With outdoor activities limited due to COVID-19, plenty of people in Queensland's north-west are picking up fishing rods for the first time — or at least the first time in a long time.
The Queensland Government has launched a new advertising campaign about the dos and don'ts for recreational fishers as many in the region prepared tents and swags for trips away.
The campaign focused on white spot disease, and not using supermarket prawns as bait.
White spot disease is a highly contagious viral condition that affects crustaceans like prawns, crabs, yabbies and lobsters, and can also be carried by marine worms.
"[White spot] is an extreme danger and those farmers particularly pay notice to the fact that they don't want to see it spread further," the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Mark Furner, said
Camping boom begins
Mount Isa small business owner John Davies, who specialised in camping and fishing gear, said while COVID-19 made business hard, the announcement that camping was now allowed pushed sales back up.
He said sales had started to rise and he expected that would continue as more people prepared for camping holidays instead of their usual trips overseas or to the coast.
"Cast iron has been very popular, as in camp ovens and sausage cookers," Mr Davies said.
As a camping enthusiast himself, Mr Davies said he was planning to get out to the bush as soon as possible.
"There's nothing better than [camping] for mental health," he said.
"Anyone can get outside now and get out into the bush and they will when it's cool. It's a better time for pigging so their dogs don't get hot."
Karumba ready for fishers
The industry was preparing for a new wave of anglers, and Karumba fishing charter operator Alison Newton said she was hoping to see a lot of north-west people travel to the region to make up for the lack of usual tourists from southern states.
She recently replaced the seating in her tourist charter vessel so it was easier to clean, and said the quiet time was at least good for tasks like that.
"We've had this business since 2005," Ms Newton said.
"It's quiet. It reminds me [that] during the wet season we make jokes about how you could fire a cannon down the main street and not hit anyone … yeah, it's basically like the wet season."
