All at Jones's Tackle are pleased to welcome Nigel back on staff, he's been away for a year or so and it's great to have all his knowledge on tap again. Nigel loves his freshwater fishing and with his friends, Alvin and Steven, recently managed to secure a fishing trip at the Monster Murray Cod retreat in the New England area of NSW.  Monster Murray Cod is a fishing retreat on a private property which has 5 lakes stocked with Murray Cod. They are only opened over the weekend and allow a maximum of 4 anglers.
With the bookings made, Nigel called his mates overseas to check if they were keen to fish for the famous native fish the mighty Murray cod. Fortunately they were free this time and immediately booked their flights to Brisbane and got all their gear organised. They decided to target the fish mainly using topwater and big bait lures.

                                                    Nigel and Cod on deep big bait

Pristine waters!

Steven with Cod on Spinnerbait

                                                       Alvin and Cod on Lucky Craft lure

Steven and another wild Cod

Alvin with beautifully marked Cod

Another pretty Cod

                                                                             

As dawn broke over Hervey Bay on Anzac Day 2010, Jones's Tackle team member Dan Saville along with good mates Sam and Todd were heading out under the guidance of Paul Dolan (Fraser Coast Sportfishing) to launch an attack on the light tackle sportfish that call these waters home.


The boys set out for Platypus Bay hoping to spin their first Longtail tunas. After boating a dozen or more Mack Tuna, the peak time for Longtails was at hand so the crew headed North in search of these speedsters. The schools were flighty, but precise boat positioning and accurate casting saw each of the boys landing their first Longtails. As the sun rose higher the fishing hit a whole new level with plenty of double and triple hook ups.

Over the last 8 years Paul Dolan has been the leader in the use of Snap Back Jerkshads on Tuna and on the day they proved deadly in Bubblegum and Blue Glimmer colours. Tuna also fell to Yozuri Hydro Pencils with amazing surface strikes that will leave fond memories with the boys till they return....

For any information on the article or the gear used to tame these fantastic Sportfish drop in and see the crew at Jones's Tackle. For queries on taking a Sportfishing charter for the day, speak to the crew or check out Paul's website http://www.frasercoastsportfishing.com.au/

In their last blog Lyn and Neil mentioned that the weather was only marginal for the northern waters of Moreton Bay; well the Monday of the Anzac Day long week-end was decidedly more challenging with winds to 25 knots and a good 1.5 metres of sea running most of the day. The lure of fast Tunas can make most things bearable!
The bait was very small and as the pics show the venerable Snapback shone through again.

Wide Gap XY-W77

Just arrived from Decoy XXXXX strong treble in sizes 2/0 - 3/0
Ideal for big barra lures in Lake Monduran & Awoonga

With the height of Tuna season on our doorstep, and the Jones's Tackle "Sportfishing Speedsters" seminar fresh on the mind, both seminar attendees and regular costumers have reported fantastic numbers of Tuna in the South-East Corner.

Successful trip reports have boasted excellent numbers of Bonito, Watson's Leaping Bonito, Mack Tuna and the light tackle sport-fishing heavyweight - Longtail Tuna.

With large congregations of baitfish, fast-moving tides, and densely-populated Tuna schools it has made for explosive surface feeding action.

 

Successful lures have ranged from 18g, 25g and 35g "Mucho Lucir" casting slugs on Bonito and smaller Mack Tuna, to the ever-reliable terminator "Snap-Back" soft plastic accounting for the larger Mack Tuna and the majority of Longtails. On occasion large Longtail Tuna have been found in very shallow water chasing large baitfish such as Finny Scad and Garfish. Skipping surface lures are a good imitation of these baitfish, and usually provide amazing surface strikes.

 

For any information or advice on this article or on Tuna spinning, come in and talk to the experienced staff at Jones's Tackle.

After presenting the recent "Sportfishing Speedsters" Seminar, Lyn and Neil ventured out into the bay on Easter Monday to put their theories into practice. The weather was only marginal for the Northern bay, but at least there were some Longtails around to take their mind off the whitecaps. Contrary to recent trends, the far Northern bay was where most of the action was taking place.

"Snapbacks" accounted for all the fish caught. Anglers using most offshore soft plastic techniques will understand that there are considerable deficiencies with commercially available jig hooks. Hook up and hook retention rates, along with the strength of most of what's available leave a lot to be desired. With this in mind the team at Jones's Tackle are currently trialling a new secret weapon custom made jig hook, with very positive results.

Watch this space for more information.

APRIL VIP CLUB PRIZE

The new VIP Prize is a light surf outfit comprising a Gary Howard Graphcaster 12' 2pce Light Surf rod (a graphite 3-6kg rod) with an Alvey 625BT (the new Turbocast turntable model). Included in the prize is a plier and braid scissors tool kit, beanie, hat, other accessories and a spool of fishing line. Total Value: $320 

 

 The last VIP Prize, drawn in March, was won by Jock Mac Farlane. He won one of the new Shimano Baitrunner 4000FA reels with a Shimano Catana 662 rod, plus a great range of accessories including a plier and braid scissors tool kit
Total Value: $300.