Tag Archives: DUO Tetraworks Bivi

1770 – Eurimbula Creek – 6 May 2013

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Monday

Where did the weather come from? I had checked the forecast before I left Brisbane and apart from a bit of south-easterly wind there was virtually no rain forecast for the week. I woke up on Sunday night to a massive rain storm at 1770. By dawn on Monday the rain was pouring down and the wind was blowing 20 knots from the south-east.

At about 10.00 am I went for a drive down towards 1770 to try and fish the north, sheltered side of the headland. I parked by the Captain Cook monument and walked down the water’s edge. The water was already brown and muddy after all the rain and the tide was about half way through the run out. I fished for 30 minutes and then another heavy shower came over and soaked me so I gave up.

I dried off and drove back out of Agnes Water and down the track to the mouth Eurimbula Creek. This area is pretty flat and there was plenty of water over the road at various spots along the route. A few hours of solid rain and the drains and creeks soon fill up. I got through alright and parked at the edge of the camp ground. Unsurprisingly there were no campers around.

The sky looked ominous but it had briefly stopped raining. Eurimbula Creek mouth is also a bit sheltered from a south-easterly. The water was just as dirty as Round Hill Creek and the tide was still running out. As the tide drops it reveals a steep mangrove lined bank on the south side of the creek mouth. This is great fish holding structure but it is a little difficult to get to and fish from. The tide runs out fast creating some good eddies around the fallen trees and mangrove roots.

Round Hill Creek – Plenty of rain
A grumpy trevally
Does not matter how you hook them
Wild weather at Eurimbula Creek
Difficult to cast amongst the mangroves
Lots of fishy structure
One small bream late in the day

I fished with a few different soft plastics – bright colours, natural colours, paddle tails, shrimps and minnows. I had a few bites and whenever I pulled a lure in, it was surrounded by bait but I did not catch anything.

I swapped to a DUO Tetraworks Bivi, a small sinking vibe lure and hoped the vibrations might stir the fish up. There had been a few surface bust ups, so there were some fish around. The DUO Bivi weighs 3.8 grams and 40mm long. It casts like a bullet and has a great action. I cast it out, up-stream towards the far bank and let it sink. I then hopped it along the bottom with the current and tried to swim it as close to the snags as I could. I repeated this a few times and felt a few bumps. After about 20 minutes of fishing this lure, it was smashed close to the snags. Fortunately the fish took off towards the middle of the stream. I was fishing with the light spin rod so I did not have much power. The fish used the current and felt decent. After a little bit of back and forth, I pulled a trevally up the sandy bank. It was hooked through the tail.

That was it for the day – the rain came pouring down again and I headed home.

Bribie Island – The bridge and surrounds – 5 June 2012

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Tuesday

I was back on local turf and although the wind did not look promising at least the rain was holding off. At 4.30 am I set off for Bribie Island to see if I could find some Flathead. Looking back over the blog and my fishing diaries, May to October have produced by far the best catches of Flathead for me. I have been busy with other things this year, so I hardly fished in April and May and I am planning to make up for it in June / July.

I started under the bridge on the mainland side with my light spin rod and reel: Loomis GL2 and Shimano Stella 2500. I was using 6lb braid and a 12lb fluorocarbon leader. I started with a 1/8th 1/0 jighead and a GULP 4” Minnow soft plastic in the Smelt colour.

It was about 5.15 am and the tide was just starting to build up momentum for the run out. There were a few jumps on the surface under the lights. I cast at them and felt the odd bump and grab, as the smaller fish made their inquiries. I caught a small pike that jumped clear of the water to grab the plastic. Then I got snagged on the small piece of reef just south of the bridge, so I decided to give the small DUO Tetraworks Bivi vibe lure a try. I picked an orange coloured model and tied it on. I love this lure. It has a great action at low speed and a good profile. Fish will often grab it as it is paused on the bottom. In this terrain I had to keep it moving or I would lose it to the rocks. After a few casts, it did the trick – a tiny Flathead grabbed it, just to the north of the bridge. I got rid of the fish and carried on. I caught a few more Pike but could not find a better fish.

After about 30 minutes of peppering the area with casts, I moved across to the other side of the bridge and had a fish around the lights. The tide was running in now but the wind was blowing all the weed and debris across into this area, so it was difficult to fish with the Bivi lure. There is now a nice ridge in the sandbank along here and some good weedy patches. There are nearly always Pike along here and I caught a couple. Then a small Whiting grabbed the Bivi lure – there was no shortage of variety.

