Category Archives: Iluka

Iluka – Woody Head – “the Barnacles” – Tuna – 9 April 2013

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Tuesday – Morning

Tuesday was another cool morning at Woody Head. It rained just before dawn and there was a very light south-westerly wind blowing. The rain stopped just after first light and I wandered out to the rock bar on the edge of Woody Bay, just after 6.00 am.

I was fishing the last couple of hours of the run in tide with my light spinning rig. I was wearing my Cabela’s stockinged feet, chest waders. I can wear my felt-soled rock boots over the top of these, which means I get a better grip on the rocky bottom. I also stay completely dry underneath. I ordered both the waders and the boots from Cabelas – http://www.cabelas.com – in the US. The latest boots are the best I have had. They are called the Men’s Ultralight 2 Wading Boots and they grip well (felt soles) and dry fast.

Cabelas rock fishing boots

Cabelas rock fishing boots

The sun broke through the clouds briefly, just after dawn and then disappeared again. I started with a small GULP Shrimp in the Banana Prawn colour on a 1/8th oz, size 1 hook jighead. I was fishing with 10lb fluorocarbon leader. After a few casts, I caught a small bream – about 25cm long. Over the next hour, I caught three more fish about the same size. Every now and then I would also see the long toms follow my lure in. At about 7.45nam the rain started again so I gave up for the morning.

Tuesday – Afternoon

The rain showers kept coming but the sun came out in between each one. There was not much wind so, as low tide approached at 1.30 pm, I decided to have a fish with the Shimano Catana light rod, off the front of ‘the barnacles’ at Woody Head. I tied on a 12lb fluorocarbon leader and a 1/6th 1/0 jighead, loaded with a GULP Shrimp in the Banana Prawn colour. After a few casts, I felt a couple of bites, very close to the rocks. On the next few, I paused for as long as I could in the strike stone and after a few more tries, I connected with a decent bream – about 35 cm long.

I fished through the afternoon with a few different soft plastics and caught a few more bream and a few small dart. By about 5.00 pm the sun was close to dropping behind the hill and I decided to swap to a hard bodied lure. I pulled out a DUO Realis Jerkbait 120 SP. This is a fairly narrow, flat sided suspending minnow with a low pitched rattle. It has the usual excellent DUO paint job which gives it a very clever flashing appearance, as it rolls from side to side in the water. It weighs 18 grams and casts beautifully from the Catana rod.

On the third cast something grabbed it, dropped it, grabbed it, dropped it, grabbed it and then took off – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. The Catana is flexible but does not have much grunt so I had to let the fish run. When it paused I tried to apply some pressure but I could not turn its head. As I reached the backing line I started to hold the spool, to try and slow it, but I knew I had to tighten the drag. I turned it a few clicks and the fish slowed. I gradually got about 10 metres of line back but then the fish lunged again and the line went slack. I don’t know what happened but I could see the lure was gone and the leader was bitten through, once I wound in the line.

I did not have any more of the DUO’s with me so I put on a suspending Yozuri Crystal Minnow and upped my leader to 16lb – the heaviest I had. I cast out and started a fairly slow retrieve. I saw a good size Tailor or perhaps Trevally grab it, a few metres from the rocks and take off. I think it was a Trevally, as it headed straight for cover, under the rock ledge. It managed to wedge the trebles from the lure into the rocks and free itself.

I was frustrated – the bite was hotting up and I felt like I had brought a knife to a gun fight. My gear was not heavy enough for these fish. I tied on another leader and put on a sturdy ¼ oz 1/0 jighead and loaded it with a GULP 3” Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour. Perhaps this would attract a more manageable fish. How wrong I was!

After about three casts, I felt the on again/off again bite. It was probably a few fish all trying to attack the same lure. Then there was a solid bite and a brief tug and suddenly zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, as the fish realised it was hooked. This one had serious power, just like the one that took the DUO lure, previously. It was heading north and east, out to sea. I had the drag a little tighter this time but I moved along the rocks with the fish. After a couple of solid initial runs it paused and I could see the rod tip beating – it had to be a tuna. I estimated it had taken just over 100 metres of line in the initial two runs. I looked down at the spool. It was a fair way through the backing line, so I took back as much as I could. The fish took off again but with a little less power. The Shimano Sustain reel’s drag was doing a good job but the Catana rod was not strong enough to really apply much pressure to the fish. I had to wait this one out. The fish would pull hard then sit in the current with the rod tip beating.

I calmed down and looked at my options for landing it. The tide was coming in and it was safe to spend a bit of time down on the lower rock ledges but I was definitely going to get wet. With the light rod and leader, my only option was to use the surf to wash the fish over the lower ledges and then go down and grab it. The fish was tiring but I still had not seen it. Every few metres of line I gained were taken back with another short, but determined run. As it came close to the rocks I got a look at it. It was a small mac tuna. It was rolling over on its side which was a fairly good sign it was nearly spent.

I watched the swell and moved down to the lower ledge. I tried to apply some pressure with the rod but as soon at the fish saw the rocks it set of for New Zealand again. I let it run and hunkered down as a large wave crashed over me. A few moments later there was another good wave and I used it to heave the fish over the ledge. The fish was now behind me in small draining pool vigorously beating its tail in an attempt to follow the remaining water back out to sea. I checked my footing, looked at what was coming at me and tightened the drag. I pulled the fish on to the sloping edge of the pool, grabbed its tail and clambered back up the rocks.

I managed three bream about this size between 6-15 and 7-15 am
The rain clouds kept coming
A good bream on a GULP Peppered Prawn 3 inch minnow
Plenty of keeper bream this week
A 60 cm mac tuna – felt like a freight train
My first tuna on a soft plastic
A big mouth and plenty of teeth but this fish was nicely hooked
The hoodlums soon showed up

It was my first tuna off the rocks and even though it was a fairly small model – just over 60cm long, I was delighted. The jighead and plastic were nicely lodged in the corner of the fish’s mouth. I was soaked but stoked! I have tangled with these fish at various points on the east coast but never been able to land one. I have usually ended up wishing the fish I had on the end of my line was slightly smaller, so I would have a chance of landing it. Today it all came together and that is why I love fishing!

Iluka – Woody Head – Woody Bay – 8 April 2013

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Monday – Morning

I have managed to sneak down to Woody Head for a few days and even though there are plenty of showers around, the wind and swell forecasts look pretty good for some rock fishing.

On Monday I awoke to a cool, light south westerly wind. It was a morning high tide at about 7.00 am. The new moon is due on Wednesday. I could not go far as the family are with me and they apparently think that fishing is not the only activity on offer here. I decided to have a fish around the rock bars on the edge of Woody Bay, in front of the Woody Head camp site.

I was fishing with my light spin rig – a 6’6” Loomis GL 2 rod and Shimano Stradic 2500, 6lb Fireline and 10lb fluorocarbon leader. I started with Gulp 2” Jigging Grub soft plastic in the Pumpkinseed colour, on a 1/8th oz, 1/0 jighead.

The tide was a fairly big one and by first light it had almost submerged all the rocks in the bay. I had not bothered with my waders, as the water was fairly warm. This was a mistake – as soon as my shorts got wet, the light south westerly had me chilled to the bone.

