Bulk mulloway kill
Hey guys
Well there seems to be bulk mulloway being caught everywhere at the moment
The fishing is probably at its best that I have ever heard of at the moment
I wonder of its time to stop killing them yet
I can't talk I know cause I brought my one home too but I can't help feeling a little bit guilty
About it. I understand we all want to bring that absolute prize home especially after we put in all those hours chasing the big croakers
Just food for thought
Im not a greenly trying to save the world I was a pro fisherman only 5 years ago and wouldn't consider letting anything go but is it worth it just for a photo? I probably won't ever keep another fish of the size of the one I got on the weekend again
Happy fishing guys and congrats to all the guys who have got stuck into a big mulloway recently feels good when you finally get that big one doesn't it
bitten
Posts: 803
Date Joined: 07/04/10
I feel there is going to be a
I feel there is going to be a big mulloway kill with all the lines in the water this weekend
Chris fish
Posts: 847
Date Joined: 23/02/11
I let mine go last night was
I let mine go last night was a solid fish over a meter and around 16kg, nothing better than seeing a big fish go back, I was criticized for letting him go but I had no need for him as I have plenty of fillets in my freezer so seems a waste to kill such a beautiful fish, I'll be posting pics up today or tomoro of a few more that I've caught.
always looking for a new challenge!!
bitten
Posts: 803
Date Joined: 07/04/10
Nice one mate e shed? Hoping
Nice one mate e shed?
Hoping I get stuck into a couple more from the beach when I get home
Chris fish
Posts: 847
Date Joined: 23/02/11
Last nights was e shed but
Last nights was e shed but all the others are north metro.
always looking for a new challenge!!
ben89
Posts: 100
Date Joined: 10/05/11
Did you just cut him off?,
Did you just cut him off?, how did you land it at e shed without hurting it?
Chris fish
Posts: 847
Date Joined: 23/02/11
Gaffed it in the bottom jaw
Gaffed it in the bottom jaw then took some photos and climbed down a ladder with him and swam him for a few minutes till he was ready to go. Not the ideal place for it but either way he was happy to go and swam off strong.
always looking for a new challenge!!
knigit
Posts: 115
Date Joined: 19/12/10
Was wondering the same a while ago,
I'd be keen to know what percentage of the perth region mulloway spawn/breed in the river verses the reefs just to know important the river is to the mulla population. Had a look a while ago but it seems there's not all that much information on the fish stock.
The other thing I can't understand is why the legal size is smaller than sexual maturity size, you can keep fish that haven't even had a chance to breed yet.
Found this but that's about it: http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/682/2/02Whole.pdf
How well do Mulloway release? It would be a shame to have to stop targeting them, I love the fact that in the middle of the city you can go down to the river and hope to catch a monster fish - not many places in the world where that's an option.
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
Maybe it's time
to hit the Fisheries Research dept' up for a Tagging
program on these iconic fish, mainly caught by shore based anglers.
Sadly down in the Bunbury area the huge runs of Mullaway are a thing of the past thanks to IMHO Gill Nets. Sights at the markets have shown that.
buschy
Posts: 626
Date Joined: 27/11/09
Solution
I think the answer is probably too difficult to actually implement. Ideally a ban on taking the fish from anywhere in the river would go a long way to preserving stocks - but how many fish would actually survive being returned to the water? I'd also like to see the size limit lifted - but I honestly don't think there would be a high compliance rate as there are many irresponsible fisho's out there that would simply keep the fish regardless....after all....it's a mulloway - the ultimate prize fish! I think the solution might actually lie in a maximum size limit - say 120cm - all fish over this must be returned - helping to keep the old breeders in the system.
Mr x
Posts: 182
Date Joined: 17/03/09
not to sure of how tru but i
not to sure of how tru but i have been told that mulloway dont relese very well and go of and die in the water ??
championruby
Posts: 459
Date Joined: 20/01/11
I think that only hold's true
I think that only hold's true for deep water catches.
big john
Posts: 8786
Date Joined: 20/07/06
Deep
Fish caught and released in Mossies/Blackwall Reach often swim off but then turn up dead downstream.
WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.
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Chris fish
Posts: 847
Date Joined: 23/02/11
I think the bag limits on
I think the bag limits on them should be changed to only 1 fish over 1m and a max size of 1.2m would help keep good numbers and promote catch and release, only problem is like said above big fish from deep water can be difficult to release and if not handled properly could easily die especially seeing as most people use 50lb+ and rip a big fish to the surface.
always looking for a new challenge!!
