p-ziller Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Happy New Year Raiders! It’s been a while since I have posted and one of my resolutions was to get out more, so here is a report based on what happens when you do. Kat and I have been waiting for this break for a very long time! We have been so busy with work and other projects that we have had very little time to fish together, or at all for that matter. This season I have had a very good run on the bass but not on a lot of other target species. We decided to fish Sydney Harbour with my brother so headed of the day before to stock up on some tackle, a few new lures and some new squid jigs. We received a bit of info from one of the guys at ‘On Duty Bait & Tackle’ that there were a few kings being caught in the harbour. Being that we were going out within the Boxing Day Sale period I had ‘NO CHOICE’ but to buy some new and heavier gear in the form of a Shimano Raider Rod and 5000 Reel. We left the house at 5am the next morning and by some freak change of heart I decided to scrap the Harbour plans and drove to the Hacking. We launched in Yowie Bay with the plans of catching live bait. I felt a little squeamish at the fact we had to rely on my captaining abilities to land squid and yakkas so we grabbed some prawns from the ‘Bait & Go’ machine just in case. My plans were to try for a few squid around Jibbon Beach but the swell was a little too big at this point to take the Tinnie close to the heads so we pulled up short at Salmon Haul. We anchored up and within a few casts the Mrs was on and this thing was massive! We ended up with a few lollypops and another bigger model over the hour but decided to send a few out in hopes for kings. We headed into one of the bays near some moored boats and got a burley trail going. Throwing over some pillie cubes and squid guts, a little action showed up on the sounder. We rigged up with some squid head and threw them overboard. Within a matter of seconds Kat was on and it sent the drag screaming. After a 10-minute fight we got it to the boat and she had her first taste of the silver ghost!!! We measured her at 68cm… Yewwwwww!!! Unfortunately, The fish leapt off the boat seat and down between the cross brace and floating floor that supports the motor. I tried to get the Jewie out carefully, unaware that its gill rakers had gotten caught on the other side of the brace. We swam her for 10-15 minutes to no avail, every time it swam off it went belly up. Shortly after this, the bite went off after tide change. The brother caught a small pinkie but that was it. It was still a little too choppy to get closer to the heads to try for kings so we called it quits. We decided to take the remaining squid home with the Jewie, which happened to end up as a sensational meal! If people would like to shed some light, my question is: What is the best possible outcome for an event like this? We filmed the fish not being able to swim off in case we ran into the fisheries department. Is this the correct protocol? Apologies for the novice question but we couldn’t find the information anywhere. Photos attached. Thanks, Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Hey Paul, I think what you did was very admirable and you showed your best intentions to release the fish. However, under DPI rules, any fish that is not within the rules and regulations with regards to "size and bag limits" must be returned to the water! (Penalties apply) This is a timely reminder that we are all responsible to know these "rules and regulations" whilst recreational fishing. Regards, scratchie mod team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackfish angler Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Well done Paul but have to agree with Scratchie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveBM Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 You definitely did the right thing, but yes it was technically the illegal thing. I doubt you would've been prosecuted with the video proof though - the black and white letter of the law is to stop people lying about being unable to save undersized/protected fish. In your position I'd do exactly as you did. The tiny chance of overzealous officers versus the certainty of a delicious fish dying a slow death for no reason is a no-brainer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-ziller Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 Thanks guys. like I said, I checked the dpi rules etc. It wasn't until well after that I actually worked out via their site that it states the fish must return. The only other info I had found was a thread from this site but it was more of a debate then the rules. (Scratchie/Mod team: Is there information you can lead me towards? The DPI website was fairly cryptic). However, one thing I couldn't find more information on was if the fish was to go back as is (struggling) or if it is best to humainly kill it before putting it back. We honestly wanted to put it back as neither of us really eat fish, we just thought one of the near by fishing boats would scoop it up once we left. Thanks again all. cheers, Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Paul, To simplify it! If it is not within the "size and bag limits" unfortunately it must be returned to the water regardless of condition. Unfortunatley, I have a new phone and lost my links. Maybe another raider can help out! Cheers scratchie!