Tag Archives: fishing

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – January 2025

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The excellent mulloway fishing around Iluka continued in January 2025.

In early January the weather was kind and I had a few great morning sessions fishing the rock ledges at Woody Head. The new moon had appeared on New Years Eve and I caught several solid 70 cm plus mulloway / jewfish and plenty of smaller fish in the days following.

On the 5th of January low tide was at about 5:30 am. Sunrise was at 4:59 am.  It was five days after the new moon. There was a light south westerly breeze and about a metre of swell. I did not have any luck fishing with a soft plastic through first light. So just before dawn I swapped to a hard bodied minnow. After a couple of casts I foul hooked a tailor.

I moved along the ledge and cast through a few different spots with a couple of hits from small tailor.

At about 6.15 am I swapped back to a big Gulp 7″ Crazylegs Jerkshad in the orange bellied shrimp colour that I loaded onto a 22 gram jighead. I was fishing with my Daiwa Saltist X MH962 rod and Saltist 10000 reel, 50 lb fluorocarbon leader and 40lb braid.

I let the lure settle on the bottom, a few feet from the base of the ledge. I counted to twenty, letting the soft plastic flail a little in the current and hoping it wouldn’t get snagged. As I went to give it a hop off the bottom, I felt a solid thud. I paused for maybe three seconds,  then struck hard. The rod bent over and I felt the initial weight of a good sized fish before it started stripping line on its first run. It went straight under the ledge and the leader was immediately rubbing. I kept the line tight but eased off on the rod pressure slightly and looked at the swell. As the wave came in I dropped the rod tip for a moment then heaved it back up as the wave sucked the water back out. Fortunately the fish came out with it.

It was heavy and made a few powerful short lunges. I loosened the drag just a little and looked for a landing spot. I had to use the swell but a good set would be strong enough to push it up to the next level of ledge below me. This rod could subdue it but not lift it. I waited and kept its head out of the cunjevoi covered rocks. A big set started to roll in . I was going to get wet. I tightened the drag and kept in contact with the fish as the wave lifted it straight past me, up onto the rocks. I grabbed the leader to stop it washing back in.

I had landed my personal best Mulloway that weighed in at 17.6 kg.

There were plenty of whitebait on the headlands and I caught tailor on just about every lure in the tackle box. I also found a few good sized dart and trevally.It was a great start to the year.

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – December 2024

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During 2024 I had caught record numbers of mulloway while fishing in the Clarence River and out on the headlands of the Bundjalung National Park at Iluka. I presume over the years I have got better at finding them and landing them, but I have no doubt that the population is as healthy as it’s been since I started fishing in this area 20+ years ago.

I have consistently caught many juvenile jewfish up river as far as Maclean. I have also had many rock fishing sessions where I caught and released more than twenty mulloway. I find that if they are given some time to recover from the trauma of the fight, in a freshly filled rockpool, the vast majority of smaller fish I catch swim away looking pretty fit.

I attach a link to a full gallery of most of the jewfish/mulloway I caught in December. I took a measured photo whenever possible during the month . I estimate I caught approximately 10 more ( eight under legal size, and two over) that I de-hooked and immediately released. So in the month I estimate I caught 32 mulloway of which six where over 70 cm long. I also tangled with at least four fish that I could not stop, most of which I also suspect were mulloway.

View the full gallery via this link https://photos.app.goo.gl/GYcDyZqV8MaovbKG9

The tailor were always hanging around the headlands, wherever there was plenty of bait. I had several great sessions where they would hit anything I tied on. The biggest fish were about 50 cm long. As usual, I had my most consistent sessions in the half hour between first light and sunrise.

When the swell was too big to fish the rocks I focused on wading the flats and fishing the rockwalls of the Clarence River. The bream fishing was excellent as it had been for months. I caught bream around all the usual drop offs especially when I dropped down to fishing two and three inch minnow/ shrimp pattern soft plastics on 1/8th ounce, size two hook jigheads. I was generally fishing 8lb braid and 10lb fluorocarbon leader.

I found plenty of flathead in the river fishing mainly with GULP soft plastics. Some of my favourite colours and shapes have now been retired, so I am rationing my remaining favourites.

