Just a few days prior to Christmas, 2018, my daughter Amy and I undertook the iconic Light-To-Light Walk on the far south coast of NSW. This bush and coastal hiking trail extends from Ben Boyd Tower near Red Point, south of Eden, to Green Cape Lighthouse, overlooking Disaster Bay and Wonboyn. The Light-To-Light walk lies within Ben Boyd National Park. It’s listed at being just over 30 km in length and carries a Grade 4 rating (grades run from 1 for the easiest to 5 for the hardest.) Grade 4 is defined thus: “Bushwalking experience recommended. Tracks may be long, rough and very steep. Directional signage may be limited.” Amy and I began our journey by driving a vehicle each to Green Cape Lighthouse, where I left my old HiLux in the car park and loaded my gear into Amy’s car. We then drove the 40-odd kilometres of mixed dirt and sealed roads back to the car park near Boyds Tower, at the southern entrance of Twofold Bay. Both parking areas lie within the National Park and a day visitation fee is payable. This involves self-registering using the envelopes provided at pay stations to deposit the correct amount of cash into a locked metal container, with a tear-off receipt being displayed on your vehicle’s dash. At the time of our visit, the fee was $8 per night, per vehicle. I have no issue with paying this fee, although I wasn’t especially comfortable with the idea of leaving written notification in plain sight that our vehicles would be unattended for several days. To me this seems like an open invitation to thieves! It might actually make more sense to buy a yearly pass, and I’ll be investigating that option in future. ON THE TRACK Hefting...

With the growing interest these days in fly fishing — especially in saltwater — I thought I’d have a close look at one of the more readily available estuarine and inshore species, and one that represents an ideal starting point for a bit of “swoffing”. That fish is the humble flathead. But first, a few thoughts on fly-fishing in general: WHAT IS FLY FISHING? Fly-fishing has a reputation for being a mysterious and difficult art, mostly practiced by crusty, pipe-smoking old toffs in tweed jackets resplendent with leather elbow patches… But the times have indeed changed! These days, fly-fishing has largely been de-mystified, and it’s also no longer solely about catching trout… nor even fishing only in freshwater. The biggest trick to breaking down any remaining misconceptions surrounding fly fishing is to accept that it’s really no more than a specialised form of lure fishing, in which the “lure” is too light or too wind resistant to be cast any serious distance using conventional spinning or baitcaster tackle… Simple as that! Flies are just artificial baits, exactly like any other lure. However, being made from fur, fibres, tinsel and feathers lashed to a hook with thread, they’re virtually weightless. This presents a challenge from the casting perspective. Through the centuries, that challenge has been overcome by incorporating the necessary casting weight into the line instead of the lure. So, a fly line is effectively no more or less than a long, skinny sinker or float! Its weight or mass is used to deliver that lightweight lure to a fish. The best way to throw such a long, skinny casting weight is to swish it back and forth through the air in order to form a travelling loop that can be extended and then unfurled...

In this second installment of the Snubby Boat Files, we finally get our new Beastmaster Snubby 500 boat wet. You can watch our short video of the event here, or by simply clicking the play button below: Even a grey, overcast and cool day couldn’t dampen our enthusiasm for giving “Mad Keen” (yes, she’s been officially named!) her first on-water run. Launching was a breeze and everything worked exactly as it should. We puttered slowly up through the 8-knot zone, then gradually increased the power… With the brand-spanking new F70A Yamaha still very much in run-in mode, we needed to frequently vary the revs and only touch full noise very briefly, but we were extremely impressed by the rig’s initial performance. It seems the motor height and prop choice (a Yamaha SS [stainless steel] Talon SDS 14K 13 1/8) were spot on… which is always a huge relief! (Find out more about those amazing Talon SDS props here.) Please note that the preliminary performance figures shown below are with a motor that’s still very new and therefore a tad tight. Also, there was very little additional gear in the boat, apart from basic safety equipment, 10 litres of fuel and two people. Here are the initial speeds we observed (via the GPS) at various revs: INITIAL PERFORMANCE FIGURES 3500 RPM = 15 knots (28 km/h) 4000 RPM = 20 knots (37 km/h) 5000 RPM = 25 knots (46 km/h) 6000RPM = 29 knots (54 km/h) 6100 RPM = 30 knots (55.5 km/h)* * Wide open throttle I’m particularly impressed by being able to sit on 20 knots or a whisker over (around 40 km/h) at 4000 to 4200 RPM, as this is an extremely economical mode of operation. I’d expect to be covering close...

