Licence Police Out In Force To Keep Fishing Folk Honest
Newcastle Herald
Friday April 20, 2001
SO far, no snags for the implementation of the recreational fishing licence in the Hunter, according to `Honest' Gordie Balcomb, from Charlestown Tacklepower.
`The volume of people complying has been very good,' Gordon said yesterday.
`And so long as the Fisheries do what they say they are going to do, which is remove the commercial presence from the estuaries, they'll probably pull it off.
`If not, the consensus from people I talk to is that they won't back up to renew their licences.'
Jason `One For' Nunn, from The Fisherman's Warehouse, agrees.
`Mate, not everyone is as accepting as it seems on the news, but people are willing to give it a go,' he said.
`Over Easter we had a lot of people in buying the three-day $5 licence. My worry is that after the holidays they won't fish through winter. Still, we've gone through 20 books of licences and each book holds something like 50 licences, so that's over a 1000 people through our shop alone.'
If you've been watching the local news on TV you'd know that Fisheries have been out and about in numbers checking for compliance and issuing warnings.
There is a perception that they'll go soft for the first three to six months before handing out fines, but Jason has this warning.
`My mate got checked at a boat ramp at 12.30 the other night,' Jason said. `He was told that this is his first and only warning and that next time it could cost him $200.' * The fishing offshore is still firing, according to Gordie.
`I've had solid reports of dolphin fish up round Port Stephens, and kingies around the traps,' he said. `The bommies at Fingal Bay have been pretty fertile too.
`There's good flathead, snapper and squire to be found all the way down through Stockton Bite to Redhead and south past Swansea.
`The Dumping Ground is holding good snapper and squire.
`But the current has been very erratic lately, so the wider grounds have been harder to fish.'
`One For' confirms the current situation.
`It's been running really hard out wide and forcing fishermen inshore,' he said.
`Hence we've been hearing about these big catches of flathead closer to shore.
`I'd suggest you stay in 25m depth zone so you don't get hit by the current.
`Otherwise, the fishing out there is really good. Trag, squire, bream, tarwhine and very impressive flathead around Dudley and Redhead.' * The Harbour has been a haven for bream and luderick this week, while school jew have been topping the class under Stockton Bridge.
According to Jason, the commercial fishermen have been having a field day with hairtale, taking upwards of a 100kg a night. * The last few nights have been good for tailor on the breakwall at Blacksmiths, Gordie said.
Salts Bay is worth a shot for bream, there are some reasonable squire about in the Lake, while tailor on the troll is the theme round Belmont Bay and Green Point.
Jason recommends night fishing for anyone contemplating the Lake.
`Mate, the traffic on the water at night is down, and there's a lot of school bream around up to 26cm, which is great to see,' he said.
`Surprisingly, there are schools of dolphin fish being reported between Wangi and Coal Point, and some very good blue swimmer crabs in the shallows.
`It's also safe to report, now that it's died off, that a number of nice spangled emperor (up to 3kg) have been caught in the Swansea area lately.'
* On the beach scene, Gordie recommends Stockton Hospital.
You should find mulloway, bream and tailor, although the tailor continue to be patchy.
* Two local fishermen who go by the name of Col and Reg deserve a mention for the 62lb cobia they landed at Seals Rocks through the week.
© 2001 Newcastle Herald
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