Albee Mangles
Posts: 985
Date Joined: 20/05/08
Mulloway
are a classic fight to the death fish, they have high strength but low stamina, in depths over 8-10m they rarely release well, might swim away, but will likely die. They yare extremelly sensitive to barotrauma even in relativley shallow depths. Fish dragged up by the lower jaw by a gaff 3-5m to the top level of the wharf will almost never survive, every part of their spine would be dislocated and screwed.. Pretty crappy way to land a fish you intend to release.
Like what your trying to do, but get a extra long handled net, or climb down the ladder you are releasing them from and net them.
Chris fish
Posts: 847
Date Joined: 23/02/11
I understand that a net
I understand that a net would be better but what's the difference between gaffing it in the lower jaw, holding it up by the gill plates or sticking a set of boga grips on it??? Plenty of big fish are held up with the Lip grips and they all swim off fine or is just about every fishing show on tv killing fish by holding them up like this???
always looking for a new challenge!!
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
And they cop shit for it as
And they cop shit for it as well ...
Fish really aren't designed to be hung from their lower jaws and the weight usually damages the spine.
Chris fish
Posts: 847
Date Joined: 23/02/11
Long periods of time fair
Long periods of time fair enough, if it's so bad why do some people still use them to get weights of fish for tagging??? I know most weigh fish in nets but seen plenty that use the grips to get a weight before letting it go, they would be holding a fish up for well over a minute and they swim off fine and I'm sure a fair few have been recaptured. I know there was a better way of doing it but I feel it was done the best I could given the circumstances.
always looking for a new challenge!!
Albee Mangles
Posts: 985
Date Joined: 20/05/08
Mate
Not trying to stir shat here. You ever picked up a big Pinky by the tail, you can feel the clicks as its spine seperates, sure they might swim off, but i doubt they get far, and certainly wont be able to feed or swim as they once could. When a fish is in the water there is no weight on the spine, the water fully cusions them, holding one vertically especially by the jaw, is totally unatural and terrible for the health of the fish. What about the jaw itself, the main feeding tool for the fish, imagine what damage it does to that, the strain on the muscles of the jaw, or the hole ripped through the flesh behind the jaw etc. The fact you let the fish go increase its survival chancves massivley, and i commend you for that. But if you are serious about releasing a healthy fish, let yourself be educated. A Gaff is NEVER a good tool for catch and release, EVER.
What you see done on TV is only acceptable if people arent educated on proper fish handling, and most arent.
fatboyholla
Posts: 285
Date Joined: 20/05/11
are you still drunk from last
are you still drunk from last night albee, you are fighting the fish from the depths by its jaw everything we do to fish is un natural, why carry on about lifting them by the jaw, if you dont like hurting fish then dont drop the line
worst fisherman ever
Albee Mangles
Posts: 985
Date Joined: 20/05/08
Im talking about
Catch and release Fats, its a bit different fighting a fish whilst its in the water and lifting it by a gaff out of the water. I love fishing mate, but a little care in minimising damage to the fish when its out of the water when you plan on releasing goes a long way. When a fish is hooked up under water, youre not dragging its full, unnassisted weight up vertically are you?
little johnny
Posts: 5376
Date Joined: 04/12/11
dont they go in river to spawn?
if so .should be like pink spawning in sound. total ban on catching or fishing for them....even though sounds like a lot off people are letting go .it still upsets there spwaning run....if you feel bad simple dont do it........chase bream or tailor instead....i personally chase them in cockburn..good fun easy and i think they taste great ...i am also happy to only take one a night...but the sound ones seem to be bigger and less yellow in them compared to river fish....
jarradb
Posts: 74
Date Joined: 14/10/10
Mulla stocks
not being rude, but there are alot more mullas around then u think, myself and my dad get theM in the river and there is no shortage of them alot bigger them 90% of the ones that pop up on fw. There is a guy at merdoc uni that studies them and you could get any info u liked from him, my old man got one few years back and if was by far bigger then any we ever seen
( my Pb is 25kg river , and the one mention above is my dads @+ 50kg) so we measured it ( lenght gurth width and something else) and the guy at m.uni told us his weight, acc to with in a 2 kg from memory .
the reason alot of people don't catch them is cos there is alot more to getting them (more so in river) then fishing tides and moon phases, once u work it all out u wil get then jus about every time u go down
Albee Mangles
Posts: 985
Date Joined: 20/05/08
What Tha?!@
50+KG?!! Wow, nearly 20kg over the state record and nearly 10kg bigger than the biggest ever recorded capture in Australia!!