As the sun came up I moved down to the sandy drain in front of the Seaside Museum, towards Bongaree. I fished along the edge of the tea tree stained water that was running out of the drain. I had been monstered by a big fish here, a few weeks ago. It had grabbed a big plastic (Jerkshad) and taken off. I only had the light rod and could not subdue it. Today, I started with the DUO Tetraworks Bivi and, after a few casts it produced another fish. Unfortunately, it was another tiny Flathead. I swapped back to a GULP Jerkshad soft plastic in the Satay Chicken colour. I cast around, gradually moving to the south, along the drop off. I felt a few bites and lost the tail from the Jerkshad. I swapped down to a GULP3” Minnow in the Nuclear Chicken colour and something grabbed it on the first cast. It was another small fish and I could tell by the mad headshakes it was a Tailor.

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The water was now too deep to fish along here. I stopped for a chat with Colin – who always has his finger on the Bribie fishing pulse and he brought me up to date on what is biting where. It is good to know someone is keeping the Flathead on their toes. There have also been a few bigger Tailor and the occasional Jewfish around. As the water temperature drops there should be a few more Tailor.

By now, the wind was up but I was too cold. I went off to find a hot cup of coffee. It was a beautiful, if breezy day and the massive full moon had been clearly visible all morning. Nothing for dinner though! I think I am paying the price for not putting in the hours – fishing can be a hard taskmaster.

Caloundra – Power Boat Club & Diamond Head – 3 May 2012

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Thursday

I was back on home turf and decided Caloundra was the best bet for Thursday morning. It’s getting a bit colder but the bonus is that you don’t have to get up quite so early to fish the dawn.

I arrived in front of the Power Boat Club at about 6.00 am, just after first light. High tide had been at 5.20 am and it was close to full moon. Light south easterly winds were forecast but around dawn the water was completely flat.

I was fishing with my Loomis GL2 light spin rod and Shimano Stella 2500, now loaded with 6lb braid and a 10lb fluorocarbon leader. The water temperature feels like it has dropped considerably since I was last fishing up here, a few weeks ago.

It was a fairly crisp sunrise on Thursday

It was a fairly crisp sunrise on Thursday

I started with a GULP Jerkshad in the Curry Chicken colour on a 1/8th 1/0 jighead. There were a few schools of bait in close to the shore and these scattered as I pulled the plastic through them. Sometimes they would scatter in all directions but I could not get a bite. I swapped to a 2” GULP Shrimp in the Banana Prawn colour. I worked the plastic along the edge of the weed beds and just after 7.00am, I came up tight on a small Flathead – just under 40cm long.
I tried a small DUO Tetraworks Bivi vibe lure for a while and I felt a few hits but could not hook anything. I swapped back to a GULP Shrimp in the Peppered Prawn Colour and caught another Flathead that was just too small.

The GULP Shrimp got them going today

The GULP Shrimp got them going today

I gave up and drove down to the flats in front of Diamond Head. I waded out to the weed beds and started to cast around. The water was running out fast and it had turned pretty dirty. I think there must have been some pretty heavy localized rain over night.

Angry Flathead - Caloundra

Angry Flathead – Caloundra

Another small Flathead slammed the GULP Shrimp. I pulled it in. This one was just over 40cm, but one fish would not feed my mob so I let it go. With no more action I packed up at about 9.30 am went back to the car.

They were all just the wrong side of 40cm

Maundy Thursday – Caloundra – Golden Beach – 5 April 2012

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Maundy Thursday

Rain, wind, swell, wind, swell – well at least the rain seems to have moved on, but the wind and swell look like they will be sticking around for the whole of Easter. Unfortunately that means that we keen fisherman are all herded in to the few sheltered stretches of estuary that exist along the coast. There are a lot of people looking to wet a line or put the boat, jetski, kayak, dinghy in the water over this weekend and the next one.

My tip for increasing you chances of catching something – start early. Fortunately not everyone is willing to get up in the middle of the night to catch a fish. Most people don’t consider a 4.00 am start relaxing! This means the water is less likely to have been disturbed before you get to it and also means you usually get to fish the calmest few hours of the day – around sunrise.

With all this in mind I set off for Caloundra at about 4.30 am on Thursday morning. It was full moon so it would be a big high tide at around 8.15am. When I arrived, the wind was already starting to rustle the trees and cast a ripple on the surface of the Pumicestone Passage. It has been a while since I have fished here. The water was considerably cooler but much clearer on the top of the tide.

DUO, the Japanese lure manufacturer has sent me some more lures to try out, including the Tetraworks Bivi in a few more colours. This a great lure that has caught a few Flathead for me and with the cooler weather on the horizon, I am sure it will also prove to be a great Bream lure.

It is a hollow body microvibe lure and the colour I was using today was almost black with some rainbow colouring. It is a sinking lure, 3.8 grams and 40mm long. I was back to fishing with my lightest spin rod and reel combo – the Loomis GL2 with a Shimano Stella 2500 reel. I had the reel loaded with 8lb braid and 10lb fluorocarbon leader.

