TUROSS HEAD FISHING CLUB NEWSLETTER FEBUARY 2016

Posted on Feb 11, 2016


February Newsletter 2016

The Fishing Club committee hope you all had a great Christmas and wish you Happy Fishing for 2016.

Goblet Weekends

John Suthern

John Suthern

December Goblet was won by John Suthern with 25.4cm Garfish congratulations John. Gavin Robinson took out the Men’s outside with a 48.2cm Mowong, Rod Federer Men’s inside with 59.5cm Salmon. We had 4 ladies, 12 men and 4 juniors compete, a total of 50 fish caught and measured in, including a winning good sized bream at 30.5cm caught by junior Mathilda Brennan. Great fishing Mathilda.

Janine & Tammy

Janine & Tammy

Sunday afternoon the wind came up making it a little cool but it was the last Goblet for the year and didn’t stop our enthusiastic members enjoying the Christmas BBQ where Santa and his elves popped in to hand out presents to some very excited juniors thanks Santa. Catering Officer Janine Campbell provided an awesome meal with Lamb on the spit being enjoyed by 50 plus Fishing Club members.

January had TTFC members out fishing for the first Goblet Fish of the New Year, 31 anglers took to our beautiful waters comprising of 10 ladies, 15 men and 6 juniors trying their luck at Whiting. Whilst Saturday was a little windy overall the fishing conditions were good an impressive 104 fish caught and recorded at the measure in BBQ.

Paul Brown

Paul Brown

Tamara Whitehead

Tamara Whitehead

Paul Brown won the Goblet with a 43.2cm Whiting giving him an outstanding 100.43 points. Bruce Kennedy took out the Goblet Fish carried over from November due to no Leatherjackets being caught. Tamara Whitehead clean up winning both the Ladies Lake and Estuary and Rock and Beach awards with a huge 91cm Flathead and a 56.6cm Salmon. No Ladies outside entries were recorded.

 

Turkeys

Turkeys

Happy Letterbox

Happy Letterbox

Turkey awards are always hotly contested and lots of fun for our members, the last two months were no exception with some excellent stories doing the rounds. December’s Turkey award was won by Linda Saberton who at the 50’s themed Presentation night lost her petticoat on her way to collect a Fishing Award, but Linda definitely has style she hitched up the petticoat and just kept walking. January’s award was the won by our Competition Secretary John Suthern who installed a letterbox for a client back to front, now that would have confused the postie John, fortunately the cement hadn’t dried by the time the mistake was pointed out and John was able to correct it.

This month’s Goblet is Blackfish and weekend 13 – 14 February.  Make sure you come along for the Valentine’s Day BBQ enjoy the meal along with desserts.  The March goblet is Tailor on 19 – 20 March the measure in will be at the Boatshed, our last 4pm measure in for the summer, from April BBQ’s will be from 1pm.

Valentine’s Day

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day

Don’t forget Sunday 14 February is Valentine’s Day, make sure you give your partner an amazing fishing present or at the very least take them fishing for the Goblet weekend. We all buy presents for Valentine’s Day but not many people know who St Valentine was or why he is remembered as the patron saint of love so here is a brief history of why we celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Hooked

Hooked

Most historians agree that St Valentine was a Christian Priest who lived during the third century AD after the Roman Empire had converted to Christianity from Paganism. The Emperor Claudius, second of his name, decided that his Roman Soldiers would do much better job of fighting the barbarians if they weren’t distracted by their aching hearts longing for wives they had left behind. He decided that no soldier was allowed to marry while serving in the Roman Army.  St Valentine, back then probably just known as Father Valentine or the Reverend Valentine, was such a hopeless romantic he continued to marry love sick soldiers to their sweethearts in secret.

Of course, anybody who has studied the history of Rome will know that defying an emperor never ended well.  Those who dared ignore Roman law usually ended up with their hands nailed to the senate door or worse. Unfortunately St Valentine was eventually rumbled for his unsolicited ceremonies and executed for his dedication to true love. He became a martyr and we still honour his memory once a year by showing our true love how much we care for them!!!