December was a great month with all species plentiful in the Clarence River. The prawn trawlers made a brief appearance in the river for a few days and then gave up. Although the local river prawn population is declared to have ‘White Spot’, the river trawlers are allowed to work if they cook their catch immediately, on board. ‘White Spot” is not harmful to humans. Previously the river trawlers sold their green prawns almost exclusively for bait. Given the plentiful supply and price of fresh ocean king prawns (they are quite often $20/ kg or less) it seems difficult to believe that they could make any money dragging up two inch school prawns from the river and selling them for $10/ kg but perhaps they like giving the trawlers a run, every now and then.

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – November 2024

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Sea surface temperature was about 24 Celsius through most of November 2024, well above the long term average of around 20 Celsius.

The weather was kind with not too much rain and light seas. This meant I was able to fish the rocks on both the full and new moons. There was a new moon on the 1st and another new moon on the 30th with a full moon on the 16th, in between the two.

I caught plenty of tailor through the month. They would often destroy my soft plastic when I was trying to catch a jewfish. They were generally quite big, ranging between 45 cm and 60 cm. When I swapped my lure to a big surface popper or garfish shaped stickbait, I tended to catch bigger fish.

I also caught plenty of jewfish (approximately 35 over about six sessions on the headlands). I usually found them when I was fishing close in to the base of the rocks with big GULP soft plastics. I was set up with 50 lb fluorocarbon leader down to 1/2 ounce or 3/8th ounce jigheads, depending on the amount of swell. I used to favor using the lightest jigheads possible but I have recently been fishing heavier to make sure my soft plastics hit the bottom fairly quickly. When things are slow/tuff I often go lighter with both jigheads and leader, to get the strike.

The best jewfish / mulloway fishing session was on the 5th, just a few days after the new moon. I caught three keeper size (all over 75 cm) and 5 smaller ones. I caught the two bigger fish in quick succession, about an hour after low tide.

I caught a few smaller jewfish around the drop offs in the river. The trevally were also marauding around, particularly at dusk and dawn. As ever, I also caught flathead and bream too.

November had been another great fishing month on the Clarence River at Iluka.

Iluka – Jerusalem Creek mouth, the Bundjalung Headlands and the Clarence River – October 2024

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The weather in the Clarence Valley was great in October. Temperature and rainfall sat almost exactly on the 100 year average. Spring had definitely sprung. The river was clear and I caught flathead, bream, flounder, jewfish and a few trevally and small tailor. The bream were voracious, hitting all types of bait and lures. The flathead were harder to find and seemed to have followed the bait down into the deeper holes and channels. The big flock of black cormorants scoured the river every morning looking for the small bait or prawns.

When the swell was up I decided to go and explore some other fishing spots. I drove further to the north in the Bundjalung National Park and hiked out to the mouth of Jerusalem Creek. This is a shallow tidal creek system that runs out into the ocean a few kilometers north of the National Park run Black Rocks camping area. There is a well marked track that you can walk down to reach it. The track runs along the creek for almost it’s entire length and there are plenty of spots where you can walk along casting.

I fished with my ultra light spin combo which is currently a Daiwa Presso 22 562 ULRS trout rod matched with a Daiwa TD Sol LT III 2500 reel. I was using PE0.8 braided line down to a 10 lb fluorocarbon leader and 1/8th ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead. I love the super fast action of these trout rods have. You can feel every touch, bite, stone or even bump in the sand on the bottom.

Jerusalem Creek starts off narrow and gradually gets wider and shallower as it winds it’s way out to the ocean. I found a few fish in the wide expanses, on the edge of the channels. I couldn’t find any keepers but I saw plenty of good sized flathead lies, especially at the mouth of the creek. I also caught a few whiting in the shallows.

Fishing out on the rocky headlands of the Bundjalung National Park was excellent. The tailor were consistently turning up at Iluka Bluff, Woody Head and Fraser’s Reef at dawn and dusk. They were particularly active around the full moon. On one morning I was surprised to see my lure attacked by an Australian Salmon.

