Editorials

09 August 2008 Shark Bay changes a false dawn AS IF the demersal management discussions didn’t create enough controversy, I was moved to enter a submission on the Department of Environment and Conservation’s (DEC formerly CALM) Draft management plan for the Shark Bay Terrestrial Reserves and Proposed Reserve Additions, which was released at the end of April.  Read more

09 June 2008 Crunchtime has arrived FROM a personal perspective, the controversial changes proposed by Minister John Ford to management of recreational fishing for demersal species (those that live on or near the bottom of the ocean) in the West Coast Bioregion wouldn’t be likely to affect my fishing practices at all if implemented.  Read more

25 March 2008 Harro’s monster ‘hoo THIS is the tale of a state record that will never be, an angler with little idea of what he was doing, a fish that should have got away and a capture that none who witnessed will ever forget.  Read more

25 January 2008 The worst day of fishing PERSONALLY, I view fishing as being about much more than just the basic act of actually catching fish. When I look back on many of my favourite fishing memories, sure some relate to exciting captures, but just as many involve the overall fishing experience.  Read more

22 November 2007 Crunch time for fisheries management THE times they are a-changin’. So sung Bob Dylan and so say Western Australia’s 600,000 or so recreational fishers.  Read more

22 September 2007 Caution always prudent “NO FISH is worth risking your life for.” How many times have we anglers heard that cautionary statement? And yet fishermen and women keep tragically dying along our coastline.  Read more

17 July 2007 Spawning aggregation conundrum TWAS late afternoon on the Swan River in January and conditions were absolutely perfect for a spot of small boat fishing. Mark Davis and I were at Mosman in his well-appointed dinghy and we were hoping to catch a mulloway or two.  Read more

23 May 2007 Wherefore art thou, barra? OUR quartet was fishing the rather oddly-named but exceptionally optically pleasing Kimberley waterway known as the Barlee Impediment, in George Water, when it happened.  Read more

02 April 2007 When will you switch to scalies? THERE is absolutely no doubt you never stop learning when you are a keen angler and this is especially so if you want to be a successful one. There are very few times that I wet a line when my knowledge base doesn’t grow in some useful way, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time. One of the great things about fishing is you never actually know when the next lesson is going to take place and so it was with my conversion to scaly mackerel as my bait of choice.  Read more

27 February 2007 The editor fights back IT SEEMS being the editor of a fishing magazine is to offer yourself up to merciless and totally unwarranted character assassination. If Ian Stagles’ infamous ‘polony’ editorial, which was riddled with inaccuracies and half-truths, wasn’t enough, Mike Roennfeldt has slipped into me again in his column in this edition.  Read more

12 September 2006 Zimbo sambo chaos A FEW years ago, I was lucky enough to take a few blokes from the Zimbabwe cricket team, when they were still a united outfit, out beyond Rottnest Island jigging for samson fish.  Read more

10 July 2006 Curses foiled again YOU can be the most persistent, prepared or even gifted, angler in the world, with all the best gear money can buy, and still be done over by dumb luck. There are some gun anglers that write in this magazine, who would be among the best in the state, if not the country.  Read more

13 March 2006 Wither the sweetwater in this state SOMETHING in the shadows moved – barely causing a ripple as it did so. My eyes strained to try and discern what caused this momentary bulge on the surface of the water, a task made much harder by the rapidly fading light. There, the water bulged again, but this time it was followed by the sound of a lure dropping gently only centimetres from the epicentre of the dying ripples.  Read more

17 January 2006 The angling experience is evolving THIS editorial was prompted by a thread on our Western Angler website that was posted by Terry Fuller, one of our site moderators. Terry is, by his own acknowledgement, a beaver. You know, one of those guys that beavers away in the background digging out salient facts that us less industrious people really should be aware of.   Read more

27 November 2005 Recreational anglers need a fairer share Resource sharing is not a new issue and has been going on, in various forms and at different levels, for a long time and principally because recreational anglers wanted it to. It wasn’t the commercial sector, or State and Federal governments that wanted resource sharing – we did. We saw it, and still do, as the best way to preserve adequate numbers of fish to allow us a reasonable expectation of catching something when we go fishing.   Read more

