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Thursday

Everywhere I looked the wind was blowing 20 knots – add a few showers and things did not look promising. I decided that the Brisbane River was the best option so I drove down to Pinkenba around 9.30 am and walked along the rock wall.

The tide was running in and the water was still very cloudy – I am not sure if it is the wind, the recent rain or left over silt from the floods. I was still using my light spin rod – the Loomis GL2 – but I had upgraded my leader to 14lb. I tied on a 1/6th 1/0 jighead and loaded it with a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Pink Shine colour.

I was hoping for a few more Trevally and it was not long before I ran into them. I was walking along the shore towards the river mouth, putting out fairly short casts, straight from the bank. I had started beside the cement plant and walked about 500 metres without any bites. Just before I crossed the oil pipeline, the lure was snatched right at the bank and the fish took off. It was a nice junior Trevally and I soon had it under control. I put it back and moved on.

After another half an hour or so, the wind got really gusty and a rain squall came over. I sheltered under some trees and switched to a small GULP 2” Shrimp soft plastic in the Pepper Prawn colour. I cast it out under the tree branches and just as I got it back to the bank, I felt a few tugs and then I was losing line at a blistering pace. I bumbled through the tree branches following the fish along the bank. I tightened the drag but initially, it did not make much difference. It kept pulling line but eventually I got some back and after a few more runs I grabbed the leader and pulled a good size Trevally up the rocks. It would have been around the 45cm mark. I put it back and carried on towards the river mouth looking for more.

The tide was now running out strongly and the wind was probably blowing well over twenty knots. It was a challenge to cast. I reached a spot where water was running over the rockwall and I cast around on either side. I switched back to the GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Pink Shine colour and after a couple of casts; it was snaffled at my feet. It was another blistering initial run. I made a mental note that the GL2 light spin rod is not the right rod for these fish, and hung on. This was another good fish and I was very concerned it would rub me off on the oyster covered rocks. It took a while and I must have scrambled up and down about 10 metres of shoreline but eventually the fish surrendered and I grabbed the leader. I lifted it out of the water and the leader broke just as I did. Luckily it fell into a little depression in the rocks and I got a couple of pictures before I released it. It was another solid Trevally that measured approximately 50 cm.

I walked until I could walk no further – because the rockwall was submerged and cast around on both sides. It was now about 1.15pm and the tide was running out, strongly. Again the lure was grabbed right next to the rocks on the river side of the wall. This fish was tough and it decided to cross over the partially submerged rockwall and try to escape on the other side. I watched as it swam in between the oyster covered rocks and somehow did not manage to bust me off. It was a smaller Trevally and I released it.

At around 1.30pm I got drenched in another rain squall and decided the make the long walk back to the car. It had been another great session fishing with soft plastics on the Brisbane River.