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Episode 141: Jamie Crawford

This week we are joined by another repeat guest and regular SA Angler contributor Jamie Crawford from Port Lincoln, to discuss the variety of different species he targets with great success. We chat about flicking soft plastics for flathead, targeting table size bronze whalers, Eyre Peninsula King Fish, Callop from the Murray and big Salmon from the beaches around Port Lincoln. He shares plenty of tips on how to catch as many fish as he does and even lets us in on his go to soft plastic for big flathead: The Squidgies 110mm Ridge Shad. 

We also cover all the news in SA Fishing, including lots on the current Algal Bloom situation:

• Dolphin death blamed on starvation. 
• The SA Government briefing the rest of the country.
• $28 million of funding from state and federal governments. 
• PIRSA giving the ok to eat seafood
• Northbank Wallaroo fishing competition cancelled.

While in other news we cover the AFTA Tackle Show where all of the fishing brands are launching new gear, including the new Shimano 700mm insulated fish bag that stays super cold for 3 days and we are keen to fill with Whiting, Squid and Nannygai!

A bit more positivity in the fishing report with plenty of Whiting on the western side of Yorkes, including Port Hughes Fishing Charters catching 60 KGW in 10 minutes! Elsewhere there are Salmon on the Fleurieu, plenty of freshwater species firing and Bream in the Port River also going well.

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Episode 140: Darren James - Sportfishing scene 

This week we are joined by Darren, the manager of the states number one tackle shop: Sportfishing Scene. We chat about Darren’s own fishing, his history in the tackle industry and his transition to taking over the business from long time owner Ian Clift. We also discuss the impact the current Algal Bloom is having on the tackle industry as well as the longer term impact of the Snapper ban, but in better news, Darren has seen some more positivity in local fishing reports in recent days!

The news is again dominated by things relating the Algal bloom:

• More marine deaths across the state including barrel tuna at Glenelg, a dolphin at Carrickalinga, lots of Garfish around Ardrossan and an increased presence of the bloom in Spencer Gulf and the Eyre Peninsula. 
• Another dinoflagellate: ‘Sea Sparkle’ has been seen and can help clean up other more damaging algae!
• Fee relief for professional fisherman
• Online sharing of plankton data from the Department of Environment and Water. 

While in other news:

• The old Marion Bay boat ramp has been re opened while decisions are made on how to best manage the new ramp.
• Second Valley jetty damaged in more bad weather.
• More Murray River Crayfish stocking and acoustic tracking. 

Our tackle item of the week is the ‘Life Straw’ as suggested by listener Matt Kouimtzis and our tackle item includes Cliftys metro whiting, the Australian Salmon competition update from Elliston, Salmon on the Fleurieu and Callop still firing in the Murray. 

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Episode 139: Lubin Pfeiffer and Asher Dezsery - RecFish SA Executive Officer

This week we are joined by Cod and freshwater fishing guru, Lubin Pfeiffer, back for his second appearance after first joining us all the way back in episode 21. We chat with Lubin about all the fishing he’s been up to including Bream comps in Victoria, NSW Murray Cod and local flathead on the West Coast. With the Algal Bloom limiting the options for saltwater fishing locally, Lubin shares some tips about those wanting to head to the fresh to catch a fish!

Asher joins us to discuss all of the news relevant to RecFish SA, and there has been a lot going on in this space:

• The ongoing algal bloom and how it is affecting fishing locally.
• Squid bag limits reduced to 12 per person.
• An increase in the Snapper bag limit in the states South East.
• Commercial Kingfish netting is restricted to 3 fish per day.
• Damaged jetties after the recent storms. 
• Cape Jervis master plan.

We also chat more about the algal bloom, including sharks washing up both metro and across the state, with Flinders Uni wanting to collect specimens for research. 

We feature the Shimano Speedmaster 24kg straight butt rod as our tackle item of the week, we got this on the back of our chat with Josh Carpenter in  episode 136 to target barrel tuna (if and when they arrive in better numbers.) The fishing report is pretty quiet with the Algae slowing fishing down, particularly in the Gulf of St Vincent. We couldn’t get a bite when targeting Whiting off O’Sullivans beach, while northern metro and Yorke Peninsula have been quiet too. Freshwater might be the best bet at the moment with some Callop and Murray Cod being caught in the Murray, as well as some smaller trout through the hills. 

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Episode 138: RAD KI: Ro and Phil

This week we are joined by Ro and Phil, the team behind Research and Discovery Coastal Tours Kangaroo Island, or RAD KI for short. They run marine and land based tours on KI, combining tourism with citizen science and have been on the ground documenting and observing the effects of the Algal Bloom on the local environment.  We chat about what they have seen and how it has affected different animals and businesses on the Island, as well as talking about their business and what they love about living and working on Kangaroo Island. 