01 October 2005 Cockburn Sound report card worrying ROUTINE monitoring of water quality in Cockburn Sound at the end of July identified very high bacteria levels at Rockingham Beach. At the time of writing no cause had been identified and remedial measures had not been undertaken.  Read more

01 August 2005 Platinum WAngler stands the test of time I HAVE an observation to share with our readers – the first 20 years of publishing Western Angler have passed all too quickly. Yes, this is our 20th anniversary issue. I can still remember putting together the first few issues, when all the text was keyed in by typesetters and text bromides run out.  Read more

01 June 2005 Reader views provide food for thought I HAVE just scanned through several hundred Shimano Reader Surveys, and that’s only a small portion of the response! And although we haven’t entered all the data contained in the surveys as yet, I was keen to respond to some of the things that I have been reading.  Read more

01 April 2005 Rec fishers are finding their voice DURING an interview with Liam Bartlett, on ABC Radio back in February, I commented that recreational fishing may have something to thank our Premier for.  Read more

01 February 2005 Ningaloo debacle galvanises anglers NINGALOO Marine Park is a watershed for recreational fishing in Western Australia. In a single move the Gallop Government has galvanised many previously placid anglers into action with what appears to be a less than honest approach to marine planning.  Read more

01 December 2004 Huge stakes up for grabs as IFM takes hold FISHERIES management in Western Australia is already on a road that is eventually destined to take us into holistic, ecosystem-based management with appropriate resource sharing between recreational and commercial sectors.   Read more

01 October 2004 End of an era – a toast to Cuey I FIRST got to know Ross Cusack back in the late 70s, through his writings in his weekly fishing column in The West Australian and his regular column for Fishing World. I recall that Ron Calcutt, who still contributes Cast Off for this magazine, was the editor of Fishing World at the time.  Read more

01 August 2004 Go fishing or stay at home: some will ask that question FOR SOME time I’ve been under the impression that recreational fishing participation and activity is declining – particularly in the Metro area and South-West region – rather than increasing, as some pundits would have us believe. So I thought it timely to look at the reaction of anglers to the new possession, bag and size limits introduced last October, and at any other possible factors that might discourage more anglers to stay home.  Read more

01 June 2004 Anglers hit as dhuie dilemma stays on hold HOW CAN we best manage prime demersal species like dhufish in the future? This is a key question already looming in the minds of anglers and commercial fishers alike. Most informed people I speak to believe that dhufish aren’t being fished unsustainably – rather they’re suffering the pressure of what is starting to look like “growth overfishing”.   Read more

01 April 2004 We’re being robbed blind in marine park planning EVERY DAY, in far too many ways, recreational anglers are being robbed and what is being taken is unlikely to ever be returned. Just when we hoped to see some enlightened fisheries management in Western Australia, following the November 2002 Toohey Report on Integrated Fisheries Management, marine parks and the ever-increasing no-take areas associated with them started impacting on recreational fishing.   Read more

01 February 2004 Sometimes a grand fishing plan really works FROM TIME to time, in a fishing career spanning over 50 years, fishing plans have come together for me in a way that makes them remembered for a very long time. Planning trips often involves understanding a bit more about the target species, their movements, habits and then being in the right place at the right time with the correct gear to ultimately catch them. Lady luck inevitably plays her part in a successful trip and she is duly acknowledged for that.  Read more

01 December 2003 Glimmer of hope at last on tuna and billfish HAVING written so much over the years that is less than favourable about Commonwealth fisheries management, specifically in the tuna and billfish fishery, I thought it appropriate to update our readers with some of the more recent positive happenings in Western Australia’s portion of this fishery.   Read more

01 October 2003 Not too late, but too little, to save rivers WITHOUT doubt the Swan and Canning rivers are state icons. West Australians, by and large, love their oceans and rivers; we are people of a watery spirit. For many of us these two rivers are places of beauty to be enjoyed and treasured and yet, as is so often the case in developing countries, the Swan and Canning have become victims of our own increasing urbanisation.   Read more