Monthly Archives: June 2016

1770 – Tom’s Creek – 17 May 2016

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Tuesday

On Tuesday the wind was forecast to blow pretty hard from the south east so I decided to fish the run out tide in Toms Creek. This is a small shallow creek system that comes off Round Hill Creek. The Town of 1770 is situated on the banks of Round Hill Creek.

The moon was about 85% full and low tide would be at about noon. You can reach Tom’s Creek down a very rough four-wheel drive track that leads off from the showground/ market area. I started fishing from the bank and as the tide receded, I followed it out.

I fished with various soft plastics all on a 1/8thounce, 1/0 hook jighead, using 10 lb fluorocarbon leader and my light spin rod. I caught a few small Moses Perch, one flathead that was just about legal size at 40 cm. It was good to explore this territory on a very low tide and see where the holes and slightly deeper patches of water are located.

I fished until about noon and finished by catching a few tiny trevally that enjoyed attacking my small minnow soft plastics.

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1770 – Flat Rock – Stripey Perch – 16 May 2016

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Monday

Clear skies and light south-westerly winds strengthening and turning south easterly, were forecast for Monday. Flat Rock would be covered by the tide until about 8.30 am, so I drove down to the rocky outcrop, just to the south of Getaway Beach. This area always looks very fishy, but I have yet to catch anything very serious here. A few times I have been towed around by a resident groper before being busted off.

I started fishing with a GULP 5” Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger colour matched with a 1/6th ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead. I was using the Daiwa Air Edge rod and a 12lb fluorocarbon leader. Just on dawn, I felt some pretty aggressive grabs and pinches and after a few more casts, I hooked a snapping long tom. About ten minutes later I lost the whole rig to another toothy long tom, who sheared through the leader.

I re-rigged with a lighter 1/8th ounce jighead and loaded a GULP Mantis Shrimp in the colour with a red body and a yellow tail. I like this fairly new pattern from GULP. It seems to be quite the fish attractor with its prong tail and sparkly colour range. I think this shape is ideal for fishing close to rocky overhangs. The soft plastic flutters down and can entice a territorial strike from the resident fish.

This morning it was the Moses perch that woke up and attacked it. They were only small but they were very persistent. In about 30 minutes I caught four fish – none over 25cm long. I moved a little further to the south and caught a couple more. I am not sure if these are Moses perch or juvenile stripeys or even tiny fingermark. They all look very similair and are clearly all part of the same Lutjanidae (tropical snappers and seaperches) family. If you can catch one over 25cm long, they are some of the finest tasting fish in the sea.

I dropped the same soft plastic close to a bommy and let it float down in the current. Something grabbed the lure then did not really move. It then swam slowly north. I thought I may have hooked a turtle but then it started to swim off a little more quickly. I could not turn its head and after I tightened the drag and tried to put some pressure on the fish, it put its head down and the leader snapped.

I gave up in this spot and drove down to Flat Rock. The water was running out and I waded out onto the rock and walked along the top of it. I started with a GULP 3” Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour. This colour seems to be particularly attractive to dart in the clear water. It was now 9.45 am and after a few casts I caught a small dart, then a slightly bigger one.

I moved along the rock casting out beyond it and caught more dart, a couple of tiny flathead and a Moses Perch. After about 45 minutes I swapped to a slightly bigger GULP Fry soft plastic in the same colour. I was standing on the south side of a gap in the rocks where the tide runs out.  I was casting into the wash and just letting the soft plastic float down in the current and  bump along the bottom. After a few attempts another dart hit the plastic and took off. This was a much bigger one, about 40 cm long.

I caught a few more then moved down to the next opening in the Flat Rock. After few casts here the rod bent over and line started peeling. This was quite a powerful fish. I played it for a few minutes and still had no idea what I was on to. As soon as it came close to the rocks it would charge off again. Eventually it tired and I pulled it clear of the water. It was a remora (sucker fish). I took a few pictures and released it. I wondered what it might have been attached too.

I was now almost at the southern end of the Flat Rock. The tide was low and just turning back in. I swapped to a more natural GULP 3” Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour. I was right in the spot where I had been bitten off the day before. It was the same drill but this time I had the drag set tighter and I was ready for the fish. As soon as it struck I wound hard and pulled it clear of the rock overhang. It made some good runs but I kept it away from the rocks and soon landed it. It was a chubby 35cm Stripey Perch – the perfect fish for supper.

I cleaned it up and continued fishing for another 30 minutes or so. I caught a few more dart before giving up for the morning.

1770 – Flat Rock – Dart, Perch, Flathead – 15 May 2016

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Sunday

Sunday was my second morning at 1770 and the weather looked like it was going to be pretty good. The wind was forecast at about a 7 knot southerly on dawn and would pick up a little later on. The moon was 67% full in its waxing gibbous phase. Low tide would be at about 10.45 am.

Once again I drove down the four-wheel drive track into Deepwater National Park. They are carrying out fuel reduction burns in this section and several small fires still were still burning from the day before and the smell of burning gum trees was all around.

Today I decided to fish at Flat Rock beach. As it names suggest it has a long flat rock that runs parallel with the beach and makes for a great fishing platform. The long rock is accessible across a sandy bottomed gutter from about half way through the run out tide to about half way through the run in tide.