After a couple casts, a fish grabbed my plastic, next to one of the rock bars and took off. It made two good runs before I tightened the (loose) drag and subdued it. It was a handsome tarwhine, just over 30 cm long. I took a few pictures and threw it back.

A few casts later, I felt and saw a long tom try to grab it. I swapped to a GULP 3” Minnow in the Banana Prawn colour – gold and grey with a black fleck. I felt a good bite, then another, then I was on to a fish, a biggish Pike about 35cm long. I put that back and carried on.

An early morning Woody Head tarwhine

An early morning Woody Head tarwhine

The long toms kept grabbing, but I could not hook one. At about 8.00 am I connected with a small fish that turned out to be a very small trevally. At 8.30 am I gave up and went for a hot shower.

A good sized pike

A good sized pike

Monday – Afternoon

With a lunchtime low tide and clear skies I decided to go and have a look out the front of the Woody Head platform, with my Shimano Catana Coastline light combo. This is a good rod, heavy enough to land school jewfish, but still light enough to feel the bream bite.

I use it with a size 3000 Shimano Sustain reel and 16lb Super PE braid. I started with a 15lb leader. The water is fairly clear and the swell was very light. I decided to start big and colourful and put on a GULP Jerkshad soft plastic, in the Lime Tiger colour. I attached it to a ¼ oz, 2/0 jighead and started fishing.

The first cast produced nothing but on the second a fish grabbed the plastic and ran with it for a few seconds, before dropping it. As is often the case, it had struck very close to the rocks. On the next cast the same thing happened. I swapped down to a smaller soft plastic – the GULP 3” Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour. This did the trick and I pulled up a bream – just under 30 cm. In the next 5 casts a caught 2 more, about the same size. Then things went quiet. It was about 3.00 pm and the wind had turned south easterly and was blowing a huge rain cloud in my direction. I caught a small dart and then decided to give up for the day.

The smaller profile attracted this bream
The wobbegongs lined up for any scraps

As I cleaned the bream for supper, the resident wobbegongs soon appeared. In the end there were five, swimming around trying to figure out where the fish blood was coming from. I had not caught any big fish but I had dinner – not a bad start to the week.

Iluka – Shark Bay – 14 February 2013

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Thursday

On Wednesday afternoon the south-easterly wind had not really dropped off, as forecast. I had a quick fish around Woody Bay but it only yielded one very small flathead, on a GULP 3” Minnow soft plastic.

Thursday was my last day and once again it started with rain and a strong south-easterly wind. Low tide was due at 5.40 am, just after first light. I decided to sit out the rain. Once it stopped, at about 6.30 am, I drove round to Frasers Reef and walked along the beach to Middle Bluff. The swell was just too big here and after an hour of losing gear to the rocks and getting soaked, I gave up.

By afternoon the weather had improved and the sun was out. The wind was still blowing from the south-east, so I decided to try fishing on the Shark Bay rock platform, as the tide ran out. I had intended to fish the north side of the rock platform, but when I arrived the wind was light enough and the tide was at just the right level to make it possible to fish on the south side.

After a week of fairly tough fishing, I was not confident of finding big tailor or jewfish, so I started fishing with my ‘light’ rock fishing outfit. I was using a 10lb fluorocarbon leader and a GULP 3” Minnow in the Banana Prawn colour. The swell was light and the water fairly clear so I dropped right down to a 1/8th oz 1/0 jighead. There are a number of low rocky outcrops on this side of the platform that extend into the sea like fingers. There a kelp and barnacle covered bommies all round. The area is dotted with patches of open sand and I concentrated on casting around the edges of these patches. I moved the lure slowly, letting it waft around in the surf. At about 3.00 pm a fish grabbed the lure and took off. It bit hard and took some line. It soon settled and it was not long before I had it safely on shore. It was a cracker bream that measured just fewer than 40 cm long. It had almost swallowed the soft plastic and jighead, whole.

This is ideal bream terrain
South side of Shark Bay platform
A big loner
This was the best bream of the week
Swallowed that one
The Catana Coastline Light is a great rod for this type of fishing

I felt a few other nips over the next couple of hours and I swapped through a range of soft plastics and small hard bodies, but I could not find another fish.

Although the weather had made life tough it had actually been a pretty good week of fishing. I had caught some good bream and a great flathead. I am sure the school jewfish were around but I had just failed to find a spot where I could successfully get at them.

I hope the bait sticks around for a while and then as we move into the cooler months the land-based fishing will only improve.

Iluka – Woody Bay – 13 February 2013

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Wednesday

On Wednesday I woke to more showers which were blowing through on a building south-easterly wind. I made some breakfast and waited for them to pass.

By the time the rain stopped it was about 6.30 am. The south-easterly was already blowing at about 15 knots and was forecast to get stronger through the day. There was not much point in trying to fish the headlands. The tide had been low at 5.00 am and had now turned in. I decided to fish around the rocks beside the boat launching area, on the edge of Woody Bay. This area, directly in front of the camp site, is sheltered by Woody Head. Even in a big south-easterly blow, it stays pretty calm.

A grey morning on Woody bay

A grey morning on Woody bay

I decided to switch to my really light spinning outfit – Shimano Stella 2500 reel, Loomis GL2 rod, 1.8kg Fireline and a 10lb fluorocarbon leader. The bait that had been jumping around close to the rocks, had been some kind of small whitebait, so I chose a GULP 3” minnow soft plastic in the Watermelon Pearl colour, which would represent a similar profile. I rigged up the plastic on a 1/8th oz., 1/0 jighead. As I stood in the shallows, the water was warm and I started casting along the edge of the semi – submerged rock bars. At about 6.45 am the rain started again and just as it did, I felt the familiar double tap bream attack. I did not hook up but on the next cast, I did. I wound in another very respectable bream.

GULP Minnow gets the first bream

GULP Minnow gets the first bream

I let it go and moved on, casting out and trying to rest my soft plastic lure, for as long as possible, right where the rocks met the sand. Just before 7.00 am I felt the faintest of grabs, as I hopped the lure along the bottom beside the rocks. Two more casts in the same spot produced nothing. On the third, the rod bent over as the jighead stopped dead.

It felt like the lure had stuck fast in the rocks but then very slowly the ‘rocks’ started to move. In a long slow run the fish moved about 6 metres to the south. Then paused and did the same thing again. I pulled up on the rod and tried to recover some line. It was only at this point that the fish realised that it was hooked and started really fighting. It was still so slow and heavy that I thought it was a ray or shovel nose shark. After a few more lunges it turned towards me and rose to the surface shaking its head. I could now see it was a big flathead.

With a ten pound leader I could not risk any abrasion from the barnacle-covered rocks so I let the fish play itself out. It had been lurking in less than 30cm of water so it was hard to keep its head down but I took my time and used the swell. I found a nice sloping rock bar and gradually eased the fish up in a breaking wave. It was a nice flathead who measured up at about 74cm. After a few snaps I put her back and she swam away.

Plenty of flathead cover
A good sized flathead in the shallows
Light line meant a slow and patient approach
Measured up at just under 75cm

The Clarence River is still very de-oxygenated and full of fresh water from the floods. It is likely that all sorts of species (including flathead) have settled around these headlands to wait for it to clear. The birds were very active, constantly swooping in to pick up baitfish. So it looks like a fair amount of bait has also been washed out.