Great story tho..
brenz
Posts: 2182
Date Joined: 15/06/06
50kg is a very large fish .
50kg is a very large fish .
knigit
Posts: 115
Date Joined: 19/12/10
More research.
How many of these fish that swim away and die are just a result of taking too long to get a photo, bad handling, or not swimming them enough to get their strength back?
Fair enough everyone who spends the time and effort wants to keep one, especially your first. Which is why I was looking to see if there's plenty of mulla and they're just really crafty buggers or if fish stocks are being seriously damaged.
Was down at the narrows with a mate when he caught his first mulla at 12kg, nice and clean so it hadn't been in the river long. We were only down there for an hour so there were some pretty jealous people down there, came over and got all high and mighty that he wanted to keep it. Anyway, after they'd gone back to sulk another bloke came over to tell us what a joke, that this was a regular crew down there that monopolised "their" little section and kept all of their catches. Go figure.
It seems mad that breeding fish have to run the gauntlet past the moles, the sheds, mosman bay, narrows, etc and beyond. On a summer weekend that's a hell of a lot of lines.
Can just see it all going to **** and ending in total bans. Maybe trial a catch and release effort. Even if there's only 50% survival rate it's got to be better than it is now.
feucsy
Posts: 21
Date Joined: 04/03/12
i target
i live in the pilbara and have only targeted black jews once ( northern mulloway) between my mate and i we landed 3 and kept them all, knowing that once released they simply swim down and then float back up dead. the particular spot we fish is known for big croakers and also big cod and other species cobia mackeral trevally evn nor west snapper and many more
if you google this species nearly every site will tell you that the survival percentage for released fish is lower than 40 percent for all fish caught in 8 to 10 m of water
and even .lower for fish caught in depths greater than this
maybe this is due to the fishing method used, heavy hand lines and fast retrieves. or maybe its just the species! just like rankin cod and other big cod 2 meters off the bottom and thier guts is out the mouth
i guess what i am saying is targeting for a photo, or tageting for food, these fish are going to die anyway
little johnny
Posts: 5376
Date Joined: 04/12/11
remember years and years ago an
artical in sunday times fishing section...its when they first enforced snapper bans ,,,they promoted catching mullayway ,back then not a lot off people chased them.there was also alot off fish mags promoting them also ...also telling people how to catch and where,..if you enjoy catching them go for it ..it is defenitly an art in river or out off river...jarradb it totally agree with everything you said there are shit loads around...once you have worked out certain areas your in everytime...mully fishing is fantastic for people who live near river(land based or small craft in sound. )..my whole point is if you feel bad dont do it..if you enjoy go for it...i personaly think there one off the most crafty buggers in the sea..(smart) good to see heaps off people enjoying catching them in river.
GlennO87
Posts: 182
Date Joined: 29/01/11
I think there needs to be
I think there needs to be seasons for them....i think to many get taken...and to many big spawners get taken
I love fishing. It`s escaping reality for a few hours for me!
bitten
Posts: 803
Date Joined: 07/04/10
well certainly inspired some
well certainly inspired some discussion then :) i guess thats what this forums for everyone to have an opinon and let other know about it
kmo
Posts: 127
Date Joined: 17/01/12
Medium risk?
Was there ever any reasoning supplied when they were dropped to Cat 2 / Medium risk fish? Most species seem to move up the ladder.
rockoe_
Posts: 140
Date Joined: 02/09/10
i dont think theres a problem
i dont think theres a problem there a fast growing fish and there only caught in bulk for a short period time of the year.mulloway 2 years old average 46cm in total length and 1.5kg in weight and fish 5 years old average from 80cm in lenght and 8kg in weight. if there growing that fast and there reach maturity at 75cm there must be alot of breeding fish still in the system
.
bitten
Posts: 803
Date Joined: 07/04/10
Mulloway of 25 kg 30 years
Mulloway of 25 kg 30 years old
Jimmy p
Posts: 83
Date Joined: 22/02/12
self restraint is better than
self restraint is better than imposed regulation. be responsible. no reason to take more than one in a blue moon.