DUO TETRAWORKS BIVI - Great lure in this darker colour


I started on the sand flats in front of the Caloundra Powerboat Club. The tide was still coming in. I cast all around the area of weed banks that line the edge of the various channels, where the boats are moored. It wasn’t long before I felt a nudge and then a solid hit. I was on to a fish. It took a bit of line and it was moving quite fast. It was a decent Bream – perhaps just under 30cm, but it was only just hooked. I started back towards the shore but just as I got a good look at it – it wriggled free and was gone.

Small Flathead - big soft plastic


I trudged back to the weed beds and carried on peppering the area with casts. About 10 mins later I had another solid knock – so I let the lure drop back down. When I lifted it I had a fish on. It was a small Flathead just under legal size. I took a few pictures and released it. A few cast later I hooked up with a bigger one – but again it wriggled free before I could walk it back to shore.

I decided to swap to a soft plastic and put on a GULP 4” Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour. This worked but again the fish was too small. I carried on until around 9.15 am but by then the wind was howling again so I gave up.

Caloundra - Pelicans

A big Bribie Mother – the old Oyster Farm Jetty and Bongaree – 2 February 2012

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Thursday

I could start early on Thursday morning and be fishing on the top of the incoming tide which coincided with dawn, at about 5.30 am at Bribie Island. I started on the mainland side of the Bribie Bridge at about 4.45am.

Just as I waded out into the shallows it started raining. I sheltered under the bridge. The water was not really running in either direction. I started with a 3” Minnow soft plastic in the Pearl Watermelon colour. The fishing had been tough the day before so I stuck with the very light, 8lb fluorocarbon leader. I rigged the plastic on a 1/8th 1/0 jighead. I cast around under the bridge lights for about 15 minutes. There were a few surface bust ups and every so often a Pike would jump out of the water.
The rain stopped and I moved a few metres south of the bridge and cast underneath it. I felt a good solid crunch and paused – then lifted the rod and I had a good Flathead. I walked it back to shore – a 55cm fish – good start.

I waded down toward the old Oyster Jetty, casting all around as I went. I passed under the jetty and just south of it I paused to have a few casts, close to the Mangroves. I have often seen some big Flathead ‘lies’ in this area, surprisingly close to the tree line. They must come up to very shallow water on the bigger high tides. It is tricky to fish this area. There is a big rocky patch next to the jetty, that starts about five metres from the high water mark so you can easily get snagged.

I cast out beyond the rocks and slowly retrieved the soft plastic. It stopped abruptly and felt like it had hit a rock. Then it slowly started moving again, but there was tension on the line. Then zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz pause zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz pause zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I did not have the drag very tight but this was clearly a big fish. I was only fishing 8lb leader so patience would be the key. First I waded out over the rocks, so that they would not pose a problem. Then I tightened the drag a little. There was another long run and by now the fish was about 50 to 60 metres away heading for the rocks, opposite the end of the Oyster Jetty. I tightened the drag again and started winding faster. The fish slowed and I turned its head and started pulling it towards me. I moved south, away from the rocks near the shore and looked for a gap in the Mangroves. There were a few more runs as the fish came into shallow water. I dropped the rod tip down under the water to make sure I did not pull the fishes head up. A couple of headshakes would probably snap the leader at this stage. Then I slowed everything down. I did not want to pull this fish up on to the shore until it was played out. I kept the tension on but I let it cruise around while I found a nice sandy run up to the shore. Then I tightened the drag once more and slowly moved towards the shore. When I was a couple of metres away I reached down and grabbed the leader. With one long slow pull I pulled the fish onto the shore.

The leader snapped as soon as it had to move the whole weight of the fish, but by then she was on the shore. A beautiful Flathead, just on 75 cm long. I released her after a quick measure and a few snaps and she swam away, ok. A great fish.

It started to rain again, I went and had a cup of coffee to settle my shaking hands. When the sun came out again, I drove down Bongaree and decided to fish the mouth of the drain opposite the new museum. The Japanese lure company DUO have sent me another box of goodies to try out and I picked out one that has been very successful on Flathead – the TETRAWORKS BIVI. It is a 3.8g bibless sinking vibe lure with a very tight vibration action. I chose the orange/ bronze colour. I stuck with the 8lb leader and started working the lure over the sand bank that is on the south side of the drain. I work this lure so that it moves along for about a metre then drops to the bottom. Then I pause for a few seconds and do the same again. After a few casts I caught a really tiny Tarwhine ( 10cm). I moved a bit further out and started casting at the area where the drain runs out over the coffe rock ledge, which forms the edge of the main channel. A fish struck just after a pause in the retrieve. It immediately broke the surface and started shaking its head – it was another Flathead. It was safely hooked and I got it to the shore. It was another good sized fish – just under 60cm.