I decided to wade around the shallows in the bay and look for some more fish. I was soaked from the rain and being in the water was warmer than being out of it. I tried all around the rocks with the same soft plastic and a few others, to see if I could find anymore flathead – but I couldn’t. I watched a few long toms follow my lures in and have a snap at them, but did not hook any.

I swapped over to one of my favourite DUO hard bodied lures. With the river out of bounds there was not much water where I could use their range of finesse lures, but this bay was flat enough and clear of weed, so it was perfect. I tied on the DUO Ryuki Spearhead 45s in a gold/ green colour. This is a small trout lure that seems to work well on bream. It weighs 4 grams and is 45mm long with a small bib. As with most of the DUO range it casts a long way and slips into its action almost as soon as it hits the water. Although it is technically a sinking lure, its lightweight means that it effectively suspends, when you pause the retrieve.

Beyond the shelter of Woody Head it was too windy to fish
Too choppy out front
Plenty of birds chasing plenty of bait
DUO Ryuki Spearhead catches a small bream
Duo Ryuki Spearhead catches a bigger bream
He was not going to let go of this one

I cast it over the flats and around the rock bars as the tide rose. First it attracted a few undersize moses perch. Then, as I moved into slightly deeper water I found a patch of small bream. I caught a couple before they decided they had had enough.

At about 10.00 am I found myself almost back where I had caught the big flathead earlier. I had waded round the bay in a big circle. I continued to cast along the edge of the rocks and suddenly felt a solid hit and run. The fish was hooked and after a few good runs it calmed down and I pulled it up to the sandy beach. It was another good bream – just over 35cm long. I released it and carried on fishing for about another hour with no luck, so I decided to give up for the morning.

Iluka – Woody Head – The Barnacles – 12 February 2013

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Tuesday

It rained hard over night and I actually woke up cold on Tuesday morning. I made a huge mug of tea and fished out a long sleeve t-shirt. It was just after 5.00 am. The wind had already moved round from the south-west to blow from the east, but it was still fairly light. Low tide had been at 4.13 am. The swell might have eased a little overnight so I decided to start on the rock platform, out front at Woody Head. I walked out to the ‘Barnacles’ in the pre-dawn and things looked promising. There was only the occasional wave coming over the top and I would have an hour or so to fish before the tide got too high. It looked like it would even be possible to put out a few casts in front of ‘Barnacle Bob’.

The day before I had noticed the 20lb Fireline had started to fray on the heavy rod and I had lost a fair amount of the 10lb Platil Millenium braid, on the light rod. The Platil braid was getting a bit water-logged and heavy and not casting well. I decided neither was working particularly well in these conditions, so I drove into Big River Bait and Tackle at Maclean and asked for some suggestions on re-spooling. They were all a bit fed up after the floods. The Clarence River was still black and smelly and logically the fish looked like they had all fled out to sea for a while. The Clarence is a huge system and it will be a couple of weeks before the river improves.

As usual, the team gave me some good advice and suggested I re-spool both with 20lb Super PE braid. This would be thin enough to cast well on the light rig, but robust enough to handle a decent fish on the heavy rig. Best of all, they stripped off the old line and re-spooled both reels while I went off for a Pot Belly Pie (a local speciality) and a coffee.

So back at Woody Head the next morning I was fishing with perfectly loaded reels. This makes a huge difference when casting in difficult conditions. Every line change takes a little getting used too but the Sunline Super PE was a massive improvement. I started with the heavy rod and a GULP Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger colour on a ¼ oz, 3/0 jighead. I moved out carefully over the rocks to a spot just in front of ‘Barnacle Bob’. This has been the scene of a couple of big fish captures for me and whenever it’s safe I try a few casts here. I put the lure exactly where I wanted it but after five or six casts I had not found anything. I swapped through a few more soft plastic colours, but these did not produce any interest.

I moved south along the front of rocks to a safer spot and swapped down to the lighter rod. I put on a 1/6th oz, 2/0 jighead and tied on a 12lb fluorocarbon leader. I decided to try a different soft plastic lure. I have never been a fan of the pure white lures, I have always assumed they are an offshore, deep water idea. But I had a packet of GULP jerkshads in white and I was not having much luck, so I decided to give them a try.

It was a wise choice; I cast out wide and let the lure waft in on the swell. I left it as long as I could and it got snagged. I re-rigged with the same set up. This time, right at the base of the rocks, I felt a bite, dropped the rod down and then struck. I had a fish. I let the swell wash it up. It was a nice Bream, well over 30 cm long.

I cast out again and felt another bite, but did not hook up. I carried on for a few more casts, using exactly the same technique. About five minutes later at 6.15 am I felt a gentle tug and then a solid bite. A wave came crashing over the top and I thought the fish was gone but as the water drained, the line was still tight. On the next swell I tightened the drag a little and pulled hard. A school Jewfish came into view. It had a bit of fight left in it and I only had a 12lb leader so I let it swim back out again. The next wave was a big one and it washed the fish over the rocks and back, past me into the drain behind me. I waited for the water to drain away again and when it did the fish was stranded and I grabbed it.

Sunrise at the Barnacles – Woody Head
My first fish on a white GULP jerkshad – a 34cm bream
The bream was followed by a small school jewfish-mulloway
Woody Head – school jewfish for dinner

It was the first school jewfish of the week and it had been lurking right at the base of the rocks waiting for dinner. It was no monster at about 50cm long (NSW size limit is 45cm) but it would make a good meal. I despatched it and put it in a keeper rock pool. I looked for more and fished for another two hours but could not find any. I lost plenty of gear trying to get my lures into the strike zone but as the tide rose and the wind picked up, it became harder and harder. At about 8.45 am the water was sloshing over the rocks with every surge and I had to retreat.

Jewfish stomach contents

I went back to wash clean up the jewfish. I gutted it and had a look in the stomach. It was full of the tiny whitebait I had seen jumping by the rocks. As I was doing this I was standing in the shallow rock pool. After a few minutes of cleaning and scaling, I nearly jumped out of my skin as I heard a loud snap and splash, just behind my heal.

I found a big hungry wobbegong already in attendance. It had swum up a series of very shallow rapids to reach the pool, just below where I had lay the jewfish. The blood and guts had attracted him. I hopped out of the water and quickly found another (stranded) patch of water to finish the cleaning. By the time I finished cleaning the bream there were four of them swimming around, like toothy puppies waiting for lunch.

I had cut off the bream’s head as I intended to pan fry it on my camp stove. I left it on the edge of the rock pool and was amazed as two of the wobbegongs wriggled out of the water, in their attempts to reach it. Eventually the bigger of the two lunged forward and inhaled the head, with a loud snap.

The wobbegong arrived after 2 minutes
Woody Head – wobbegong
Waiting patiently
Wobbegongs wriggling clear of the water in search of my fish
The strike – the moment the wobbegong swallowed the Bream head

In the afternoon I came back to the same spot as soon as the tide would allow, at about 2.30 pm. I fished all through the afternoon but the swell and wash made it difficult again. I caught one good Bream, about 33 cm and dropped a bigger one, both on a smaller GULP 3” Minnow in the Banana Prawn colour, on a 1/6th, 1/0 jighead, around 3.00pm. There was plenty of bait, jumping, in close to the rocks but I just could keep the lure where I wanted it.