Australia Day Picnic Goat Island

Janine & David

Janine & David

Scott retrieving Lure

Scott retrieving Lure

While only six people attended the Australia Day Picnic from all accounts it was a wonderful day, Neil, Pam, Scott, Tammy, David and Janine started out their picnic with a spot of fishing then enjoyed Coila prawns with a lovely cheese platter followed by a homemade picnic. The weather was kind with the rain holding off for the afternoon and a good haul of fish caught before and after the picnic feast. One to put on your calendars for next Australia Day.

 

Flathead & Bream Tournament

Tuross Head Flathead and Bream Tournament 12-13 March 2016

Flathead & Bream

Flathead & Bream

Flathead & Bream

Only six weeks to go to the 2016 Tuross Head Flagship Flathead & Bream Tournament if you haven’t got your entry in yet do so soon. Dates are 11 March Registration at the Tuross Head Country Club from 5pm with the tournament held on Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 March 2016.

This year one of our tournament anglers will win from Native Watercraft our major sponsor the Native Watercraft Slayer 10 Propel Kayak, what a great prize to win just another great reason to get your entries in soon.

 

 

Easter Market Day

Easter is coming

Easter is coming

Tuross Head Women’s Bowling Club are organising an Easter Mini Market at Tuross Head Country Club on Sunday 27 March from 9am to 1pm.   The Woman’s Bowling Club are seeking a variety of stall holders including gourmet food and fresh produce, handcrafted goods, plants and more. Stalls are available at $15 each, individual stalls areas are approximately trestle table size.  Morning tea and a sausage sizzle will be catered by the Bowling Club and the Market promoted on the Country Club website and Facebook pages plus local retail and media outlets. This is a great opportunity to sell your products to visitors during the Easter Holidays. Funds raised support Women’s Bowling Club to attract more visiting bowlers to Tuross. To book a stall or for more information please contact Rose Farrington phone 4473 6645 Mobile 0488 043 994 email or Doreen Monks Phone 4473 8263 Mobile 0447 738 264 email

Visiting Fishing Club

Twelve people from the Birallee Fishing Club from West Wodonga Victoria will be visiting Tuross for a week from 1-8 April 2016, they will be staying at the Lakeside Holiday Park they have been invited to come to the Fishing Club’s raffles on the Wednesday night if you come across any of these visitors please make them feel welcome it is always good to talk to other fishing clubs and people with the same interests as us. Don’t forget to come along to the raffles on 6 April or indeed any or every Wednesday night for great meat raffles and the Octoprize draw. The draw is now up to $950.

Fish / Seafood / Other Recipes

If you have a favourite fish or seafood or indeed any other type of recipe and would like to share send it to us and we will put in the newsletter and on the website. Here’s one to start the ball rolling.

recipeOven Baked Thai Whole Bream / Ingredients
1 x Whole Bream or Snapper or other similar fish
1 piece root ginger 25g approximately
2 whole chillies
10g lemongrass
5 kafir lime leaves
2 small limes 50ml
50ml each of white dry wine light soy sauce
Sea Salt
Aluminium foil & baking paper

Method – preheat oven to 220 degrees. Cut three to four marks through the flesh along the fish to help the flavour penetrate and to speed up cooking process. Wash and slice kafir lime leaves, de-seed chillies and dice, slice lemongrass into small rounds, slice ginger into matchstick style pieces and mix together. Use half the mix to stuff the bream and slice some wedges of lime to fill the cavity. Season with a little sea salt. Place sheet of foil on bench and then place a sheet of baking paper on top of foil. Place fish on top of baking paper and top with rest of the mix. Layer slices of lime on top with the zest of 1 lime and some more salt. Wrap the fish and leave one end open to add the white wine and soya sauce seal then place in baking dish, don’t forget to drink the rest of the wine. Cook in oven for 25 – 30 minutes depending on fish size.