Bait versus lure? Which is best? Here are a few nifty graphics from a piece on that subject I prepared for www.fix.com.  If you’d like to read the full story, simply click here. Source:...

The third and final round of the hard-fought Australian Freshwater Masters tournament series was staged in mid-February this year on the waters of Lake Mulwala, a picturesque impoundment straddling the NSW/Victorian border, an hour or so west of Albury. This unique, three-stage challenge targets a trio of iconic Australian native species at three very different venues. The first round of the latest Freshwater Masters took place last November on Lake Windamere, near the NSW regional town of Mudgee, and was devoted to the pursuit of golden perch or yellowbelly. A few days later, round two was staged on Glenbawn Dam, in the Hunter Valley, with Australian bass as the nominated target species. Finally, almost three months later, competitors gathered at Lake Mulwala to hunt the elusive Murray cod. A catch-and-release series devoted entirely to lure and fly fishing, The Australian Freshwater Masters challenges its field of two-person teams to measure, photograph and release up to 10 legal specimens of each target species at each arena over the course of two days’ of intensive fishing. Cumulative point scores (one point per millimeter) carry forward from round to round, ultimately deciding the outcome of the event. This year, the eventual winners were Team Starlo’s Squidgies, consisting of high profile fishing communicator, Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling, and his wife Jo. Consistent performances in rounds two and three allowed Starlo and Jo to hold onto the significant lead they’d amassed on Windamere’s goldens in round one (where Jo was also the individual champion angler), finally giving them an 800 point break over the second-placed Jigheads Team of Mitchell Skeers and Brad Gardiner. A further 1,300 points behind in third place was Team Windybanks, made up of Simon McAlpine and David Dobson. Overall Champion Angler for the Masters was Mitchell...

Lots of anglers still struggle to crack the bream-on-lures code. Truth is, these fish are no pushover. But if you follow my simple, five-point plan below, and watch the accompanying video clip here, I’m confident you’ll be posing for a photo with your first bream on a soft plastic very soon! As I travel the country fishing, researching stories and gathering material for this blog and the many publications I contribute to, I come across increasing numbers of anglers who’ve embraced lure fishing and, in particular, the use of soft plastic lures. The uptake of soft plastics has definitely been one of the most significant trends in Australian recreational angling over the past 10 to 15 years, and its popularity shows no sign of diminishing any time soon. Softies are great lures and they’re not all that hard to use. Most new chums start catching at least the odd fish very early in their plastic-flicking careers. But some species are tougher nuts to crack than others, and the humble bream is perhaps the trickiest of the lot. It’s also the one I get asked about the most. The question typically begins with a statement along the lines of: “I can catch plenty of flathead on plastics, but I’m damned if I can work these bream out!” If you’re in that camp, I’m here to help! Below I’ve listed a simple, five-step strategy for cracking the bream-on-plastics code, and this is accompanied by this short, no-nonsense how-to video clip on my “Starlo Gets Reel” YouTube channel. You can go straight to that video by scanning the QR code at the bottom of this page, or by typing this URL into your browser: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wuLI5-M3UQ Okay… Are you ready to learn how to catch your very first...

By now, quite a few anglers have become aware of a new player on the fishing line market called GLISS, or GLISS KG, manufactured by German company WFT (World Fishing Tackle). Some are touting this stuff as the potential replacement for existing braided and fused gel-spun polyethylene fishing lines, others as a cross-over between braided lines and monofilament… while still others are panning it as an abject fail… So, what’s the real story? I first became aware of GLISS after reading this article on the Angling International website during 2014. Since then, Angling International have run several more pieces/press releases about the line, including this one (followed shortly thereafter by this clarification), then this piece earlier in 2015, and most recently, this report about GLISS KG winning the award for best new braided line at the 2015 EFTTEX Show in Europe. (Click on the highlighted links in the previous sentence to read each of the write-ups, or find out more about EFTTEX.) According to these reports and other research I’ve done, GLISS is made from extruded and fused HMPE ( high modulus polyethylene) fibres. HMPE is widely used in high quality marine ropes, tow lines, etc. In a fishing context, it’s claimed to have very low stretch (like braid), to be ultra smooth (like mono), and to have ridiculously thin diametres for its strength… Reading those descriptions, I just had to get hold of some and try it, as it sounded perfect for a lot of the styles of “finesse” fishing I do… Tracking down some WFT GLISS wasn’t easy. Eventually, I ordered a spool of 6kg in the translucent finish on-line from a British mail order business (6 kg was the lightest they had in stock). After waiting several weeks for the line...