Fullyhooked
Posts: 13
Date Joined: 11/03/12
50kg mully!!!
Hahahaha! Jarradb you must be a fishing god! The mullys you catch are bigger than 90 percent of the ones on this site! And your old boy caught the biggest mulloway ever in Australia !! Where's the photos?
GIVE A MAN A FISH, AND HE WILL EAT FOR A DAY. TEACH A MAN TO FISH AND HE WILL SIT IN A BOAT AND DRINK BEER ALL DAY.
bitten
Posts: 803
Date Joined: 07/04/10
lol fishy stories :)
lol fishy stories :)
fisharoo
Posts: 297
Date Joined: 02/07/11
mass fish kill?
just wondering where all these big mulloway are being caught? i fish alot, and all over, and ive only seen 2 biggies caught and killed in the last 10 years with my own eyes from the hundreds of ppl ive talked to chasing mulloway.... so i guess its not too bad imo.
have a safe easter and happy fishing
bitten
Posts: 803
Date Joined: 07/04/10
i know of about 25 big ones
i know of about 25 big ones in the last few week
StevieP
Posts: 256
Date Joined: 25/12/10
i guess its good ive never
i guess its good ive never faced this dilemma then
not.
jarradb
Posts: 74
Date Joined: 14/10/10
getting the big one's
Ive spent the time since i was young with my old man to work out how to catch them and haveing spent alot of my lb fishing chasing them , the biggest thing i learnt is to keep my mouth shut cos there is way to many people that stuff it for you ( and you carnt even trust half your mates) , as far as in photo's there wasnt a camera on board but the person fishing with my dad at the time is a witness as he was who lip grip it and try lift it into the boat ( wasnt me ).I checked with my dad today and sorry it wasn't 50 kgs, it was 45kgs+ according to the measurement and the guy that studies them at the uni. My old man has no reason to strech the truth or measurementscos he has noone to impress and has landed alot more mullies then anyone ive ever heard of and only wanted to know the weight of the fish for him self, dosnt need to claim a record or put photos in the paper or write reports to tell everyone and nor do I.
If we had told everyone we know into fishing the size, place and when we get them , there would be a reason to start looking at saving them cos there would be low stocks cos every fisho in perth would of been chasing them along time ago, but by not , we fished them for yrs ,at the same spots, same time and with no one around and enjoyed every session with out someone you dont know destroying it for you and just so its clear we have never,had any mullies we released flote up on the beach , bank or to the surface when we were in the boat or have killed more then we need or if we have any in the freezer from the last one.
I think FW is a great site and learn alot and get alot of info from here and watch others get alot of info / knowledge from here but IMO it also dosnt help the stocks cos once someone puts up a report and writes a location or loads a photo with the background in it , half the members can work it out or someone mentions it and then half the readers are down there the next day.I have learnt my lession and lost one of my best mullie spots close metro by trusting a mate i thought i could and do every/any thing so i wont see that happen to me again.
Jarradb
jarradb
Posts: 74
Date Joined: 14/10/10
Weight
@ what weight do you class it as big, everyone has a different view andIMO anything from 15kgs + is big, and fish over the point they thatthey dont tast soapy anymore ( 5 to 6kgs ) is a fish that anone would be happy with and is a decent fish.
bitten
Posts: 803
Date Joined: 07/04/10
I agree 15 + is a good fish
I agree 15 + is a good fish
mulloway_hunter
Posts: 470
Date Joined: 18/04/11
yea like every ones says im
yea like every ones says im sick of people keeping two 50lb plus fish. yes fair enough you keep your first big mully but if its just gonna not get eaten by anyone. then dont keep them try and revive them because there aint gonna be alot in the future all the unreachable spots like wedge two rocks yes you get big fish still there but not as many as you used to. i'v seen people leave with 4 mullys about 20 to 25 kg each and go back the next night its like wtf come on . if we dont start preserving fish who will. just because theres rule dont mean shit people will always take two fish if the bag limit is 1 it all start with us.
brenz
Posts: 2182
Date Joined: 15/06/06
Settle down!