Sand Removal by Council

Council will remove sand from around the Tuross Lavender Point boat ramp to make it easier for boats to navigate through the channel. The sand has built up over the last few years but became worse after the January floods. Up to 200 cubic metres of sand immediately east of the boat ramp will be excavated at the point where the two main channels meet towards the river mouth. An excavator mounted on a barge will move the sand out of the main channel and onto the existing sandbar. The excavation is expected to take a week, starting on Monday 15 February, weather permitting.   Work has been planned around the availability of specialist machinery, tides and to finish before the Tuross fishing tournament in March.   The boat ramp will remain open, except on the morning of 15 February when equipment is put in place and Friday afternoon to reload the equipment.   Access to the channel will be limited especially at low tide. An exclusion zone will be set up around the excavation site. Council will use the good tide range that week to keep the machinery working in the water for as long as the tide permits. Most work will take place in daylight hours but this may vary to suit the tide.

Angel Ring Missing!

Max Castle

Max Castle

Recently another Tuross Head “Angel Ring” disappeared from the Tuross River bar entrance. The Fishing Club appreciates the assistance provided by the Tavern and L.J.Hooker staff which has enabled inquiries to commence.   A replacement Angel Ring has been installed at the Tuross River mouth by the RFA’s Max Castle. Many visitors and locals alike are enjoying the river mouth this summer and we have already had several incidents of people being swept towards the sea in the strong outgoing tidal flow. Thank you Max !!!!  The (still) missing Angel Ring was last seen on a veranda of a holiday house. A local took a photo of the stolen ring and has since passed the photo and address of the holiday house on to police.  Those found guilty of theft of an Angel Ring (property) can be liable to imprisonment for fourteen years. If anyone saw the Angel Ring being removed or carried along the beach or within the town can they contact Moruya Police on 4474 2444.

Improving Safety for Rock Fishers

Angel Ring

Angel Ring

Rock fishers at high-risk locations will be required to wear life jackets as part of new laws aimed at increasing safety on the state’s coast, Minister for Emergency Services David Elliott said recently. A working group has been established to determine where the high-risk locations will be, using information such as the number of fatalities and near drowning’s at a site, wave dynamics, usage and accessibility.  Locations will form part of legislation to be introduced into NSW Parliament this year however rock fishers will be given a one-year grace period before the new law is enforced.

“The message to rock fishers continues to be that they should wear a life jacket at all times, appropriate clothing and footwear, check conditions including weather and never fish alone,” Mr Elliott said.  “However, it is clear that more needs to be done to get that message through because the number of rock fishers dying each year in NSW is not decreasing.”   In the past four years, 37 rock fishers have died in NSW and only one was wearing a life jacket.

A new education campaign targeting culturally and linguistically diverse communities will complement the laws and will include a dedicated advertising campaign and improved warning signs at rock fishing sites.  Transport for NSW’s ‘Wear a Lifejacket’ material will be expanded to include content specific to rock fishers, and the Old4New van that allows boaters to exchange their old life jacket for a discounted new one will now visit rock-fishing locations, relevant multicultural sites, and carry rock fishing-appropriate lifejackets.  Marine Rescue NSW (MRNSW) Commissioner Stacey Tannos said fishing is a popular pastime in our country but you should not pay for your dinner with your life. “We have seen a terrible loss of life from people drowning while rock fishing. MRNSW always encourages anyone on or near the water to make safety their highest priority and that means wearing a life jacket,”