It was a cool morning (17 C) but not cold and the water was still very warm. When I arrived in the pre-dawn light at about 6.00 am the flat rock was almost completely submerged so I started fishing in the sandy gutter. I started with fishing with the Daiwa Air Edge rod and 12lb fluorocarbon leader. I tied on a 1/8th ounce, size 1 hook jighead and squeezed on a GULP 3” Minnow shaped soft plastic in the lime tiger colour. The first takers where a couple of very small sand / flag /bar tailed flathead. These are pretty fish. They sit right at the base of the wave break and think nothing of trying to swallow soft plastics that are almost as big as they are.

As the sun came up and the tide receded I walked north along the beach stopping to cast at the spots where the water was rushing out through the breaks in the rock. I reached beach marker number 10 and spent a while trying to cast the DUO Vib 62 hard bodied vibe lure over the top of the flat rock into the deeper water beyond. This did not really work and I soon lost another of my favourite lures.

As the water dropped I climbed on to the rock and started casting around with a GULP Jerkshad soft plastic in the Cajun Chicken colour. I was now casting directly into the water beyond the rock and starting to feel a few bumps and knocks from the small perch and dart that patrol this area. After perhaps 25 casts I dropped down to a smaller GULP 2” Shrimp soft plastic in the Banana Prawn colour. Thi attracted a flurry of bites and after a few casts I hooked a small moses perch. I little while later I swapped back to the GULP 3” Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour. I moved north along the edge of the rock until a nice dart slammed the soft plastic and took off with it.

By now I was about level with beach marker 8. I straightened the soft plastic on the jighead and let it waft around on the bottom in front of the rock for as long as I could. Something grabbed it and immediately took off underneath the rock. After a few see saws the leader snapped. Perhaps it was a cod or a bigger stripey perch.

I tied on a length of 20lb fluorocarbon leader and put on a bigger, 4“ Minnow soft plastic in the same Lime Tiger colour. I started casting in the same spot. Perhaps 10 casts later – smash, then zzzzzz as the fish did exactly the same thing. This time I had a tougher leader on. I initially loosened the drag and then, when I felt the fish swim out, tightened it and tried to pull the fish out. I obviously did not tighten it enough and it swam straight back under the rock, despite my furious but futile.

I turned around and walked back to the south. I swapped down to a couple of smaller soft plastic minnows and caught a steady stream of dart, Moses perch and tiny flathead.

By low tide the wind was picking up and I was getting cold so I decided to give up for the morning.

1770 – Middle Rock, Wreck Rock -14 May 2016

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Saturday

I had some work to do in Gladstone in mid-May and this year I have decided to add fishing to work, at every opportunity.  I was driving up and decided a few days of land based fishing at 1770 would be a good move. I rented a unit from Gavin and Kim at the Loka Santi appartments (nestled in the sand dunes behind the beach) which are my favorite place to stay.  You can book through http://www.1770beachaccommodation.com.au/. I packed the car full of rods and lures (and reluctantly my work boots).

I arrived late on Friday, looked at the weather for the next few days and planned where I would fish. Failing to plan means you are planning to fail, so they say. There is certainly some truth in this. Optimum fishing times (in my opinion) are dawn and dusk. If the change of tide coincides with dawn and dusk, even better. If it’s the lead up to the full or new moons, even better again. The week looked prett,y good with light south-easterly winds in the morning rising in strength through the days. The moon was about half full.

For my first session, I drove along the four wheel drive track just south of Agnes Waters into Deepwater National Park. I set off before dawn in order to fish through first light and sunrise at 6.21 a.m. I rigged up my Daiwa Air Edge rod, Shimano Sustain 4000 reel. I was using the 8lb Aldi braid and I started with a 20lb fluorocarbon leader to give myself a chance against a bigger fish if one was around. Low tide would be at 9.43 am and there was not much swell.

There are lots of submerged rocks in this spot and I have caught stripey perch, trevally, bream, flathead, whiting and morwong/slatey bream here. I started by casting a DUO Realis Vib 62 (a sinking vibe lure) all around the rocks using the 9′ the Daiwa Air Edge rod. This did not get a bite. After 15 minutes, I swapped to 12lb leader, a 1/6th ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead and a GULP 4-inch Minnow soft plastic lure in the Lime Tiger colour. As soon as it hit the water this was attacked by the ugly local long toms.

About 7.30 am I jumped back in the car and drove down the track to Wreck Rock. I walked out on the rocks at the north side of the small bay and started casting again with the same set up. The long toms were here as well.  I swapped through a couple of small and big GULP soft plastics, gradually moving further out along the rocks as the tide receded. At about 8.30 am the wind started to pick up from the south east. By now I was fishing with the GULP Cajun Chicken Jerkshad (black and pink colour). I was hopping it along the sandy bottom between the rocks, when I saw a fast shape swim up and grab it, at the foot of the rocks. Line started peeling and in the blink of an eye it was a silver flash in the waves 25 metres away. I tightened the drag a little which did little to slow it. But the fast action, fairly whippy Daiwa Air Edge rod soaked up the lunges. After a few minutes I had a 50 cm trevally at my feet. It had completely swallowed the soft plastic.

I bled the fish and re-rigged but could not find anymore. I swapped to a MARIA MJ Twitch suspending hard bodied minnow. This seemed to drive the long toms crazy but did not entice any other fish. By 10.15 am the wind had picked up to about 15 knots from the south east and the tide had turned, so I gave up.