We also cover the news in South Australian fishing, including a couple of good news stories:

• An increase in bag limits for Snapper caught in the states South East.
• A new limit of 3 Kingfish caught by commercial netting has been introduced
• More weather related damage to jetties including Normanville, Kingston and the old jetty at Rapid Bay.
• Plus we talk about the ongoing effects of the algal bloom.

We announce the winners of our giveaway from Survival First Aid: Paul Longbottom, Tony Lukin and Lawrence Fantus who have each won an Ocean Warrior First Aid Kit. Our tackle item of the week is the Boomer All Terrain Anchor which we have just purchased and plan to put on our boat to save us from losing any more anchors in the future. The fishing report covers all the states fishing, with plenty of Salmon about, while winter whiting and barrel tuna are a bit more hard to find!

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Episode 137: Ethan Yeo

This week we are joined by Ethan Yeo; gun spearfisherman, professional diver and social media star. Ethan has quickly gone from first finding his passion for spearfishing to working as diver on the Great Barrier Reef catching Crayfish, guiding in Tonga and collecting 11,000 Periwinkles per day when working in the states South East. He also has some epic recreational catches, including a 103kg Southern Bluefin Tuna and big Samson Fish and Kingfish locally, as well as plenty of epic tropical catches in queensland and overseas. He has grown a huge social media presence who love seeing his epic adventures and is up to 147 million views on youtube and has over 60,000 Instagram followers. It is great to hear all about both his professional and recreational diving both locally and abroad.

We also chat about all of the SA fishing news which largely centres around the storms we had last week, covering: 

• Damage to some local jetties and infrastructure.
• Will the storms help to disperse the Algal Bloom
• The storms look to have pushed some of the Algae into the Coorong - Hopefully the damage from this is minimal. 

Plus we chat about the Australian Salmon Fishing Competition in Elliston, a pilchard virus in Tasmania and a group that are awaiting and trying to minimise the impact of the expected arrival of a new bird flu to South Australia.

Plus we have a brief fishing report, with bad weather and Algae limiting a lot of fishing, but we are optimistic things might be on the up with winter Whiting, Australian Salmon and Barrel Tuna expected to fire again soon! Our tackle item of the week is the Survival First Aid: Ocean Warrior Kit that we are lucky to have as some prizes to give away in the coming weeks, thanks to Mike and the Survival First Aid team!

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Episode 136 - Josh Carpenter, Shimano Fishing Australia - Product Manager

This week we are joined by Josh Carpenter, Shimano’s Australian Product Manager. Josh is a guru when it comes to all things fishing tackle and shares how his career has progressed to having what many would consider a ‘dream job.’ Josh talks to us about his own love for ‘Technical Fishing’ and gives us heaps of information about some of Shimano’s great new products. We hear how the Ultegra reel puts many of the high end features into an affordable option, chat about the new Stella servicing plan and Josh helps us to pick out a barrel tuna combo that we plan to test out on a 100kg Tuna this winter. 

We also chat about all of the news in SA fishing, lots of which centres around the ongoing Algal Bloom, which continues to create havoc across the state and is now becoming more prominent in the mainstream media:

• A shark attack last week and another Great White spotted looking unwell in the marina at Wirrina.
• The government has released an update, without really releasing any new information.
• RecFish SA looking into stocking Estuary Perch into the Valley Lake at Mt Gambier. 
• Another incident of illegal squid fishing, this time off of Black Point on Yorke Peninsula.

We also chat about the SA fishing report, the barrel tuna seem to have moved across the border into Victoria, while a couple of unusual captures in the Port River - Snotty Trevally and Nannygai. Otherwise fishing has been quiet across the state with the algal bloom and/or changing seasons contributing to this. 

Our tackle item of the week is the Yeti Rambler 36oz water bottle that Rohdey is happy to have back after losing it 5 months ago - after buying another one in the meantime!

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Episode 135: Anton Covino, Shark Watch SA 

This week we are joined by Anton Covino, the man behind the Shark Watch SA pages on social media, who has been documenting shark sightings across SA for a number of years. He has  become increasingly busy in recent weeks with skyrocketing reports of sharks in shallow water and even beaching themselves, likely due to the ongoing Algal bloom and the sharks becoming unwell due to deoxygenated water. We find out how Anton started up Shark Watch SA, his theories on increasing shark sightings, how popular his recent shark posts have become and how he is minimising the risk of ‘fear mongering.’

