RecFish SA TV

Aerial drone video of SA fishing hotspots

Get a bird’s-eye view of great fishing spots around South Australia. There’s currently videos for Parsons Beach and Waitpinga Beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula; Browns Beach and Butlers Beach on the Yorke Peninsula; and the Murray Mouth on the Coorong.

Tackling Barotrauma & Using Release Weights

Release weights are an effective way of returning fish down to their natural water depth as quickly as possible.  Fishers may choose to release fish for a number of reasons, for example, the fish could be undersized, surplus to requirements, bycatch, or could be a species of high conservation value. Either way, having a release weight handy and learning how to use it, can help to ensure that released fish have an increased chance of survival.

Popular SA fish species that can suffer from barotrauma: Snapper, Morwong, Bight Redfish / Swallowtail, Blue Groper and many bycatch species

Ikijime (Brain Spike) Fish Dispatch

When keeping fish for the table, recreational fishers want to ensure they are killed quickly and that their catch is kept in top condition, to ensure the best possible eating qualities.

Ijijime minimises stress in your catch, and dispatches the fish cleanly and effectively.  Once killed, fish should be placed into a esky with ice or an ice slurry to optimise eating qualities, and to ensure food safety.

Watch the video and visit www.ikijime.com to find out more about ikijime for individual fish species.

Using Circle Hooks

The use of circle hooks for recreational fishing is becoming more popular and with good reason! Circle hooks offer many advantages whether you are fishing for a feed of fresh seafood, or practicing catch-and-release.

Circle hooks help avoid gut hooking fish. Unike other patterns such as “suicide” or “octopus”, the circle hook embeds in the side of the fish’s mouth up to 90% of the time. This makes hook removal quick, easy, and safer; while also minimising stress or damage to fish that will be released.

Watch the video to see how iconic SA species can effectively be caught using circle hooks and pick up a few tips along the way!

Southern Bluefin Tuna Code of Practice

Southern Bluefin Tuna are one of SA’s most prized fish. Whether catching for the table, or praticing catch-and-release, learning how to handle, process and release these fish, is essential to ensure responsible recreational fishing.

Recent research tells us that when fishing for SBT, small changes to gear and techniuqe can make a BIG difference. Eg. a change in hook pattern, can boost post release survival by  26%. This Code of Practice (COP) was developed by the University of Tasmania in consultation with recreational fishing groups.

Check out the video to see the Code in action, and get your own copy of the COP here: SBT COP Full & SBT COP Short

RecFish SA Reservoir Stocking

RecFish SA have been working to establishing reservoir fishing in SA for 20 years. So we were thrilled to secure a committment to open up to 5 reservoirs to recreational fishing in 2014. Since then, RecFish SA has been working with SA Water and local councils to progress development.

We have now stocked tens of thousands of fish including Murray cod, Golden & Silver perch and rainbow trout, into 2 reservoirs. Funds for the fish were secured through the SA Recreational Fishing Grants programme.

Learn about RecFish SA’s historic achievement of stocking fish into reservoirs for recreational fishing. Click to find out more about SA Reservoir Fishing.

RecFish SA & SA Recreational Fishing Grants

With 277,000 recreational fishers in SA, we have enormous power to change things for the better. RecFish SA continues to work hard to make fishing better in South Australia. From fish cleaning tables and fish stocking, to kids clinics and family days, for the past 2 years, we have been helping local communities turn their project ideas into polished grant applications.

The 2017 SA Recreational Fishing Grants are now open, watch to find out more!