Bluewater Tackle World News for October 16th

EFTTA, the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association, has been encouraging a standard when it comes to providing anglers with details on the exact performance of fishing lines.

Thirteen lines have recently been through EFTTA’s unique Line Test Project, which encourages manufacturers to have their lines examined in controlled laboratory conditions to verify breaking strain and diameter.

Only two passed and can now carry the ‘EFTTA Approved’ logo on their packaging.

Victoria Seymour of EFTTA said: “We will continue to carry out our twice-yearly random line tests until the problem of incorrectly labelled strains and diameters is cleaned up in the market place."

While we don't stock any of the lines recently tested, the results are an indicator of how little the label on a spool of line can mean. It's more true in the European market place than anywhere else. See the EFTTA site for the results.

Diameters were universally understated, and in most cases breaking strains were overstated. One of the worst, Asso Double Strength, understated the diameter by 10%, on a line rated at nine kilos that actually broke at 4.8kg!

The best of those recently tested was Bayer Perlon, which was close enough to stated diameter, and broke at 20% over stated strength.

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A reminder to our overseas customers: have a good look at what you might like from us this week, because with the radically devalued Australian dollar, everything we sell is suddenly much cheaper to overseas clients, particularly in the United States.

If you're overseas and haven't 'logged in', the prices you see on the site are 10% higher than you will pay, due to our local tax that you don't have to pay. If you log in and change the currency on screen to either $US or Euro, you will get a better idea, though it will rarely be spot on due to daily fluctuations that we don't try to keep up with. However to give you an idea of how that has changed with our falling dollar, today we changed the $US conversion from 0.95 to 0.69 - so everything on our site is 27% cheaper for you now than the last time we adjusted. That's scary for us but a good deal for you. The Euro change was 18% down.

Australian customers can be assured that as most of the product we sell is imported, this does mean we'll be seeing price rises coming in all directions - but they invariably take a few months to flow through.

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Two Perth men, who fished for rock lobster after the season had closed, have been ordered to pay more than $16,500 in fines, court costs and mandatory additional penalties.

Magistrate Michael Wheeler told 47-year-old Van Thang Nguyen and 55-year-old Ngoc Tri Phan that the fines were set high because fish stocks were finite and needed protection from over-fishing.

Nguyen and Phan were observed between 7pm and midnight (on 30 June this year) on Port Denison Marina. After the men left the area, they were stopped south of Dongara by local police, operating in support with Dongara-based Fisheries Officers. Fishing equipment was seized and two wet bags found in the vehicle were searched.

Compliance Manager David Griffiths said not only had Nguyen admitted to catching all 38 of the rock lobsters in the bags, his fishing activity continued past the end of the 2007/2008 season which had closed at 6pm that day.

Nguyen was fined $1,000 for joint possession of undersize rock lobsters, and $500 each for charges related to not having the appropriate recreational fishing licence and taking more than the daily bag limit. He was also ordered to pay a mandatory additional penalty of $4,650 for 31 undersize lobsters and a further mandatory additional penalty of $4,500 for the lobsters in excess of the bag limit plus court costs of $114.20. Nguyen also forfeited all his fishing gear seized by Fisheries and Marine Officers on 30 June.

Phan was fined $500 for joint possession of the 31 undersize rock lobsters, plus a mandatory additional penalty of $4650 and court costs of $114.20.

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This week's Bluewater Tackle World special is $20 off Williamson Gamefish Kits, six rigged lures in a dedicated tackle pouch. Excellent value for only $39.99. See that and all the other specials here.

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Here’s a preview of this weekend's Sunday Times fishing news, with a bit of extra stuff...

PERTH METROPOLITAN

Chopper tailor and flathead are Swan/Canning features, lower parts best with some of the flatties reported at 40 to 50cm, just a few crabs turning up in the system. In the Harbour, the E-Shed area has yielded some excellent skippy, with a few herring around the Moles, and the odd good tailor at night from North Mole, glow sticks helping. Bream are fairly active towards Guildford, but you need to watch the size. Floreat Drain is one spot where quality tailor were landed, with small schools appearing right up and down the coast. The Marinas are just okay for herring and skippy, quite small herring along usual haunts south of Fremantle.

Offshore action is scarce, skippy a good bet around reefs and wrecks, and expected to improve, samson fish numbers on the increase at the likes of Fairway Buoy and Centaur Marker. Charter boats have accounted for some terrific jewfish, Craig from Saltwater Charters telling us of two caught by punters, one 18kg, another 20kg.

BUSSELTON

Greg Baird tells us that Geographe Bay fishers are having a great time with squid and crabs widespread, even scooping in the shallows good at times, especially in the evening when the weather is right. The Jetty is working well for those species and herring are biting better just before dusk for Jetty anglers. King george whiting make a solid target throughout, fresh squid and coral prawn baits doing better.

Boating parties are reeling in some great skippy just near the end of the Jetty, the best fish over a kilo.       

The west coast has turned up really good tailor when the swell is down, Mitchell Rocks and Injidup notable.

Larger boats are venturing well out from the Cape where they’re scoring excellent jewfish catches.

GERALDTON

Graeme Maunder has been using small mulies to land some massive herring, the best to 35cm, from near Point Moore one night; and the next night he enticed a small mulloway with one of the same size mulies floated from rocks at Greenough. Both First and Second Point at Greenough are holding a few school mulloway, some chopper tailor about but fishing from reefs in the area nigh on impossible courtesy the big swells in the region. There are also a few pike about Greenough and at Southgates.

Both yellowfin and school whiting provided decent bags at the likes of the Live Cray Factory, Separation Point and Point Moore, a few tailor in those waters but they were unreliable and quite varied in size. Drummonds Cove worked reasonably well for whiting, a few herring and chopper tailor.

ALBANY

A few nice days has allowed bigger boats to work 65 to 70m deep water out of Albany, good mixed bags resulting for those prepared to move around, red and pink snapper, jewfish, breaksea cod, queen snapper, samson fish and sharks among the catch. Leatherjackets make perennial pests. Closer in, king george whiting were in reasonable numbers, some squid there too.

Sand whiting are abundant but mostly on the small side, as are the skippy and herring with juvenile salmon frequenting the area. Better herring and salmon fishing was found to the east of Albany, Bremer Bay notable. Flathead added an attractive option at Cosy Corner, Wilson Inlet and Two Peoples Bay.

River fishing for bream is reflecting the increased water temperatures in local rivers, those around Walpole on the quiet side with around Albany rivers yielding plenty of bream, some good size fish among them.  

EXMOUTH

There's a new Exmouth-only newsletter on the site here, with some news about the Betta Billfish Bonanza, mackerel, flathead and dart. A good mixed bag. There'll be another newsletter up soon.

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Bluewater Tackle World News comes from Bluewater, 21 Scarborough Beach Road, Scarborough, Western Australia - phone 08 9245 1313 - www.bluewater.net.au

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