FISH & BOAT, February 2019- P21 Fishin’ With The Captain ing so then the next step is to just get out there on the stack of hints that all I really wanted for Christmas water and start fishing. This for me is the best practice was the Humminbird Solix 12 sounder. All I got was anyone can ever get. Plus, who doesn’t like anothera carton of mid-strength beer and a pack of chips. excuse to fishing? What do I do? Am I best to just break it off now, as I Hey Jim, I met a really nice chick at the pub lastfear that she really doesn’t understand me. weekend, but she doesn’t like fishing. What can I do Hmm, that’s a tough one as there are quite a few to get her interested in fishing? things to consider before making a decision like this. You could probably meet another girl at the pub and How were the hints dropped? If I’m trying to give my this time, maybe one that likes fishing. But, if you arepartner hints on purchases for birthdays and Christ- keen on this girl and you want her to become more in-mas’s I like to be subtle. Try printing out a few pictures terested in fishing then maybe take her fishing. What of the object of which you desire and tape them to eve- I mean by this is don’t take her on a trip that involvesryday items that she uses, such as the bathroom mirror dirty stinking bait with copious amounts of beer which and the coffee machine. Then if this doesn’t work and leaves you passed out on the deck after being in the she still isn’t getting the hint, then start taping these glaring heat and sun all day and after knocking back pictures to more personalised items such as her hair both hers and your share of the tins. She will not be straightener, the steering wheel of her car and even her impressed. My tip is to pack a small picnic with some personal massager. This is a sure fire way to get her cheeses and some prosutt… proscutto…proscuito (ah attention, and if it doesn’t work well, at least the item stuff it) some salami sticks and don’t forget a few drinks will be brought up in a conversation that you two are for her like a nice bottle of merlot or even a nice re-bound to have once all the pictures have been taken freshing cab sav. Go to a nice little land-based spot or down. Dear Captain, I’m new to using a baitcaster. What if you have a boat, go to a secluded beach and spend Captain Jim, my mate told me that tilapia are good tips can you give me on casting lures? some time there. Don’t forget to pack a rod with some to eat. What are the size and bag limits for these fish? My suggestion would be to tie on a weight (rub- lures and whilst she is relaxing next to the fantastic I have heard of people eating tilapia before, and in ber one for safety) and place out some targets such as spread you’ve put together, you can be fishing. Even-fact, they are somewhat of a delicacy in some Asian buckets in the back yard. Then, it’s just a matter of tually, she will come round to the idea of fishing (orcountries I have read. As for eating them in Queens- practice, practice, practice. Once you have landed the boating) and if she doesn’t, well,who cares what she land, well that may be a little bit on the difficult side. weight in the buckets a few times, then try moving thinks then anyway.Tilapia are an introduced species and are classed as a positions around the yard. It won’t take long before Heartbroken. I thought my missus and I were on noxious fish, they are a pest fish that if caughtin one’s you become comfortable with the outfit you are us- a good thing. Leading up to Christmas, I dropped a possession in Queenslnd, you could face a heftya fine as it is actually illegal to have them in your possession. Tilapia not only compete with native fish species for food, but they actually prey on the eggs, fry and ju- venile fish themselves, which has devastating effects on native fish stocks. There is no size limit for them and once caught they must be disposed of humanely and appropriately. Maybe to help curb the numbers QLD Fisheries could possibly introduce a possession limit for these fish as you can eat them and it may even appeal to some anglers into targeting this introduced species. Doubleheader of barra on the 1 lure! How good’s the runoff! Bang on Barra As I write this, it seems the Townsville weatherdome is firmly in place as once again, the fore-cast rainfall for our region barely eventuated leaving the rivers thirsty for that big flow to clean out all the weed and kickstart the region’s fisheries for an- other year. Barramundi! The word on every fishos lips and as the season opens, I’m sure it will be at the top of most target lists. During the closed season, keen fishos who have pur- chased a SIPS permit could fish the Ross River weirs without the worry of receiving an infringement notice from fisheries and were rewarded with quality barra as the storm season builds up. During the run off, the barra fishing around Townsville can get red hot with XOS barra being caught right in the middle of town! It’s not uncommon to show up at a local hotspot and see dozens of fishos standing shoulder to shoulder in search of that elusive 1m+ fish. Those that venture the road less travelled can also be rewarded with outstand- ing captures including cricket score catches of barra- mundi. Big soft plastics retrieved slowly seems to be accounting for a lot of the captures as well as live baits suspended under a float. Now that the season has opened (midday1st Febru- ary) we can now fish for them in the salt and hopefully by the next edition we have had some more much- needed rain to kickstart the local fishing for another year. That’s it for this month dudes and dudettes, I am off to chase some barra, ya gotta love that! Big barra can be caught right at your feet just like this one!