As always, we have all of the latest news in SA fishing, including:

• An update on the ongoing algal bloom, with more sharks and even penguins dying, the north coast of KI is getting worse and Stansbury Oyster farms closed due to possible contamination. 
• Murray Cod released into the Valley Lake in Mount Gambier thanks to funding from RecFish SA.
• Council votes to allow fishing to continue in the freshwater lake at West Lakes. 

Our tackle item of the week is a simple, light weight net with fine mesh that we used over Easter for dabbing garfish. Another big fishing report including Port MacDonnell barrel tuna and other species in the annual Sportsfish Tournament, winter whiting are heating up, while Dizzy’s Dad Davo continues to clean up the squid on the Yorke Peninsula. 

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Episode 134: Terry Magryn, Marion Bay boat ramp Engineer

This week we are joined by Terry Magryn, the main man behind Magryn Engineering who worked on the recent Marion Bay boat ramp. After some negative reports around weed building up on the ramp, it was good to chat with Terry about their role in the project. Terry was able to explain that there are a lot of competing issues with designing a new ramp, with wind, wave and weed as well as financial limits, preferences from the local council and guidelines from the South Australian Boating Facility Advisory Committee all impacting on the design. Terry gave us a much greater understanding of the challenges with this boat ramp and also touched on some of his other projects including the Whyalla Jetty. 

We also discussed all of the news in SA fishing:

• No cause was identified for fish deaths at SARDI facility last year. 
• Commercial pipi closure linked to algal bloom.
• Mt Gambier's Valley Lake set for Murray Cod stocking thanks to Recfish SA funding.
• Another Yabby Net exchange from Recfish and Green Adelaide. 
• Some big boat brands are sold to other companies. 
• 2 incidents of illegal squid fishing from Wirrina. 

Our tackle item of the week is the recoil rod leash from Shimano and we also chat about the increase in shark sightings across the state, including some epic footage from SA Angler and Dizzy’s dad spotting a Great White just after we were swimming in and out from his mooring. 

Plus, all of the latest fishing reports including barrels firing up in the South East of the state, winter whiting warming up, plenty of squid, an unusual whale sighting off the Kingscote Jetty and a wrap up of our own fishing over Easter targeting Crabs and Garfish. 

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Episode 133: Mike Tyrrell - Survival First Aid & Faith Coleman - Update on Algal Bloom

This week we are joined by 2 great guests to chat about a couple of really important aspects of fishing!

Mike Tyrell from Survival First Aid joins us to chat about their innovative first aid kits and tells us all about the journey the family business has been on and how important having the right gear can be to potentially save a life. Their system is a bit different to a standard one size fits all system, with different equipment in specialised kits for all different activities - including fishing boat and 4WDing.

As a part of our news segment, we chat with ecologist Faith Coleman for a comprehensive update on the algal blooms causing fish kills across the state. Starting off around Waitpinga Beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula and now including cockle deaths at Goolwa and further fish kills on Kangaroo Island, southern Yorke Peninsula and even as far as the Eyre Peninsula. We find out the science and different factors that lead to this occurring, debunk some of the myths and try to hypothesise what could happen next! 

We also touch on other news including backlash from an altercation at West Lakes that has backfired for a couple of angry residents who confronted some young anglers and what the fishing community is doing to support the kids!

Plus, all the fishing reports including winter whiting, the back end of the local tuna season, crabs remain strong on Yorke Peninsula and the start of the mullet run at Marion Bay. The Fishing Guru is also able to clear up our confusion over the plural of Platypus’s via a voice memo, while our tackle item of the week is the 3 year servicing plan that comes with the new 2025 Shimano Stella! 

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Episode 132: Steve, Ash and Popey review the Port Lincoln Tuna Classic

This week we are looking back on what was a hugely successful Port Lincoln Tuna Classic, that Dizzy fished in recently over the March long weekend. Steve and Ash have put in a mountain of work to put on another epic event, while Ash is also able to recount his time aboard the Vatican, owned by Popey; the team took out the Calcutta prize of $100k, while also catching the most fish and Champion overall angler. This is one of the best hauls a single boat could ever hope for and a huge testament to the skill and competitive spirit showed by the whole crew! Plus the boys are able to share the dates for next year events and give us a very early preview of the 2026 competition!

As always, we have all the latest news in SA fishing, including:

• An update on the Algal bloom that has killed sea life and closed beaches on the Fleurieu Peninsula. 
• Rumours of an extension to the states ongoing snapper ban. 
• More yabby net exchange from RecFish SA and Green Adelaide. 

Our tackle item of the week is the new emergency weather radio from Nakd Travel, which is a great addition to anyone's gear when heading out adventuring! The product includes a radio, flashlight, battery pack and SOS alarm; it can be charged via solar panel, hand crank, AAA batteries or USB port. We also have the latest fishing report including a rare Swordfish capture out from Port Lincoln.