By 5.00 pm I was soaked through and decided to give up and head for the wood fire, fried bream and a bottle of red.

Iluka – Middle Bluff and Shark Bay – 11 February 2013

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Monday

The wind started a little cool from the south west but was forecast to move round to the east and north east. The tide would be too full to fish the dawn at Woody Head, so I decided to give Middle Bluff a try again. I arrived in the pre-dawn light, just before 6.00 am and immediately set to work with the heavy rig. I started with 3/8th oz, 3/0 jighead and a Gulp Jerkshad in the Pumpkinseed colour. The bommie, beside which the jewfish lurk, was covered in wash and the sweep took a few of my lures in quick succession. I had done too much of this the day before, so I changed tactics.

The sun was up and I moved right to the north end of Middle Bluff. I switched to the light rod with 16lb leader and put on a 1/6th oz, 3/0 jighead. I started with a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad, in the Lime Tiger colour. I could just about cast the lure out, over the edge of the fringing reef and leave it there for a few seconds. Then I would have to quickly retrieve it with a wave, that was breaking over the reef. After a couple of casts, I lost the tail of the soft plastic, so I put on another. Each time I retrieved, small baitfish leapt ahead of the lure, as it approached the reef edge. After about three casts, a fish grabbed the lure right at the edge of the reef. I let it have some line and looked for a wave to bring it over the reef.

I had not caught much in the few days previously and I was a bit too eager. As the next wave washed over the edge, I pulled a bit too hard and the hook came out. I did not get a good look at it, but I would say it was more likely to have been a tailor or trevally, than jewfish.

I threw a lot of lures at this spot over the next hour, with both the light and heavy rod. After about twenty minutes one of my GULP 2” Smelt Minnows was bitten off right next to the edge, but that was it, I did not hook anything else. By about 10 am the water was surging over the rocks too often and I had to move off. The fish were definitely there, but they had again proved hard to get at.

By late afternoon the north-easterly breeze had picked up. I decided to try fishing at Shark Bay, to the north of Woody Head. This is another spot that is only really accessible around low tide. The rock platform at the southern end of the bay is exposed for a few hours either side of low. There is a large patch of reef just north of the main platform and the channel between is often a good target area.

The sea was fairly flat here. I decided to start with the light rod. I tied on 12lb leader and a 1/6th oz, 2/0 jighead and loaded a GULP 2” Minnow in the Banana Prawn colour. I cast north and waited for the lure to sink. As it did so,…….bang, it was hit on the drop. The Shimano Catana Coastline bent over and took the lunges. After a few runs I reeled in another good size bream.

A few casts later I pulled in a tiny Moses Perch and then I started to lose tails to some rapid hit and run attacks. I decided to put a bigger lure on and loaded a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad. On the first retrieve it was slammed. I knew it was a tailor from the mad head shakes. I wound in steadily and soon had it by my feet. It was about 40 cm long. Over the next hour I had several more plastics mangled, but could not hook up. At one point I saw a couple of long toms following the lure in. At about 7.00 pm, exhausted, I gave up for the day.

A hot sunrise at Middle Bluff
Bitten off twice at Middle Bluff – first thing
Shark Bay bream on GULP 2 inch minnow in Banana Prawn
The bream were good quality but hard too find
Fishing between the rocky outcrops at Shark Bay
Lost a few soft plastic lure tails to these fish
A 40cm tailor grabs as GULP Crazylegs jerkshad
The wobbegong arrived as soon as blood was spilled

Iluka – Frasers Reef/ Middle Bluff – 9 February 2013

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Saturday/ Sunday

I woke at about 4.30am on Saturday, to a big storm. I must be getting less keen. In the past I would have put my wet weather gear on and headed straight out to fish the dawn. Instead, I rolled over and slept for another hour. When I woke up the rain had stopped so I pulled on my fishing boots and drove down to Fraser’s Reef.

As I pulled in to the car park the sun was well and truly up. My late arrival was underscored when a local acquaintance – John, appeared with a bag full of Blackfish. He had caught them all using the green string weed and had already finished for the day. He did not tap his fingers on his watch but he may as well have. It was about 8.30 am and I was only just starting.

I walked out to Middle Bluff, which is the headland to the north of Fraser’s Reef. The swell may have herded the Blackfish into a few holes where they could be easily extracted, but it made fishing for anything else pretty difficult. I started with the heavy rod and a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Curry Chicken colour , which I rigged on a 3/8th oz, 3/0 jighead. I cast out a few times but the sweep and swell threw the lure around and I could not really control it. I worked through a few more soft plastic lures in various colours and shapes. I tried the heavier, ½ oz, 3/0 jigheads, but these just kept getting snagged.

In a repeat of the conditions of the day before I just could not get the lure into the area close to the base of the rocks where, I was pretty sure the school jewfish would be hiding. While I was trying, I had to retreat a couple of times to avoid a soaking but, inevitably, I soon copped a drenching from a big wave set. You cannot run across these rocks and the recent rain and big seas means there is a thick coating of black green slippery, slimy weed. If you have barnacles under foot you are ok, but the black and green stuff is like ice. I use felt soled rock boots from Cabelas in the US, but even these can slip in the slime.

I swapped down to the light rig and put on a GULP Jerkshad, in the Pumpkinseed colour on a ¼ oz, 2/0 jighead. I threw this into the foamy swell and hoped it would sink a few feet before getting washed against the rocks. It did and as I took up the slack I felt a fish on the line. I did not have to do much, as the swell more or less threw the fish at me. It was a good sized Bream, just over 34cm long. I moved along the headland trying to fish in a few spots but as the morning went on, the swell got worse and I gave up at about 10.30 am.

In the afternoon, the tide was low at about 3.40 pm so I tried to fish around the Frasers Reef headland, but this yielded nothing except a lot of lost gear. I could see bait in close to the rocks, jumping ahead of my lure but I could not leave the lure in the strike zone long enough. I had caught dinner and avoided a duck but only just.

Saturday – a grey morning and a big swell
Middle Bluff bream on GULP Jerkshad
This is where I wanted to put my lures
This coating of weed is like ice
The swell was kicking up
I was in position from sunrise on Sunday

I tried the same spots on Sunday morning. This time I was in position to see the sunrise. The swell had eased a little but it was still making it pretty tough to fish. The wind dropped off around dawn but then gradually built up again until it was blowing at about 15 knots from the east. I tried a few spells with some big hard bodies and slugs but these did not tempt the fish.

In the afternoon I tried fishing off the rock platform at Woody Head but the wind and swell made it impossible. So after an hour of trying and losing gear, I gave up. So on Sunday I scored a duck and went for dinner at the pub. I went to bed on Sunday night hoping that the wind and swell would ease off soon.

Iluka – Woody Head – the ‘Barnacles’ – 8 February 2013

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Friday

After a few delays and cancellations, I decided it was time for an Iluka fishing trip. I had a booking at Woody Head for the week before, but with the Clarence River pouring out mud, I delayed it for a week. By Friday the weather looked reasonable, so I decided to go for it.