Old for New Life Jackets
Sat 13th February 2016, 6:00am – 9:00am – MOGAREEKA INLET BAY Bega River Andy Poole
Sat 13th February 2016, 2:00pm – 5:00pm – BERMAGUI Lamont St, Harbour Ramp
Sun 14th February 2016, 6:00am – 9:00am – CORUNNA LAKE Princess Highway
Sun 14th February 2016, 2:00pm – 5:00pm – NAROOMA Apex Park Boat Ramp, Williamson
Sat 20th February 2016, 6:00am – 9:00am – TUROSS HEAD Nelson Pde
Sat 20th February 2016, 2:00pm – 5:00pm – MORUYA HEADS Preddeys Wharf Rd
Sun 21st February 2016, 6:00am – 9:00am – BATEMANS BAY Hanging Rock Pl Off Beach St next to Marine Rescue Base

Rock Fishing Safety Tips – Choose the Safest Possible Location

  • Ask for advice from locals and experienced anglers who know the area
  • Take time to observe the conditions – spend at least half an hour watching the wind and wave action before deciding whether the area is suitable. Think about what your fishing spot be like in a few hours’ time with different tides and weather
  • Look for Angel Ring Locations, Angel Rings are life buoys installed at popular rock fishing spots across NSW. Angel Rings can keep the victim afloat and away from the rocks until help arrives.
  • Always check and understand the weather conditions and tides before you leave home. This will help you choose the safest possible location to go fishing.
  • Plan an escape route in case you are washed in and don’t fish alone.

NSW DPI Fisheries Information

Go Fishing Day

Let's Fish

Let’s Fish

The Go Fishing NSW Day was held in NSW on 6 December 2015.  Limited  functions were held at six locations across NSW Kurnell, Nowra, Coffs Harbour, Narrandera, Jindabyne and Ebor. Unfortunately the formal announcement was very late restricting fishing clubs from becoming actively involved.   This issue will be raised with Fisheries with the view of determining the 2016 date as early as possible. This will hopefully provide a greater lead time so small communities (such as Tuross) can consider active participation. It is understood this will become a yearly event where no fishing licence is required for that day.   The committee would appreciate feedback from members regarding 2016.

Get Hooked Program

Hooked on Fishing

Hooked on Fishing

The ‘Get Hooked it’s fun to Fish’ program, has wrapped up the 2015 free fishing workshops with over 1,000 NSW primary school students attending a free fishing workshop and putting the theory learnt in class into practice. 39 workshops were held over the state from Brunswick Heads to Bermagui, Dubbo and Mulwala with some great fish caught. Groups of kids from local primary schools attended fishing workshops, at Bermagui and Narooma. Registrations for 2016 are now open. Get Hooked is free and open to all primary schools in NSW using funds from the Recreational Fishing Trust, so if you are a teacher or know of any schools that would be interested in joining this free program please contact us by emailing

New Hammerhead Sharks Guide for Fishers
DPI has just published a new ‘Hammerhead Sharks in NSW Guide for Fishers’. This identification guide clearly explains the differences between the 3 species of Hammerhead Sharks in NSW. Two Hammerhead Shark species (Great and Scalloped Hammerhead) are listed as threatened species in NSW and one species (Smooth Hammerhead) is not listed and is still permitted to be caught. DPI has published a new Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on Hammerhead Sharks in NSW explaining what to do if you catch a Hammerhead Shark. Copies of the guide can be downloaded from the website www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries or picked up from coastal Fisheries Offices or by emailing

Recreational Fishing Fee
The Recreational Fishing Fee in NSW becomes digital in 2016 as one of the first NSW Government Licences to change to a more accessible platform. The new digital licence makes it easier and simpler for all anglers to pay the fee and access important licence information on their smartphone. Anglers will have access to bag limits, catch restrictions and maps at their fingertips.   Plastic card licences will still be available on request.