It’s not every day that you get to launch a comprehensive range of hard-bodied lures and semi-soft topwaters onto the Australian market, knowing that each lure will retail for $10 or less, yet still be an excellent fish catcher, with a classy finish and better-than-average hardware. However, that’s what I’m happy to say I’ve been able to do with my new STARLO PRO Lures range, designed and selected by me exclusively for the BCF chain of stores here in Australia. Now, I realise from past comments here and elsewhere that not every Aussie angler is necessarily a huge fan of BCF. There’s no doubt that the big chains (including BCF) have led to the demise of some small independent tackle stores, just as the competition from Coles and Woolworths has resulted in a reduction in numbers of local grocery outlets, butcher shops and so on. Nonetheless, for better or worse, I suspect there’s a certain inevitability to this sort of evolution in the world of retail. It’s also true that the better independents (in all fields, including fishing tackle) will not only survive but thrive in the face of such competition. They achieve this by providing the sort of expert advice, individualised customer service and “value adding” that most chains simply can’t or won’t offer. Meanwhile, BCF and their ilk do provide an excellent service to a great many customers, employ a heap of Aussie workers in the process, and don’t, in my experience, indulge in the sort of “crazy, crazy, crazy!” unsustainable discounting that could damage the industry. So, I’m more than happy to be involved with sourcing and designing exclusive lines of tackle for them, just as I have on occasion for other companies.         Anyway, if you’d like...

In the first part of this blog series on spooling up your reel, I looked at attaching the end of your line to the spool of your reel before beginning to crank all that line on… Now it’s time to work up a sweat as we finish the job! Hopefully, you’ll remember that in that first part I instructed you to fit the reel to a rod, run the end of the new line down through at least one runner, wrap it several times around the spool core, then secure it firmly in place with a five or six turn Uni Knot. I also stressed that if you’re filling a spinning (threadline) reel, you’ll need to open the bail arm first, before attaching the line, while if it was a baitcaster, the line would need to pass through the level wind carrier first. After tying that important Uni Knot, tightening it firmly and trimming the knot to leave a one or two centimetre tag, you can actually begin spooling up… This is the physically active part of the process! (Note that if you’re spooling with braided or fused gel-spun polyethylene line, lots of people suggest laying down a base of 15 or 20 metres of mono first and tying your braid to this. To be honest, I don’t usually do this, but it’s not a bad idea.) TO READ THIS REST OF THIS BLOG SERIES, GO TO “STARLO’S INNER CIRCLE”, BY CLICKING...

Check out this great clip produced by the guys at “The Offroad Adventure Show”! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBrTANhJZMQ&w=420&h=315]  

Most modern fishing reels, regardless of their style or type, are equipped with a drag or “slipping clutch” mechanism of some sort that allows line to be pulled from the reel’s spool under a pre-set tension. On a threadline or spinning reel, drag pressure is usually adjusted via a knob located on the front of the spool or (more rarely) under the rear of the reel’s body. Overheads and baitcasters either have a star wheel under the handle or a lever on the side of the reel for adjusting the drag, while sidecasts and centrepins typically feature a nut or star in the centre of the spool. This drag is intended to prevent the line from breaking should excessive force be placed upon it. Instead of snapping, line slips from the spool against the pre-set drag tension. When a large or powerful fish is hooked, it usually needs to be “played” using a combination of drag resistance and rod work. The term “playing a fish” means taking your time and bringing the fish in more slowly and smoothly while using the flex of the rod as a shock absorber. If necessary, you will also need to allow the hooked fish to “run”: in other words, to pull line from the spool against the reel’s pre-set drag or slipping clutch. This may happen many times during a fight with a strong adversary, especially on lighter line. A big, strong fish can easily pull the rod tip down and rip line off the spool against the resistance of the reel’s drag. However, if the drag has been set too tightly, the line can possibly snap, or the hook might bend or straighten and rip out of the fish’s mouth. On the other hand, if the drag...

