapon of choice.
Brian Kaiser-Cleak (Mango)
Brian is 62, a retired teacher, and lives at Noosa Banks. He has been running the Noosa River in his OK Prowler for over a year and has run into some of our members on the water already, including offshore while in his power boat. Brian is interested in checking out our offshore setups for the "bigguns".
Ross Biddulph (Castaway)
Ross is 61, has lived in Noosa for nearly 30 years, and currently resides at Castaways Beach. He has been kayaking for about 8 yrs on a Viking 2plus1, and prefers to fish rivers, creeks, and dams. Ross has just completed a 6 month round trip of Australia where he paddled into some exceptionally scenic places, and now hopes to catch up with us on the water soon.
Welcome aboard, guys.
Cheers,
Gemini
Welcome to the Record Fish update for January 2013. I have taken over the mantle of keeper of the record list and I have as my trusty sidekick Ian aka Eyetag. Well done to my predecessor Richmond for all his good work through 2012 and safe travels to Tasmania.
I have had four submissions for records during January and with the weather conditions for the last week of January not being conducive to piscatorial activities they are probably all we’ll have for this month.
The first was from Eyetag for his 50 cm Tarpon from 12 January.
The second was from Mangrove Mac (Greg Mc) for an Australian Bass at 43 cm also on the 12th of Jan, from the Mary River.
Carlton came in next on Australia Day with a thumping Mangrove Jack of 58 cm
Finally I received a late report again from Mangrove Mac of an Australian Bass of 45 cm from the Mary River SW of Gunalda caught on 21-01-2013.
Mangrove Mac 45 cm Bass
Well done guys in what was an otherwise very patchy month of fishing.
Tight lines
Doctor Dog
Mangrove Jackby eyetag
One of the most sought after fish we find in our estuaries is the Mangrove Jack (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) commonly known as a Jack. They are found from river mouths right up to brackish water, where they congregate in the shallows during the cooler months. From approximately 3.5 kg they will almost always be found out on the local reefs where they can grow in excess of 12 kg.
In the estuaries they usually have their own lair or snag which they will leave at night in search of food with bigger snags quite often holding a number of fish.
Targetting them is best done after hours as they feed mostly at night, with dawn and dusk also active times. Fishing amongst jetties, rock walls and snags is the best approach. Heavy gear is a must as they often take a bait or lure on their way back home which means they must be stopped in their tracks or they will take you home with them resulting in lost gear and fish.
They aren't too fussy an eater with a tendency to live baits but mullet fillets and pilchards are also high on their menu. They will readily attack lures and plastics with gold being a favourite colour.
Upon capture they will often continue to chomp on the hook or lure responsible so make sure you keep well clear of their mouth or you may find yourself sporting a nasty puncture wound.
The mouth of a 40 cm Jack
We are very fortunate in Noosa to have a healthy population in our river system and a lot of the fish caught are released by thoughtful fishos which helps maintain a sustainable fishery.
A quick photo before release of a healthy looking 50 cm fish.
Ian
Stick it on your yak!The pic on the left is of the Noosa Yakkers sticker which has been on the spare wheel cover of my zook yak carrier for about five years.
Most of you will be aware of this sticker, but maybe haven't received your free issue. The general rule for getting stickered is that, after being accepted as a Noosa Yakker, you must fish with us twice (or write two TR which are posted on our blog) and then you're eligible for your initial free issue of two stickers.
Up until now I've handed out the stickers personally, as the opportunity arose, but this is becoming difficult as our membership increases. So if you think you're eligible and haven't received your stickers you can now get them mailed to you.
All you have to do is send a standard stamped, self-addressed envelope to me at 4 Ferris Street, Sunshine Beach Q 4567. Include a note outlining the evidence of your eligibility (usually the date of the TR published on our blog) and if I agree you're eligible I'll pop them into your envelope and drop it into the post.
The reason we provide two stickers is that you can put one on your yak and one on your car (or bedhead, if you can get away with it).
Long time Noosa Yakker hollywood (yes, that's a squid sandwich in his mouth) organized these stickers for us, so we're always indebted to him. The supplier is The Sticker Company, in Geelong, Victoria, phone 1300 652 230. These stickers adhere to kayaks really well so are great quality. If ever you need stickers I strongly recommend you contact them.Kev
The Committee (in callsign order)
From top left, daveyG, doctor dog, eyetag, gemini, jaro, jimbo, pedro, sunshiner, turtleboy.