I arrived at Woody Head at about lunchtime and set up camp. When I camp, I use the Oztent RV2 as it is quick to set up and very durable. It took about 20 minutes to get sorted and then ten more to get my fishing boots on and light and heavy rods rigged.

For the purposes of rock fishing I use the following outfits:

Heavy – Daiwa Demonblood rod, Stradic 8000FJ reel, 20lb Fireline and usually a 25lb or 30lb fluorocarbon leader.

Light – Shimano Catana Coastline Light rod, Sustain 4000 reel, 10lb Platil Millenium braid and 10lb or 12lb fluorocarbon leader.

I usually carry both out to the rocks with me. My general plan is to start with the heavy rig, throwing big lures or soft plastics and gradually work through to the lighter rig. It is amazing how often down-sizing in this way, produces fish.

I walked round the headland to a spot called ‘the Barnacles’, by the locals. This is a fairly treacherous place and you need to watch the swell carefully for 30 minutes or so before figuring out where is safe to fish. Even then, you can still get caught by a rogue wave, so good boots, a pfd and a willingness to get wet are essential.

I soon got wet as a huge wave slapped against the rocks and came down on top of me. In the bright sunshine, it was quite refreshing but it was a timely reminder to watch my step. I cast around with the big rod using the GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad soft plastics in the Lime Tiger and New Penny colours. I initially rigged them on 3/8 oz 3/0 jigheads and then dropped back to the ¼ oz 2/0 size.

Low tide had been at 2.15pm and the swell was making keeping the lures in the strike zone hard. The water was pretty dirty, but each time I pulled the lure in close to the rocks, small whitebait would scatter in front of it.

This was perfect jewfish water but the problem was getting my lure to them. During the daytime they will hug the rocks and sit underneath the overhangs. If you want to catch them you lure has to be on the bottom right in front of the overhang. They also can be fussy, so you have to fish light, even a ¼ oz jighead is sometimes too heavy. With a 1.5m swell it was very difficult to keep my lure where I wanted it.

Barnacle Bob – at Woody Head
The swell was still pretty lively
Big eye trevally
It would do for dinner

I swapped to the light rig and dropped to a finer wire 1/6th 2/0 jighead and 12lb leader. I put on a plain GULP Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger colour. It was now just after 3.00pm. After a few casts, something hit the lure right beside the rocks and took off. It was fast and stripped some line. It was not a jewfish. I waited for the swell to bring it up over the ledge and then tightened the drag a little. It was a big eye trevally, about 40cm long. I snapped it and bled it – just enough for dinner.

I continued fishing but as the tide turned and the afternoon breeze picked up, I was forced off ‘the Barnacles’. I walked back to camp cleaned the fish and washed up. I got the fire going and the red wine open and planned the next morning’s session.

Iluka – Shark bay – Plenty of Variety – 30 March 2012

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Friday

Unfortunately the wind and swell were up again so my favorite Rocky spots were out of bounds. It was however, a beautiful clear morning. The wind was from the south at about 10 knots but there were also gusts from the west which made things very cool, once my legs were wet.

I started at Shark Bay with the light rod. I focused on the shallows, on the west side of the rock platform. There is often a Flathead lurking in here, amongst the rock bars and sea weed. I started with a big soft plastic – a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Curry Chicken colour on a 1/6th 1/0 jighead, with 12lb fluorocarbon leader. I had a few hits and then lost the tail. I moved down in size to a GULP 3” Minnow in the Smelt colour on a 1/8th 1/0 jighead and 8lb fluorocarbon leader.

The down-sizing converted the bites to fish but only tiny Moses Perch and then a Long Tom. I moved along the edge of the platform and there was a bite on almost every cast, but nothing significant. When the Tailor are around this is a great place to cast a 65g slug on the big rod.

I watched another great sun rise and kept catching small fish. Soon it was time to call it quits for the week. It had been a challenging week. The weather had made things tough, as it often does, but I had found some good fish – particularly the Bream. I had seen a few Tailor in the waves but only caught one from the rocks and one in the river. I always think that its a good trip if you are catching stuff and there was plenty of variety.

I managed 10 species this week – Bream, Flathead, Tailor, Luderick, Trevally, Jewfish, Moses Perch, Long Tom, Pike and even a few tiny Whiting. The weather had been too difficult for the hard bodies, so everything was caught on soft plastics.

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I drove back to Brisbane in the afternoon and as I unloaded the car, I was already considering my options for avoiding the wind and the Easter crowds to find some fish.

Iluka – Browns Rocks – The Clarence River – 29 March 2012

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Thursday

After a disappointing morning on the rocks, I decided to try fishing the Clarence River in the afternoon. I drove along to the Browns Rocks area. I passed the wharf and drove down to the area in front of the old oyster farm and then put on my waders.

There is a large section of weed beds just to the south of the oyster farm. The weed beds grow on the edge of the main river channel and hold plenty of bait. All the recent rain had left the water murky, but I arrived just before the top of the tide and so the water was as salty as it would get.

I was fishing with my light spin combination and decided to come right down to 8lb fluorocarbon leader. I started with a GULP 2” Shrimp soft plastic in the Banana Prawn colour. The first few casts produced a few hits from small fish. They were very aggressive so I expect they were small Tailor. They often hang around here.

I moved along, parallel with the shore, casting into the run in tide and retrieving fairly fast to avoid getting tangled in the weed. I caught and released a couple of tiny Bream. Then I suddenly had a much bigger fish on. It was not very fast but it had plenty of power. It was not moving like a Flathead and was making plenty of long runs. I walked slowly back to shore and tightened the drag as much as I dared. I saw some silver and some stripes and then realized it was a good sized Luderick. I landed it and decided it would be dinner. I do not get these very often and they taste good. Once more the GULP soft plastic had proved irresistible.

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The session continued with a Flathead, a chopper Tailor and a few more small Bream. There were plenty of fish around but no big ones. I should come back to this spot at dawn or dusk – one day!

Iluka – Shark Bay – 5 April 2012

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Thursday

On Thursday morning the weather had improved considerably, with a clearer sky and less wind, but the swell was still up. I decided to start at Shark Bay on the rock platform. There was a bit of west in the wind and it was quite cool.

Sunrise Shark Bay - Iluka

I started on the west side and could not raise a bite. I moved across to the rocks on the east side. There are a number of ridges on this side with small inlets in between each. The surf was smashing into these but it was just possible to cast into the white water. I tried a few bays and caught another couple of good Bream – the bigger of the two was over 35cm. This time I was using the GULP 3” Minnow Grub in the Pumpkinseed colour again, but on a 1/6th 1/0 jighead. I carried on fishing for a while and dropped a few more fish – which could have been small Tailor or more Bream.

Shark Bay Bream - Light leader and a paddle tail lure

Then I stopped to clean the two Bream in the rock pools. When I had finish I took them over to the surf to rinse them off. I shook them under the water for perhaps ten seconds and when I looked down, two Wobbegongs were ready to steal them. I pulled the fish out of the water and quickly put them away in the keeper bag. I suggest you mind where you tread around here, as they must always be pretty close by.