For those who missed it first time around in print, here’s a piece on open water bream luring that first ran in FishLife magazine earlier this year: The art of luring bream has been one of the major engines of change in Australian sport fishing over the past few decades. In less than a single generation, catching bream on lures has gone from being an accident or a novelty for most anglers to a regular pursuit for many. Even those who don’t “get it” and wonder what all the fuss is about must grudgingly admit that the pursuit of bream on artificial baits has completely transformed our sport. Before many of you reading these words were born, that doyen of Australian fishing writing, Vic McCristal, offered the opinion that anglers skilled enough to regularly take bream on lures would tend to find most other species easy. It was McSea’s quietly understated way of doffing his cap to the bream clan as perhaps our most challenging piscatorial targets. What Vic could hardly have guessed in those days was the passion with which this country’s sport fishing community would eventually embrace that particular challenge, and how doing so would completely revolutionise our tackle, our techniques and even our angling mindset. Make no mistake: bream luring has radically altered the shape of Australian fishing, and this significant evolutionary upheaval is far from having run its course. Discoveries remain to be made. For many, open water breaming is just one of them. Middle Of Nowhere For most of us, thoughts of catching bream on lures immediately conjure mental images of structure fishing: accurately casting our soft plastics and little hard bodies at shorelines, rocks, snags, pylons, oyster lease racks or moored boats. But what if I told you...

Welcome to the first instalment of my “Back To Basics” series of blogs. These blogs are derived from my ongoing series of columns in the Australian Fishing Monthly group of magazines (QLD Fishing Monthly, NSW Fishing Monthly and VIC Fishing Monthly). Publication of these blogs will lag several months behind their first appearance in those great magazines so, if you want to jump ahead at any stage, just grab the latest copy! However, the appearance of these columns as blogs also recognises the fact that many people live outside the areas covered by those publications, or may wish to catch up with previous columns that they missed in print. As the category name of this blog series implies, it’s all about the fundamental building blocks of our sport, but that certainly doesn’t mean it’s intended purely for beginners… far from it! Lots of experienced anglers could definitely benefit from re-visiting some of these basics, and I’d like to think that even the guns of the sport may pick up a gem or two from reading these columns. In coming blogs within the “Back To Basics” category, we’ll tackle subjects like filling and top-shotting your reels with line, selecting and adding leaders, setting your drag, hooking, fighting and landing fish, handling the catch, improving your casting, putting baits on the hook properly, “working” and tuning lures, organising and maintaining your gear and a whole bunch more. However, if there’s something you’d specifically like to see covered, please leave a comment here under the blog and tell me. You can also reach me through my StarloFishing page on Facebook. This time, I want to kick off with an aspect of  tackle preparation that’s glossed over in many how-to books and DVDs, but which is critical to...

I submitted my first fishing article to a magazine while I was in my final year of high school. That was way back in 1975. With major exams coming up, I soon forgot about the piece when I hadn’t heard from the editor after a few weeks. So, you can probably imagine my absolute surprise and delight when, a month or two later, I received an acceptance letter telling me that the story would be published early in the new year and that I’d receive a cheque for $50 shortly after the magazine hit the shelves! Fifty bucks might not sound like a lot in today’s figures, but it was about half a week’s take-home wages for an adult Australian worker in those days, and enough to buy a new top-of-the-line saltwater fishing reel like a Mitchell 499 or a Seascape 621. Getting paid that sort of dough for writing about my passion was nothing short of intoxicating! Almost 40 years and many thousands of magazine articles later, I still get a visceral buzz every time a piece I’ve written is accepted and published… And I still feel gutted and flattened every time an idea or storyline is knocked back, or a submission is rejected by an editor (and yes, trust me, it still happens). My aim in this series of blogs is to give you an insight into what it takes to become a published fishing writer. Along the way, I’ll also do my best to point out some of the potential pitfalls of the business. But first up, a word of warning: If you think you’re going to get rich by writing articles for fishing magazines, I’m afraid you’re kidding yourself! Even after four decades in the game, I barely break even...