Economic and social contribution

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Recreational fishing peak body

TARfish are the government recognised, fully independent peak body set up to represent Tasmania’s recreational fishers. Their goal is to protect, promote and create sustainable, accessible, enjoyable and safe fishing for the benefit of Tasmanians.

Naomi wisby - recreational fisher

Naomi Wisby, Recreational Fisher

Favourite species to target?
Swordfish, and there is a great story behind why. My biggest catch earned me a wedding proposal.
 
My husband, Brody, and I met in high school. 16 years had gone bye and he was the first of us to catch a sword fish which took him 18 trips over 2 years. He put the idea to me that if I land this elusive sword fish he will propose (he probably thought this was going to buy him at least a couple of years if not more).
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It was my second trip out targeting this specific fish. We had launched from Boomer Bay and headed out well off the back of Maria Island.  
Second drop in I had an enquiry - with some serious weight.  We were quite excited by the action of the rod tip and 45minutes into the battle it came to the surface, and we got a positively ID - it wa a sword! If was too far away to see where the hook was set, and it went down deep again. 
Now the stakes were high! There’s a wedding on the line. All I could think was DO NOT LOSE THIS FISH.  
 
Anyone who has caught one knows why they are called the gladiator of the sea. It’s an inch-by-inch battle. Every time the leader went on the reel, and I thought I was close to landing it, off it would go again. This happened about 15 times.
 
The total fight time was 2hours, but it was in the last 15minutes that the smile on my face started to disappear. Something wasn’t quite right. The fish really hadn’t done anything for a good 10minutes and in my mind I was convinced something larger had come along taking its ability to swim. It was just dead weight. 

I was starting to get a bit disheartened and switched to thinking how sore my legs were. After a little pep-talk from the captain, I grit my teeth, slowly and painfully got momentum again and it started to come up quite easy. It popped to the surface and there it was – this electric purple and silver monster of a fish. I couldn’t believe it, I bloody did it! I was so excited!
 
I didn’t come down off the high from catching that fish for a week. And the next weekend we went ring shopping. 
 
That fish weighed 205kg, was 12kg heavier than Brody’s which gave me bragging rights – that I have to this day 😊
 
What change have you seen in the recreational fishing industry?
Generally fishing and angling, whether as a sport, hobby or job is regarded as a masculine activity but I feel this is changing. The number of female fishers appearing on social media is increasing and that’s great to see. 
 
What do you think could be done to get more community out fishing?
Every time I go out, I think “how lucky are we”. We live in this beautiful part of the world, with this amazing fishery right on our doorstep.
 
I share a lot of my adventures on social media and YouTube because when I was younger, I dreamed of doing such activities but didn’t have any fishing females to look up to. So, I am please I can be a role model and hope to encourage other like-minded female to give fishing a go.
 
I’d love to see more women and girls to get out there. You don’t have to start miles out at sea, there is a lot of enjoyable fishing to be had from land or just offshore. You’ll be surprised how much fun you’ll have and I’m sure by the time you get back to the ramp you will be hooked!
 
Game fishing, like I enjoy most, is a technique sport. A certain amount of skill is required but a lot of that stuff you learn rather quickly and like anything it takes practice to become better at it, but the basic goal is to keep the line tight at all times and wind at any opportunity.
 
When it comes to fishing, you can be lucky, but to be successful there are some things that you can do such as working out fish behaviours; as in how they live in their environment and how they react to stimulus like weather, water temperature and tides. Applying your own research to your success’s is highly satisfying.
 
And when you finally think you have it figured out, some days they’ll still prove you have a lot to learn. 
 
Can you share how you got into it?
I was first introduced to life on the water at 6 weeks old.
I grew up on the East Coast of Tasmania in the small fishing town of St.Helens. My father was a commercial fisherman his whole working life. I defiantly get my love for the ocean from him, and I have been very lucky to grow up on and around the water my whole life too. 
 
When dad wasn’t working the fishing boat we would spend time as a family sailing up and down the East coast; swimming, fishing, mucking around dinghy’s and exploring bays and beaches. A hand line was never far from my hands.
 
They were good times and I have a lot of great memories. The best being sailing from St.Helens to Port Davey, which was quite an adventure as a 10 year old. I’d been dreaming of going back ever since and was fortunate to revisit Davey for the second time only last Christmas. There’s something magical about that place, it draws you in and soon as you leave, you want to go back there. 
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Jarryd Cohen, Recreational Fisher

Jarryd Cohen, Recreational Fisher

Tell us 5 fun facts about recreational fishing ?

• Never share your spots with anyone or it will be a regatta
• Fresh bait is best
• Lighter line the better fishing experience u will have.
• The one that got away is always twice as big
• Size does matter

 
What does recreational fishing mean to you?
Recreational fishing to me is more about catching up with mates and to destress the weeks leading up to that trip. Catching a good feed is just a bonus and I never like to set my expectations to high on what we will bring home. Fishing is more about time spent with good mates and family and creating memories and stories to pass on.
 
 
Favourite Species ?
I love to target Striped Trumpeter in the shallows. The guessing game on this to whether you have a stripey or a big wrasse and got keeps the suspense alive. The explosive power of these fish adds to a great fight till the end. The real cost of loosing one is very costly as this generally shuts the bite off real fast
 
What do you think could be done to get more community out fishing?
Promoting the industry and financial help to the small business tackle stores. These stores try and help customers with advice and locations on where to target fish. With the cost of business on a rise with rent and freight this has become very hard for a lot to keep the doors open.
 
What have you seen change in the recreational fishing industry?
There has been a lot of interest in drop and long lining over the past few years and the number of boats on the waterways now is much significant to previous . I also see a lot of the older generation looking to learn the light tackle ways of fishing which is a favourite of mine. To have more fun whilst catching more in a shorter time frame brings the smiles. Also, the type of electronics people are installing on there boats gives them a greater chance on finding different species at different depths.
To point out the Dog of the sea the old seal and their adaptive manner to humans has changed a lot with more frequent fish taken and some encounters of them trying to board boats to get food. This I have seen more frequent and is to that point no one wants to say or do anything to help solve this issue. It will just get locked up as a reserve
 
 
Can you share any recreational fishing stories or even how you got into it?
A recent trout trip which was more about catching up with a few mates resulted in 81 boated for the day. Our location was Woods Lake and although it sounds like it must have been easy we found we have had to alter style of lures and colours throughout the day and adopt different techniques to keep that flow happening. We did have a 14 yr old with but once he had caught a couple, he praticly slept the rest of the day. The boys kept half a dozen for the smoker and we finished with a beer before heading back home.
 
What does the fishing industry (TAS) as a whole mean to you?
This is a passion and my career choice all in one. I sell and distribute Fishing Gear for Seamaster Fishing supplies in Goodwood and fish on a regular occasion. Its an industry I fell in love with as a youngster and from there It has prospered and what I have learnt will pass on to my children. ​
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