Big Fish

Dog Fish Dave has been on a cultural, fishing and fish eating tour of Japan. The Big Fish regular discovered some remarkable events like the Pacific Saury Festival, the Meguro Sanma Matsuri and Ayu decoy fishing. The Japanese were so impressed with Dave's appetite for learning and food that they dubbed him "Wolf Fish Dave". As you can see from this photo his uncanny resemblance to this snaggle toothed, bulbous headed, aggressive deep sea denizen is remarkable.

First cast this episode is with Jo Starling on her F.L.O.G.Y. fly line only gap year. With her fishing partner Steve winding in the big Yellow Belly one after the other at the Windamere Pink Up fishing day. Jo finally hooked her first Yellow on the fly and it was a huge one. The story of the fight to kick out this week's The Big Fish with Scott Levi.

First cast this episode of the big fish comes from fly fisherwoman extraordinaire Jo Starling. As we have heard in previous episodes of TBF, when we caught up with "Casting for Recovery", fly fishing is THE best therapy after breast surgery. Jo is a breast cancer survivor and the special guest of the fishing event on Windamere, home of the giant Golden Perch or Yellow Belly. As you can see from this photo of Jo, the fish have changed colour for this big fishing competition fundraiser for the McGrath Breast Care Nurses.

Our first cast this episode on The Big Fish is with Aussie fly fisher Josh Hutchins who searches the globe for hard fighting fish that take the fly. The Trigger Fish, that calls the coral fringed flats of Christmas Island home, the latest catch and release target for Josh. He reckons these colourful critters, that look a bit like a leatherjacket on steroids, pull like bulldozers and take a crab fly with gusto!

Our first cast this episode of The Big Fish is from Sydney Harbour guide Craig McGill with his thoughts on stormwater run off Mulloway.

Our first cast this episode of TBF comes from the hills behind Mudgee with some of the countries best anglers searching the crystal clear waters of Windamere to catch and release the giant Golden Perch that swim there. Luke Pearce has finished in the top ten before and has had some great sport during the pre fish this week for the Windamere Golden Classic.

Jo Starling recounts her first crack at fly fishing for Australian Bass in beautiful Clarrie Hall Dam in Northern NSW and tells us about Gone Fishing Day at Jervis Bay.

Stinker talks about the lighthouse keepers, their families and their fishing exploits and the cow that went to sea and Alex Bellisimo continues his fishing tour of Sydney's Northern Beaches, this week we visit Mona Vale Beach.

Roden Woodhams takes us back to the 90's when the commercial floating fish traps were removed from our waters. This unsustainable fishing method decimated Kingfish stocks but now they are back in big numbers. After spotting one as round as a 44 gallon drum in his local estuary, Roden estimates that some of those fish should now be well over 20 kilos! The question is, how do you catch them? And if you hook one, how do you stop it?

We head to Tamworth with an update on Gone Fishing Day 2018 on the banks of the Peel.

Stinker reckons fishing dogs are useless, but we still love em'!

And, our first cast this morning comes from the National Carp Eradication Program Director Matt Barwick who said we are well equipped to cope with the Common Carp herpes virus (Cyprinid herpesvirus 3) if it hits Australia,

the virus has already spread to 33 countries world wide. According to Matt the amount of research already done into the impact of the disease and the fact that it should not kill our native fish is reassuring.

The Big Fish and the angling community have lost a great man with the passing of our beloved Big Fish regular Snapper. Bryan did so much for fishing in the ACT and Snowy Mountains region and Steve Samuels from the Monaro Acclimatisation Society says local fisher people owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

Our first cast this episode comes from the Whitsundays where 2 people have been bitten by sharks in the space of 2 days. Whitsunday Islands fishing guide Andy Thomsen shares his thoughts on the attacks and has been saddened by the wanton killing of protected Tiger Sharks in the aftermath. He says, they may not be the culprits!

First cast on The Big Fish is with Marine Biologist Julian Pepperell looking at his new book "Fishing for the Past". We will find out about the terminal tackle used on the "Endeavor" and if it was as good as the Aboriginal hooks, lines and nets of the time. And, Stinker is back from Innamincka! (sounds like the lyrics of a country and western song!) We talk about his outback adventures on The Big Fish.

Over 500,000 Murrumbidgee Golden Perch (Yellow Belly) have been thrown a life line in Yanga Lake near Balranald, that’s our first cast this morning on The Big Fish podcast.

A brand-new fish species has been discovered right on the doorstep of Sydney and it still doesn’t have an official name!

Stinker is on a fishing adventure to Cooper Creek at Innamincka in the outback and Sydney Harbour Fly fishing guide Justin Duggan joins us for a chat on this episode of The Big Fish.