Plenty of Wobbegongs in the shallows

Iluka – Frasers Reef & the Rockwall – 28 March 2012

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Wednesday

No trophy fish yet but plenty of fish around, if the weather would let me get at them. Wednesday morning brought heavy showers and grey skies and a 10 knot southerly wind. The wind had been from the south for a while and the swell was around 2 metres. It was too hard to fish Woody Head or Iluka Bluff, but with a morning low tide I could get out on to the rocks at Frasers Reef.

I walked out on to the rocky promontory just before 6.00 am. Even with a fair swell you can fish the northern edge of these rocks but as usual in these parts, you lose plenty of gear.

I started with the heavy rod, 30lb fluorocarbon leader and a 3/8th 3/0 jighead. I chose a big soft plastic again – the GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger colour. I lost my first rig to the rocks on the first cast. I re-rigged and moved around casting into the foamy water. After a few casts I felt a solid bite and pulled up the plastic minus its tail.

I put another on and cast back out. This one was hit on the drop but there was no hook up. Then, as I carried on the retrieve, the fish came back for a second swipe and I got it. I played it in on the swell and pulled it over the rocks – a 50cm Tailor – the first Tailor of the week. I was hoping for a few more, but I never found them. I presume they are cruising the headlands all the time, looking for the bait schools. If they are right in front of you, you may have a few minutes to cast at them – then they move on. When I gutted it, it had an empty stomach, like all the other fish I had caught this week. I have not seen any bait schools and maybe there is not much to eat.

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There were no more fish that morning and the swell continued to build so in the afternoon, I decided to fish the Iluka rockwall. The wall is quite sheltered from strong southerly winds and there is currently a good gutter forming where it meets the beach. I was using the light spin rod and started with a few GULP 4” Minnows in various colours. These did not arouse any interest so I swapped to a GULP 3” Minnow Grub in the Pumpkinseed colour. I think the grub tail can sometimes stir a bit more interest when fishing in the surf. I was using a ¼ oz 1/0 jighead to overcome the wind and swell and I was rigged with 12lb fluorocarbon leader. After a few casts, I lost the tail on the soft plastic but when I re-loaded and cast out again, I felt a solid tug and then a good run. I had the fish hooked and it took a bit of line. The swell was a challenge, but eventually I pulled another good Bream clear of the rocks.
Then the rain arrived again and I gave up. Only two fish for the day – hardly spectacular but enough to keep me at it!

Iluka – Frasers Reef – 27 March 2012

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Tuesday

There had been some very heavy showers through the night and at 5.30am, when I left the cabin, it was still pitch black with low cloud cover. But the wind seemed to have dropped so I headed for the rocky headland just to the north of Frasers Reef.

First light was well after 6.00 am but I could tell from the sound of the sea and the lack of spray crashing over the top of the rocks that I was in with a chance. I waited for about 20 minutes and watched the swell as the waves sets came in. It was a fairly light sea with the swell below 1.5 metres, but every 15 minutes or so a bigger set of waves would come through and soak everything. As it was just past the dark of the moon the tidal variation was still very big. On the turn of the tide, which had been at around 5.30 am, the swell can also behave erratically – so you always have to keep your eye on it.

I have felt-soled rock fishing boots which I ordered online from Cabelas in the US – http://www.cabelas.com. I currently have the Cabelas Ultralight 2 Felt-soled Wading Boots and I am very happy with them, so far. With the high Australian dollar they are currently reasonably priced at about A$80.00 a pair. They provide excellent grip even on the slimiest surfaces and also provide good ankle support. My last pair lasted about 3 years which I think is pretty good considering the work out I give them.

I started with the heavy rod and loaded up with a 3/8th 2/0 jighead, 30lb fluorocarbon leader and a Gulp Crazylegs Jerkshad soft plastic in the Lime Tiger Colour. I fished around in the pre-sunrise light for a bit, lost a few jigheads to the rocks and copped a soaking from a few waves. It is rarely easy fishing this spot.

As the sun came over the horizon I switched to a GULP 4” Minnow in the Vader colour – which has been successful here before. On the first cast I felt a tug, on the second I had a fish. It was a small Jewfish, about 43cm long. I snapped it and let it go. I peppered the same area with casts and about five minutes later I felt a solid bite. The fish took a bit of line and I thought it was well hooked. I put some pressure on but then the line went slack and it was gone. It was no monster but probably a bit larger than the previous one. Now I was fired up but repeated lure changes could not raise another fish and after an hour I moved further south along the rocks – in the direction of Frasers Reef.

I was now fishing with the GULP 4” Minnow soft plastic in the Vader colour again, still with the same weight jighead and leader. I cast out into the foamy water at the base of the rocks and felt a solid hit. I was probably 4 metres above the water line so I slowly tightened the drag and lifted the fish up onto the rocks – it was another good sized Bream – about 35cm long. The rain and perhaps the dark of the moon seemed to have the big Bream fired up. I continued to fish all along these rocks but could not find anymore and at about 10.00 am I gave up and went in search of breakfast.

Iluka – Shark Bay – 26 March 2012

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Monday

Iluka is pretty much fishing heaven – but even in fishing heaven you still have to deal with the weather. I was up early – way too early. I found myself standing on the beach looking out into the dark at Frasers Reef at about 5.15 am. When I say dark, I mean pitch black. There was virtually no moon and there was plenty of low cloud. There wasn’t much wind, a light south easterly, but I could tell from the sound of the crashing waves, there would be too much swell to fish the rocks safely here.

I walked back to the car and drove along to Shark Bay – a couple of kms to the north. When the wind is blowing and the swell is up you can still fish off the rocky outcrop here. It is sheltered from the big seas by Woody Head. I started with the big rod, the Daiwa 9 foot Demon Blood, a 3/8th oz 3/0 jighead, 30lb leader and 20lb braid. I put on a 5” Gulp Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger colour. I cast out from the rock platform, over the kelp into the foaming water. I almost instantly got snagged. That is the problem in this location. I tried a spinning a 65g raider for a while, but I soon lost that too.

I switched to the lighter rig – a 7’6’ Nitro spinning rod, ¼ oz 2/0 jighead, 12 lb leader and 8lb braid. I put on a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger colour and tried again. It was now about 6.30 am and the sun had just come over the horizon. Low tide had been at about 5.15 am. The lighter jighead pulled through the kelp and got snagged less easily. After a few casts, a fish hit my plastic. It felt pretty solid. I let it take line and then pulled it over the kelp beds with the aid of the swell. It was a good size bream – just over 35cm.

I carried on in this location for another 30 minutes and then moved to the southern side of the rock platform. I stuck with the lighter rod and the same soft plastic. I concentrated on the foamy water, in close to the rocks and after a few casts I had another fish. This one was fighting hard and there were rocks everywhere. I took it slow and let it take line when it needed too. I gradually increased the drag pressure and pulled it towards a gap in the rocks where I could land it. I saw a flash of silver and on the next wave I pulled it on to the rocks. Another Bream – a thumper at just under 40cm.

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I carried on fishing here for another hour. I had a few more hits but could not hook any more fish. Eventually, the tide and swell pushed me off this headland and, as I cleaned the two Bream, the heavens opened and I got soaked. I had managed two good fish in less than ideal conditions – not a bad start to the week.