Excerpt of Email from Julian Hughes Research Scientist Wild Fisheries – to Max Castle
On behalf of Fisheries NSW, I would like to thank all who participate in the various components of the NSW Research Angler Program for your passion and enthusiasm. A big thank you to all of the research anglers and spearfishers who have donated their mulloway, snapper, tailor, kingfish and flathead frames this spring. We had almost 100 mulloway frames donated from spring covering the entire size spectrum of recreationally-caught fish – from just legal 70 cm soapies right up to some serious trophies! We also had numerous frames from snapper, tailor, kingfish and dusky flathead donated. This information is priceless for researchers (like me) who study these iconic recreational fish species. Over 200 mulloway tagged over spring and a record eleven recaptures! The NSW Research Angler Program is now seeking frame donations from four new key recreational fish species in addition to mulloway. The new species are snapper, yellowtail kingfish, dusky flathead and tailor. This marks the start of an exciting new phase for the assessment of recreational fish stocks using data collected by recreational fishers. Many thanks for your involvement in this exciting new approach Fisheries NSW is taking to collect crucial data for NSW’s most popular recreational fish species. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss any aspect of the program. E: 

Super Trawler Information – WE DON’T WANT IT – THEY DON’T WANT IT!

SUPER TRAWLER NOT WELCOME IN NT – SURPRISE SURPRISE! CHIEF Minister Adam Giles has written to the Federal Government to make it clear that a “super trawler” operation in waters off the Northern Territory would not be welcome.   Fishing is an iconic recreational pursuit for Territorians and visitor’s alike and customary fishing is practiced across the Territory. Our waters are also home to a number of valuable commercial fisheries with scope for appropriately scaled sustainable growth. We don’t want to see a situation where our local operators are pushed out of the market because of large super trawlers taking large quantities of fish stocks.  It is important the Australian Government recognises our northern fisheries are smaller in scale than any that would sustainable accommodate extremely large vessels or super trawlers.”

Recent News

Trawler

Trawler

Following a higher than expected level of albatross mortalities on the Geelong Star’s last fishing trip in the Small Pelagic Fishery, the vessel will not fish again until additional mitigation measures are agreed by Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) to minimise any further interactions. The 91-metre factory trawler has just spent January fishing offshore from the Narooma, and Bermagui area, causing concern among local game fishers and environmentalists.    AFMA’s acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Nick Rayns said that AFMA would continue to work with the operator, Seafish Tasmania, and seabird experts until the Authority was satisfied that the additional measures would be effective.

However recent news on local radio is that the Geelong Star has now been allowed back fishing along the South Coast.

Email Reply from our local Minster to Club Secretary Max Castle
Our club secretary has been very active keeping up with whats happening including writing to Federal Member for Eden Monaro on behalf of the Club, he recently received this reply from Dr Peter Hendy MP.

Dear Max, Thank you for your email about the operations of the Geelong Star off the NSW South Coast.  I am aware that many people have a strongly held view that this ship’s activities pose a threat to recreational fishing and the whale watching industry. My aim is to find a way forward that allows co-existence of recreational fishing, commercial fishing, the whale watching industry and a sustainable environment. A workable compromise needs to be made.    In recent months I have had detailed discussions with the Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator the Hon Anne Ruston, and concerned constituents.

That has led to Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) engaging directly with stakeholder groups in Eden-Monaro. There is currently very detailed and active consultation going on to get to a balanced decision on how to proceed. They are looking at a whole array of issues such as area of operations, time of operations, and solving conflicts with recreational fishing and tourism activities.  AFMA is tasked to manage and monitor commercial Commonwealth fisheries and ensure Australian fish stocks and our fishing industry are viable now and in the future.   Australia’s fisheries are world class, sustainably managed and decisions are made using the best available science – this will continue under this Government’s watch.  I will encourage AFMA to continue discussions with stakeholders. Thank you again for raising your concerns with me. Yours sincerely, Dr Peter Hendy MP Federal Member for Eden-Monaro/Assistant Minister for Productivity ELECTORATE OFFICES: 19-25 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan NSW 2620 and 1/225 Carp Street, Bega NSW 2550 TELEPHONE: 02 6284 3977

Thank you to Max Castle Club secretary for Fisheries info & updates on Super Trawler.

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