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savit Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 here: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/fishing-rules-and-regs/saltwater-bag-and-size-limits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raging Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 On a side note. Guy at work said for total bag limits children onboard even if fishing don't count so me fishing with two nephews, the boat bag limit is for one person. Couldn't find anything online about this. Anyone know ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-ziller Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 Thanks again for the input raiders. i have done some heavy digging and managed to find this. Below is a link that should give others in a similar predicament some much needed information: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/605732/nsw-recreational-fishing-catch-and-release-handbook.pdf It gives a few helpful pointers and information about what to do with things such as getting gut hooked as well as survival rates etc. I have attached the most useful piece of information from our blunder. If a fish is caught that is undersized in must be returned as is irrespective of condition. Do not kill it, just put it back in the drink. i hope this can help somebody else out in the future. Tight lines! Cheers, Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-ziller Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 4 hours ago, raging said: On a side note. Guy at work said for total bag limits children onboard even if fishing don't count so me fishing with two nephews, the boat bag limit is for one person. Couldn't find anything online about this. Anyone know ? I'll have a look around about this. Hopefully someone can help you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammoth64 Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 14 hours ago, raging said: On a side note. Guy at work said for total bag limits children onboard even if fishing don't count so me fishing with two nephews, the boat bag limit is for one person. Couldn't find anything online about this. Anyone know ? I also have a young "first mate" (9yo) I had a bit of a look for answers but this is all I could find. The only real info I found is issued by Victoria, WA and Q/land. I would guess that NSW rules would be similar owing to the fact that a lot of kids (under 18) do go fishing without an Adult. http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/fisheries/education/fishing-info-for-kids/family-fishing-guide Junior Code of Conduct You can help manage, protect and conserve fish and their habitat by following the six principles of the Junior Code of Conduct (below), which was developed from the National Code of Practice for recreational and sport fishing. Don't leave your tackle behind Quality catchments equals quality fish Fish with friends Take only what you need You're the solution to water pollution Throw the little ones back Hope this helps, Cheers Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Post the queries here I will contact our DPI rep to add some clarity to this discussion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quaddy Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Same thing happened to me with a Kingfish. Tried for ages to revive it but no good. I then threw it away but kept floating around where we were fishing. This upset the 2 kids I had with me seeing this thing so I pulled it out to throw back when we left. Sure enough an inspector came along. I explained what had happened and he was very understanding. Took my details then a couple of weeks later got a warning for "keep under sized fish". My friends and family think this is a great joke because I return everything. Anyway them the rules. Cheers Quaddy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arripis Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Hi Fishraiders, mrsswordfisherman has asked me to clarify some of the issues you guys are discussing. Inevitably, this becomes a bit of complex discussion because ti involves animal welfare and best-use-of-resource issues aside from the strict rules and regulations, but at least you guys consider these things when you are fishing which is very refreshing! So, strictly speaking, the regulations with respect to releasing undersized fish or fish caught in excess of the bag or possession limits are: 1) If a fish is caught which is below the minimum legal length or in excess of the the bag or possession limit for that species, it must be returned to the water regardless of condition. Irrespective of the species, being caught is stressful for the fish and there are many complications which arise as a result of capture (bleeding resulting from deep or gill hooking, exhaustion, barotrauma, to name a few). It is, of course, up to the fisher whether or not they choose to attempt to help a fish recover from capture-related stress and therefore release the fish in better condition to improve its chances of survival. This is an excellent guide to best practices for successful catch and release of a heap of popular recreational fish species (http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/605732/nsw-recreational-fishing-catch-and-release-handbook.pdf) - i think Paul may have already posted a link to this above. Sometimes however, despite the best efforts of the angler utilising all the best practices for that species outlined in the above document, the fish does not recover. If this occurs and the fish is undersize or in excess of the bag or possession limits, it must be returned to the water, even if severely impaired or even dead. This does not sit well with many people as essentially the fish is wasted, but unfortunately if this regulation was not back-or-white, there would be unscrupulous anglers who would take advantage of the loophole and intentionally keep undersized fish claiming that they could not be released. I doubt any of you guys would fall into this category 2) As far as fishing with underaged children goes (ie. less than 18), they are not required to have a licence, but still must adhere to size and bag/possession limits. So if you are fishing with two 10 year olds, the bag limit applies for each person fishing, not just the adult. The adult must be licenced however, even if not actually fishing. A full list of licence exemption circumstances can be found here (http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/recreational/recreational-fishing-fee/exemptions) Hope this helps. Feel free to reply to this post or email me directly at julian.hughes@dpi.nsw.gov.au with any queries and i will try to clarify any confusion cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raging Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houdini Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 3 hours ago, Arripis said: the adult must be licenced however, even if not actually fishing. this is incorrect the second link you included states this at point No 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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