If there is one food item that is despised by anglers all over Australia, it is bananas. Ask anyone about on-board catering for a day of fishing and the response is generally fairly relaxed, sandwiches, chips, chocolate – no worries, but definitely no bananas! Historically, there are several reasons why bananas have been associated with bad luck on boats. Firstly,…
Author: Graham Fifield
Lessons learned from a lost Leviathan
The classic fishing story is, of course, the one where the angler stretches out both arms and says “it was THIS big!” In 2014, it is typically followed by a digital photo presented on a phone. Tales about the ‘one that got away’ can be equally dramatic, although they rarely have photos to accompany them. While disappointing, losing a big…
DIY – Kayak wall mounted racks
Fishing kayaks are great. They are light, relatively easy to throw on the roof of the car and open up vast areas of Australia that are impossible to get a trailer boat into. Finding somewhere to store them however, can be a great big pain in the backside. Ranging from 3 to 5 metres long, it is surprising just how…
Who or what is Iki jime? A quick and humane way to dispatch fish
Have you been into a Japanese restaurant and noticed the incredible attention to detail that goes into each dish? Perfect bite-sized sushi rolls filled with vegetables and salmon. Small rectangles of rice with a piece of raw tuna delicately draped on top. This level of attention and care extends well beyond the presentation however. It includes how the fish is…
Fishing in Vietnam – a study in efficiency (photo essay)
I’ve been lucky enough to spend a few months living in Vietnam this year, visiting my partner who has a 12 month contract in Hanoi. In my spare time, which is most of the time she is at work, I’ve taken to trying to work out how the locals catch fish. Vietnam has a strong fishing culture and there are…
Catching and cooking a carp – part II
In the first part of this crazy carp adventure, I looked at where to catch an ‘eating carp’ around Canberra. The word on various fishing forums and social media was that they taste better with less of a muddy taste from flowing rivers than from lakes. If I was going to embark on this mission, I wanted to make sure the fish…
A quest to catch and cook a Canberra carp
“Wow, this tastes surprisingly good for carp. It’s actually quite nice. Wait – it didn’t come from Lake Burley Griffin did it!?” Background Earlier this year I wrote an article describing how to prepare a carp for a meal, based on a method by Keith Bell of K&C Fisheries. Hey, I was skeptical too, until I went to a carp fishing…
Things that go BOOF in the night
If you’ve seen and heard a Murray Cod engulf a surface lure, you’ve witnessed one of the most exciting and heart-stopping fishing experiences our region has to offer. There is a time somewhere between ‘afternoon’ and ‘evening’ when the sun is setting and you can no longer quite see into the water. You cast out a lure and wind it…
To barb or not to barb – that is the question?
Will barbless hooks catch you more fish? Or more big fish? Until recently I’ve never given much thought to the barb on the hook of jig heads and lures. I figured that if they come with a barb out of the packet that must be a good thing, endorsed by the lure manufacturers right? Now, I’m starting to think twice.…
Hobie Camera Mounts – everything you need to know to get the perfect kayak photo
Photos, photos, photos! Thank goodness we live in a world where trophy fish are (generally) returned to the water and an angler only takes home a photo and a memory. Admittedly this puts a lot of emphasis on getting a good photo that really captures the moment, the environment and the emotion. Given the rise in popularity of Hobie kayaks…
Flooding rain brings crocodiles to the surface and sends bream down deep
Flooding rain brings crocodiles to the surface and sends bream down deep During the autumn months the South Coast of NSW has been drenched. In March alone, Batemans Bay received 160mm, Merimbula 175mm, Ulladulla 223mm, and Jervis Bay a whopping 376mm of rain. These volumes of freshwater flowing into your favourite fishing spot will certainly affect how and where you…
The Southern Australia mixed dozen challenge
Spoilt for choice How many amazing fishing options do you have within 2 or 3 hours drive from your front doorstep? Can you count them? Could you fish them all in a weekend? With the exception of Dan in the top end, the rest of us at Flick and Fly call south east Australia home. From here we can fish…