Iluka – Woody Head – Finally a Snapper – 13 December 2011

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Tuesday

The weather was so miserable the next day that I actually had a lie in. When I say lie in – I mean, I woke up at sunrise, rather than an hour before! The grey skies and rain meant that sunrise was a little hard to pin point. The rain was coming over in regular, but not very heavy showers. By now there had been enough to make the river very dirty. The wind was dropping off so the swell was easing. On Sunday I had walked round to Middle Bluff. It was a clear dawn and initially things looked promising. But as I rigged up a couple of big waves came crashing through and I realized that it was not going to work. Every 20 minutes or so a really massive set would come through and completely soak the rock platform!

By Tuesday I was ready to try again and the swell definitely seemed to have eased. I walked out on to the rocks in front of Woody Head at about 4.45 am, as the sky was beginning to lighten. The swell had dropped right back and there was a very light south easterly breeze. Low tide had been at about 4.30 am. So I had a couple of hours to fish left before the tide started to get too high. I started with 65g Raider metal slug and cast it out, all around the area known as ‘the Barnacles’, on the eastern side of the Woody Head platform. After 25 casts, I had not had a touch so I switched to a 5” Gulp Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger colour. I rigged it on a ½ oz, 3/0 hook jighead. I was fishing with my heavy rod – the 9’6” Daiwa Demon Blood with 30lb braid and a 30lb fluorocarbon leader on the Shimano Stradic 6000 reel. I could not find any fish here and the swell was still giving me a soaking every now and then, so I moved south, along the front of the rock platform. I cast wherever I could and, predictably lost plenty of jigheads to the rocks.

I stopped for a while at an area known as the ‘Jew hole’ and swapped down to a shorter GULP 4” Minnow soft plastic in the Pearl Watermelon colour. I was trying to put something out that was more similar to the Whitebait that I knew were everywhere. This got results almost instantly with a couple of solid bites and then a good run but no hook up. About ten minutes later I had a fish on, it was another Salmon and after a couple of jumps and a brief fight it shook itself off the hook.

I moved further south and rigged up a GULP 5” Crazylegs Jerkshad soft plastic in the Curry Chicken colour. I was still using the ½ oz, 3/0 jighead. I started to cast out as far as I could, to give the lure plenty of time on the bottom before it got washed in to the rocks. I felt a couple of grabs at the base of the rocks and then a solid bite but still no hook up. It was almost time to go and the swell was picking up again after the calm around dawn. I put in a long cast and counted to twenty. When I lifted the rod I felt a bit of resistance and then all hell broke loose and the reel was screaming. There was a long initial run, out to sea – and then it turned back towards the rocks and I had to wind hard to keep up. It was too fast for a Jew but not mad enough to be a Salmon or a Tailor.

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It gradually slowed and after a few more runs, I tightened the drag and got it up on a ledge below with the help of the swell. Luckily it wedged itself into the rocks and did not wash back out with the receding wave. I looked to see what was coming and then slid down slowly, grabbed the leader and pulled it up. It was a good size Snapper – 3.8kg and somewhere between 60 and 70cm long. I was delighted. After almost a week of pretty mediocre weather and limited fishing opportunities I was holding the biggest Snapper I have ever caught. I am told they are often caught off this platform on fresh squid baits and early morning is always the most successful time.

That was enough for one day and with my heart still racing, knees wobbling and hands shaking. I gathered up my gear and walked back, noisily, through the camp site.

Iluka – The Harbour wall – 9 December 2011

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Friday

The sea was too angry at Frazers Reef

I woke early to a very damp morning. There had been heavy rain during the night and I hoped it might have dampened the wind. I drove round to Frazer’s Reef, hoping to have a look for some Jewfish, from the rocks in that area. I stepped out on to the beach by the carpark and was greeted by a very angry sea. I gave up and drove down to the Iluka rockwall where the swell was also too lively to fish.

Still too much swell to fish the Iluka rock wall

I decided to give the Iluka harbour a try with a light spin rod and some soft plastic lures. It was now a couple of hours after dawn and the tide would be high around 8.00 am. I was fishing along the northern stretch of the rock wall that separates the harbour from the Clarence River. The water in the harbour was a dark, tea-tree stained colour but still clear and as the tide was running in strongly, the water on the river side was also quite clean.

The rock wall around the boat harbour

There were lots of Mullet in the shallows

Sometimes there are good Flathead in this corner - close to the wall

Small fish with a big appetite

I started with an almost see through Powerbait Minnow on a 1/8th oz, 1/0 hook jighead. This yielded a tiny Moses Perch and a 30 cm Flathead. There were a few good size mullet schools cruising up and down and a couple of dolphins came through the harbour entrance to chase them around. I swapped to a GULP 4” Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour. I walked along the rockwall casting into both the Clarence River and the harbour.

A small Flathead from inside the Harbour

Another small Flathead - this time from the Clarence River

After another hour, I had caught two more small Flathead – too small to keep. I tried a couple of hard bodied, sinking vibe lures – which produced nothing. I switched back to the soft plastic lures and finally caught a Flathead that was just over 40cm long. One small Flathead would not feed us, so I released it. At about 9.30 am I gave up. There was still nothing for dinner.

Iluka – Woody Head – More Salmon – 7 December 2011

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Wednesday

Wednesday morning was windy again – a light south-easterly with squalling showers. I walked round to the rocks on the eastern side of Woody Head, at day break but the swell was still sending big sets crashing over the top.

I gave up on the mornings fishing and drove off into Maclean for breakfast and a chat with the helpful folk at Big River Bait & Tackle. They confirmed the presence of a few Jewfish around the rocks but also pointed out the weather would be my biggest obstacle for the next week.

I drove back to Iluka to find the birds working, out in the calm waters off Woody Bay. They were staying too far off shore initially, but gradually through the afternoon, they moved closer in. The netters showed up on the beach at about 2.00 pm and as the whitebait came closer to the shore, they rowed out with a long net to encircle them. They clearly got a good haul as it was too heavy to pull up on the beach. They dragged it along through the water, back to the boat ramp. Then they winched the bulging net up.

The commercial netters row out their net

Another decent Salmon from the Woody Head Beach

Two more Woody Head Salmon

By about 2.30 pm the birds had followed another school in close enough to cast at and a group of beach fisherman had come down to try and catch a few. Suddenly the Salmon started to bash into the school, sending Whitebait flying everywhere. I put on a HALCO 65g Twisty and fired a cast over the boiling water. After a couple of cranks I had a fish on. It was another solid Australian Salmon which put on a great display of acrobatics. As I landed it I saw my son was stuck into another but was turning into hard work as he only had my light Nitro 6’6” spin rod. All along the beach the kids were hooking up. The fish destroyed plenty of gear, but the patient fishermen eventually landed a few decent sized Salmon. My son got his after an epic battle. The fish had grabbed a GULP 4” Pearl Watermelon Minnow soft plastic, attached to a 10lb leader. It was just under 50cm.

Australian Salmon on the light rig

A few more casts with the HALCO Twisty failed to hook up so I decided to try out some of the bigger DUO lures I had brought with me. The first one that had been calling to me from the tackle box, is called the DUO Tide Vib Slim. It is a 32g, 140 mm sinking Vibe lure. Once again, it is a beautifully engineered lure with a very high quality finish. It is comparatively light for its length but has a great action. Although it is very slim it still contains a decent internal rattle. I think this will prove to be big hit with the pelagic species – especially Tuna. I had it in the Qantas colours – red head with a white body. I cast it about fifteen metres off shore and played around until I found what I considered was the ideal retrieve speed – which was fairly slow. I was using the Daiwa Demon Blood rock/ beach rod with a 30lb fluorocarbon leader.