intresting read here thats for sure, Mulloway hunter and all others this is relevant to, we are all entitled to our own oppinions thats for sure but at the end of the day people are well with in there rights to keep there legal limit, What alot of you have to remember is people have family and alot of them may be elderly and dont have the chance to get out for a fish. Here i can tell you i never used to keep my limit but now i do , reason why? because working large hours now and only getting certain times to go fishing that now when i do get out i do like to keep a feed for myself, now whilst bringing 2 large fish home may seem exsesive i give some to my grand parents who are getting to old to go out and fish, some to my girlfriends brother who is unable to get out (health reasons) and so on , so my question is does this make me a bad person? Absolutly not! now back to where this becomes relevant is 2 x 50lb fish is a big ask and i can almost be certain this has not happened more than once (thats if it has even happened once that you have seen) so how do you know this particular person isnt in the same situation as myself and many others on this site? You dont so untill then how can you be "sick" of seeing it! Ahhhh just frustrates me some of the narrow minded commets from people who cant see past the glass wall infront of them, take some time think about the situation and maybe you may see that the situation is a little more different than a plain old FREEZER FILL.
Brenz
Rob H
Posts: 5905
Date Joined: 18/01/12
dont be shamed into feeling guilty
Brenz-theres seems to have been a good old push to stigmatize people who arent catch and release as "freezer fillers".
Just like anyone who queries Climate Change is an "enviro vandal"
And greenys portraying fishing as a "bloodsport by neanderthals"
Its a tactic that works well as we've seen.
I dont fish for mulloway, in fact the only ones Ive ever seen were caught by my boys in Geraldton harbour and about 12" long.
But I do like putting some fillets in the freezer at home or on holiday
Perhaps also though, some perth fishers need to realise that IF there is excessive pressure, its in the metro area before elsewhere. And making a season all over isnt necessarily fair on people outside that particular area?
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
snappermiles
Posts: 2102
Date Joined: 05/11/10
you guys make me laugh
the fish getting caught in the river are not the only fish in the sea! i have caught mulloway as deep as 350 metres and im sure they would go deeper than that! catching these mulloway is no different to targeting salmon as they school up on there migration! yet because of there size there is an uproar! guys like you are the ones making it easier for these greenie tree hugging clowns to close our seasons tighten our limits and if all goes there way close fishing permanetly! each to there own opinion but there more us fishermen bitch about how many fish are being taken the easier it is for them to prove there case! even if it is only just poitical hype the reason they close of areas just to make the pollies look good, this bickering doesnt help. if you dont like the fact people are catching there daily limit dont go fishing and dont go coming on forums having a cry! just my opinion
ALL FISHERMEN ARE LIARS EXCEPT YOU AND ME! AND IM NOT SO SURE ABOUT YOU!
bitten
Posts: 803
Date Joined: 07/04/10
Nob
Nob
snappermiles
Posts: 2102
Date Joined: 05/11/10
is that the best reply you have got?
funny i was only putting my opinion across and not attacking anyone! thanks for your reply it really contributed to this discussion nicely
ALL FISHERMEN ARE LIARS EXCEPT YOU AND ME! AND IM NOT SO SURE ABOUT YOU!
knigit
Posts: 115
Date Joined: 19/12/10
We know that!
I'm just interested to know where the fish that are out there are starting from. I'm pretty sure no-one wants to have to stop targeting them or are pushing the bunny-huggers agenda here. What they do want is for it to be sustainable so that they can keep fishing for them and as the number of people fishing grows this is the right sort of discussion to be having.
There are a few different opinions on this, and not a lot of data to back them up. I think that if more info came out that said that the mulloway were thriving people will happily continue as they are, if not then for most fisho's that river mulloway wouldn't taste quite so good.
Jeffree
Posts: 489
Date Joined: 23/02/11
G3t @ngrY b0iZzzZ!
sT0p G3tiN' @ngrY b0iZzzZ!
Chill Dafuq owwwt!
we one big happy family here :)
show some lovin'
not all asians keep undersize fish.
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
There is NO
doubt in my mind there would be a "FEW" greedy individuals known as regulars frequenting the best spots and what do you do about them????
With all the advertising of such great catches of these iconic fish at various locations, one in particular will sucumbe to vandalism with the amount of anglers there at any one time.
Re the bag limit, it never ceases to amaze me when you hear the words " it's the daily bag limit-so what if I take it every day".
Hense the proposed possession limit of 10kls.
Anyway it's nice to see some happy faces with their 1st Mully.
Cheers