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That was enough for one day and I headed home. It had been the best fishing session for some time. If you are interested in knowing more about the DUO range and where you can find them, please contact sales@swldistributions.com.au.

Caloundra – Some new ground and a new lure – 1 November 2011

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Tuesday

I started early and I could see from the rustling trees that the strong southerly wind had not really dropped off. I set off at 3.30 am, from Brisbane, arriving at Caloundra at about 4.30 am. My trip up here last week had got me interested in the land-based fishing opportunities at this end of the Pumicestone Passage, so I was back to do a little more exploring.

Low tide would be at 7.20 am, with first light just before 5.00 am. The low tide would be better for establishing where the possible fish hiding places would be. I was looking for the rock bars, sand banks and sea grass beds.

I started at the far northern end of the Passage, where it runs out into the ocean. The Caloundra side of the mouth has lots of exposed rocks at low tide. It has a few shallow tidal lagoons, that you need to cross to reach the main channel, nearer to the northern tip of Bribie Island. The water was running out much too fast to fish the main channel.

At about 4.45 am I started casting a 4” GULP Pearl Watermelon Minnow soft plastic lure, on a 1/8th 1/0 jighead back, against the run out tide and then retrieving it along the sandy bottom, close to the submerged and semi-submerged rocks. I could not stop for long as the plastic would get wedged into the rocks by the quick running water. I lost of few jigheads, but that is the price of exploration. I moved a bit further out on to the sandy area and cast into the eddies, where the water had slowed down a little. This paid off and suddenly I felt the solid thud of a Flathead. I paused and forced myself to count to ten, then I struck. I had hooked it and played an angry fish back to the shoreline, It was a 63cm Flathead. As it grew gloomier and the wind picked up, the sky started to spit big splashing rain drops. I decided to wade back to the car and wait until the squall blew over.

It only took about 10 minutes and then I was back out on the rocks, this time I put on a GULP 3” Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour. I moved back along the Pumicestone Passage in the direction of Golden Beach. I was casting around in the shallow water – about 20 cm to 1 metre deep. Every now and then, I would lose a jig head to a patch of rock. I gradually found patches of smaller Flathead and caught 5 fish that were about 35cm long, over the next hour.

Another shower threatened so I decided to move round to the sand flats, just north of the Power Boat Club – near Golden Beach. The rain had passed by the time I arrived. Just in front of the club there a few clumps of sea grass, in a line, about 25 metres from the shore. The tide was now running in and the water was beginning to cover them. I waded out and cast all around them. I was using the 4” Pearl Watermelon Minnow soft plastic on a 1/8th 1/0 jighead and 12lb fluorocarbon leader. I soon caught another fish – a Flathead about 55 cm long. It was lying a metre off the weed beds in about 40cm of water.

The best fish of the day was caught pre-dawn
Caloundra – this is where I found the fish this morning
This area produced plenty of Flathead today
A small, early morning Flathead
There were plenty of 35cm Flathead around the rocks
This one grabbed a Lime Tiger Minnow
FInd the seagrass beds and the Flathead are usually close by
The DUO Tetraworks Bivi – vibe lure – 3.8 grams and loads of action
My first fish on the DUO Tetraworks Bivi lure – a Flathead at Caloundra
The Bivi has a great profile
The Bivi lure lodged nicely in the corner of the mouth
The DUO Tetraworks Bivi – this was an excellent colour choice in the clear water

Those of you who are regular readers will know that I am hopelessly addicted to soft plastic lures, but I also fish with blades and, more recently, with hard bodied lures. A nice gentleman from DUO Lures in Japan recently asked if I would try some of their products and I agreed. I explained my usual rules which are – if I have been given something for free, to try out, I let my readers know and I will also let them know how the try out goes, good or bad. He was happy with that and confident that his products would catch fish.

He sent me a few lures and I particularly liked the look of one called the TETRAWORKS BIVI. It is basically a nicely weighted 3.8g resin blade. It has a bit more substance than a metal blade but seems to retain the traditional vibe action. As I now knew there were fish in the area, I decided I would give it a try. The colour was a semi-transparent silver on top and a bright yellow underneath. It looked good in the clear water and skittered nicely over the sandy bottom.

I decide I would give it 30 minutes to prove itself. I waded along the weed beds casting all around and trying a few different retrieves. There was a still a bit of sea grass floating around and the wind was now blowing strongly from the south east, but I kept the lure in the water and it did not get clogged up very often. After about 20 minutes I felt a bit of resistance. I thought it might be a clump of weed but then the line went taught and there was some furious splashing. It was another good Flathead about 60 cm long. When I landed it, I saw the lure had got a good grip through the corner of the fishes mouth. So full marks to DUO for this one – you can have a look at the range on their website http://www.duo-inc.co.jp/en/ and now I know they work, I will find out who supplies them in Australia and let you know.