This one fell for the DUO Tide Vib Slim

Tide Vib Slim - weighting system

The Qantas colours often work well - DUO Tide Vib Slim

It did not take long to catch a fish – on the fourth cast a Salmon knocked it out of the water and then lunged at it again and was hooked. It took plenty of line on a very determined initial run and then put in a few leaps and rolls but eventually, I had it safely on the beach. It was a bit over 60cm long.

I caught two more with this lure and then things went quiet again. The soft plastics were still catching fish but I decided to try out another DUO hard bodied lure – the Tide Minnow 105LD. The Tide Minnow is one of their long established best sellers in Japan. It is also used extensively in Europe to target Sea Bass. It looks like a fairly standard sinking minnow but its internal ball bearing weighting system means it casts like a rocket. Consistently with the rest of the range, it is finished to a very high standard. I had it in a shiny purple colour with a dark underbody. It finds it rhythm easily in the surf and it has a rolling body with a wiggling tail action. The fish were thick and did not have to wait long. After about five casts another Salmon slammed the lure just a few metres from the shore. I landed it and cast out a few more times and then, bang I was on to another fish. This one was a little larger and took longer to subdue, but eventually I got him up the beach.

I should point out that these DUO lures have been provided to me at no cost to test drive but as with all freebies, I will only write them up positively if they catch fish. So far the DUO range have delivered fish for me and so I am happy to recommend them. If you want to know more about them contact Steve at http://www.swldistributions.com.au

Australian Salmon on DUO Tide Minnow

Australian Salmon on Tide Vibe Minnow

Another Salmon grabs the DUO Tide Minnow


Suddenly, after an hour or so of mayhem, the fish were gone. The birds were still circling and occasionally diving for the odd, wounded Whitebait, but the Salmon had moved on or stopped eating. It had been a great session and over the course of an hour I had witnessed five guys catch about 25 Australian Salmon between them and lose plenty more. They may be awful to eat but they are great fun to catch.

Iluka – Woody Head – Wild weather and Australian Salmon – 6 December 2011

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I am just back from a week of land based rock and beach fishing at Woody Head, in the Bundjalong National Park, just north of the town of Iluka, in Northern New South Wales. As is often the case here, the weather made the fishing pretty tough. Heavy rain freshened the mighty Clarence River and big seas, wind and swells conspired to limit access to the best fishing platforms. But there were some good sessions and some good fish.

To the north-west of the Woody Head rock platform there is a sheltered bay that remains calm in all but the biggest gales. On the afternoon of our second day, there was a light northerly breeze blowing and the tide was running in. There was a heavy swell crashing on the rocks to the south, but the bay was calm. It had been raining, on and off, all day and the water was murky and the sky, overcast. The birds were working furiously, diving into bait schools close to the shore. Just on dusk, I walked down to the beach with my heavy outfit – Daiwa 9’6’ Demon Blood rod, Shimano Stradic 6000 spinning reel loaded with 30lb braid and 30lb fluorocarbon leader. I tied on a 45g silver HALCO Twisty slug and cast it about 25 metres, towards the diving birds. After a couple of casts – bang – and line starts peeling. It was a solid fish and then it leapt clear of the water – an Australian Salmon. It did a couple of tail walks and even with the heavy rod, it was hard to subdue. I eventually got it to the beach and it immediately started spitting out mouthfuls small whitebait/anchovies (not actually sure which). This was clearly what had attracted the birds.

A 50cm Australian Salmon at Woody Head

It grabbed a 45g Halco Twisty metal slug - and spat up some Whitebait

It was now dark and raining so, after a few pictures, I released the fish and went to dry off. I have never been able to make these fish taste good, so I have given up keeping them for the table. It may not have been dinner but it was a great fish to open the account.

Woody Head – “The Barnacles’ – Bream – 27 June 2011

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Monday

Monday morning was my last session, land-based fishing at Woody Head. The weather had improved and we had clear skies and no swell. I started fishing around 9.30 am at ‘the Barnacles’ area, again. Low tide would be around 11.30 am.

The first cast produced a small Trevally, who fell for the GULP 4” Minnow soft plastic in the Lime Tiger colour. I then caught a few snags and then a small Bream. Over the next hour or so I caught six or seven more Bream – all between 25 and 35cm.

I moved all along the front of the rock platform, casting at any fishy looking water. There were plenty of people around – taking advantage of the excellent conditions. One guy had caught a nice looking 50cm Tailor on a slug. It was the only Tailor I had seen caught in the whole weekend. Further along I saw another fisherman with a 50cm school jewfish, which he caught on some fresh mullet strips.

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I caught more Bream as I walked along the rocks, down to the area at the southern end of the platform, known as ‘Mossies’. I caught more fish on the smaller 3” GULP minnows on light jigheads – 1/6th and 1/8th oz. Another fisherman was catching plenty of Bream on unweighted squid pieces.

By about 12.30pm it was time to go. It had been another great few days of land-based fishing, from the rocks in Northern New South Wales. The big Jewfish had been the highlight but there were plenty of Trevally and Bream, as well. I had not been fishing at dawn, but I was a little surprised by the lack of Tailor – maybe next time.

Iluka – Woody Head – Golden Trevally & Bream 26 June 2011

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Sunday

Sunday morning was slightly less grey and cold. I arrived at ‘the Barnacles’ on the Woody Head rock platform around 9.00 am. The wind was a little stronger than the day before, but had swung round to blow from the north-west. Low tide would be around 11.00 am. The swell was under a metre.

I started with a GULP Crazy Legs Jerkshad soft plastic in the Pink Neon colour. I had it rigged on 3/8 oz 3/0 jighead. First cast and bang, a fish grabbed it, as I was about to lift it out of the water, just at the edge of the rock shelf. I ran up and down the ledge a couple of times and then I lifted it over the edge with a surge of water. It was a Trevally, around 40cm long. It had tea coloured flecks all over it – so I suppose it was a tea leaf Trevally.

The plastic was smashed so I bit the head off and loaded it back on to the jighead. A few more casts and I was snagged. I pulled the rod slowly backwards in a straight line until the leader and jighead separated. Fishing these ledges is expensive. The fish are always very close in so you get snagged in the rocks regularly. I put another plastic on, cast out and a fish hit it a couple of times on the retrieve. On the next retrieve in the same spot – bang – zzzzzzzzzz as a fish grabbed it. After a few runs it washed up at my feet and I could see it was a Golden Trevally – about 50cm long. A couple of casts later I caught another about the same size.

I fished on for an hour or so and caught a few good Brea, between 28cm and 35cm – on a range of GULP soft plastics, both big and small. The Bream were a consistent catch all along the rocks and I think they are all schooling up to spawn now. I gave up as the tide started to run back in again at lunch time. It had been another great land based fishing session, off the rocks at Woody Head.

Golden Trevally on a minnow soft plastic
Tea Leaf Trevally on a Gulp Crazylegs soft plastic
The Bream like the big soft plastics too
Another Golden Trevally