Tin Can Bay Fishing Club Report September 2020

With the challenging and uncertain times we are living in I think it is important to make the best of the many opportunities that are available for every aspect of our life.

On the fishing front there has been plenty of opportunity to get out on the water and catch a goodly feed of sea food or face the challenge of capturing that prize fish.

Squid are still in fairly good numbers when their whereabouts are discovered on the day. Flathead are in reasonably good numbers at the moment too, but long casts to the shallows are required as they are easily spooked if the boat gets too close to them.

Keep an eye out for the large tiger squid in the shallows while fishing for flathead. The club squid comp is still open with a $50 prize up for grabs. Club members just need to submit a photo on a brag mat or similar clearly showing the tube length. Currently there are still quality mud crabs on the march and sand crabs from the deeper waters.

During the last few months there have been some quality fish of varied species caught by our Club members.These include bream, whiting, flathead, trevally, cod, tuskfish, slatey bream and tuna.

Unfortunately some of these quality fish were caught during the club comp closures due to the virus shutdown and therefore no points were awarded for the annual and monthly comps for these captures.

Not all fish taken are kept for consumption as a majority of the larger specimens are photographed on a Brag Mat and released back into their environment.

Summer whiting and flathead are always worth targeting in the shallows with live yabbies and the diver whiting always an option in the deeper water if nothing else is on the chew on the day.

There are quite a few pelagic species around the inside reefs at the moment including tailor, school mackerel, trevally and tuna. These can be caught by trolling or casting a variety of small lures into the schools feeding on the baitfish.

Reef fish on the inside reefs are a bit hit-and-miss lately, but the reefs are always worth a try, particularly on the neap tides.

With no club meetings for the last few months, no monthly comp winners have been announced so here they are:

• February: Tony Punch with a whiting 37 cm for 173.9 points
• March: Trevor Ryan with a bream 38 cm for 178.6 points
• April and part May: Comp closed.
• May/June: Malcolm Kay with a slatey bream 80 cm for 208 points.
• July: Ron Cox with a flathead 57 cm for 150.4 points.

The club is slowly adjusting to the new normal and we wish to welcome several more new members to our growing ranks.

We are having our next Club General Meeting at the Clubhouse at 4pm on Wednesday October 21, followed by the AGM  Unfortunately these meetings will be for Club members only, given the current social distancing restrictions.

For any information in relation to membership or just general information please contact the Secretary:

M: 0437 242-171, email: tcbfishingclub@bigpond.com

Tight lines and stay safe