There were plenty of junior jewfish schooling up in the caves and sheltered corners. Even the occasional group of long tail tuna were still swimming by. In October the vast majority of the 50 or so jewfish that I caught were between 50 cm and 60 cm long. The biggest was just over 80 cm and I caught a total of five jewfish that were over 70 cm long.

Another great month of fishing in the Clarence Valley.

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – September 2024

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September was a great fishing month on the rocky headlands of the Bundjalung National Park at Iluka. The winds were often from the north or north west with an occasional south westerly/easterly change for a day or two. The westerly element helped to flatten the swell during the early morning fishing sessions. Through the day the wind built up to a stronger and stronger northerly. This would often dirty the water up and make fishing in the afternoons more challenging.

During the transition through our short spring to summer the fishing can be difficult. There were plenty of flathead, tailor and flounder in the river but the bream fishing was the stand out, both in the Clarence River and off the headlands. As the weather warmed up, the local snake population was also on the move looking for mating opportunities. Apparently, lying in the middle of the road is a favourite pastime for horny pythons.

The mulloway/jewfish were everywhere, especially 40 to 60 cm fish. I am concluding through experience that light and tide changes are a big factor in their decision to feed. Early starts and first light fishing produced the best fish for me. Over the month I caught 12 legal sized keeper mulloway, between 70cm and 86cm and perhaps 40-50 smaller fish. I also missed plenty of fish after heavy runs and pulled hooks. I kept a few of the bigger fish I landed for supper but returned 90% of my catch to the water.

I was generally fishing with the lighter of my two rock fishing rods – the Daiwa Saltist X MH962 matched with my Daiwa Saltist 10000 size reel. I was running 40lb braid and usually a 40 or 50lb fluorocarbon leader down to a 10 gram to 20 gram jighead and a big GULP soft plastic. I am not sure that colour is important but a higher contrast between two colours seems to work well. I think this is the secret to the success of the Nuclear Chicken and Lime Tiger colours that I like to fish with. I like to use the 6 inch Squid Vicious pattern GULP soft plastic out on the headlands.

86 cm Iluka mulloway
82 cm Iluka mulloway
70 / 76 cm Iluka mulloway
82cm Iluka mulloway

The biggest fish I landed came three days and four days after the full moon, respectively. However I tangled with a couple of fish I couldn’t stop just a few days after the new moon at the beginning of the month.

Another great month of fishing in Iluka.

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – August 2024

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I was away for most of July and some of August. This meant I missed the coldest time of the year which is traditionally very good for flathead and bream in the Clarence River. Unlike 2023, the bream were on the bite with local anglers catching plenty in the river and off the headlands. I got a few while fishing big soft plastics for jewfish.

I eased back into fishing with a couple of sessions on the Iluka rock wall. This is a great place to try when there is a moderate swell on the rocky headlands. Just behind the wave break on the ocean side, I caugh plenty of tailor, school jewfish and a surprise Australian salmon. The challenge here is not so much hooking the fish, but landing them. There are a few spots where you can get quite close to the water but everything is slippery. If you hook something big you need a gaff. Be careful, remember rock fishing can be deadly.

As the month progressed and the swell eased, I fished a few tide change sessions at Iluka Bluff and caught plenty of tailor and the odd school jewfish there, as well.

Towards the end of the month, I had a dawn session with a waning crescent moon (20% full) in light north westerly wind and very light swell at Woody Head. I caught fish from the first cast, before first light, but they were all 45 cm to 55 cm small jewfish. I worked through a few different soft plastics but kept only getting the juniors. In the end it was the Gulp 4 inch minnow soft plastic in the lime tiger colour that caught a keeper. It had destroyed the lure so I put on a fresh Gulp squid vicious soft plastic in the nuclear chicken colour and cast it out. A fish smashed it as soon as it hit the bottom and tried to take me under the ledge. I wrangled it out and had another keeper, this time a bit bigger. Fortunately the first fish was still alive in the recovery pool. As the second fish was bleeding from the gills, I released the recovered fish and dispatched the bleeding one.

It was now well past dawn and just after low tide. I thought I saw a few bait sprays about 40 metres offshore. I swapped to a 5 inch Gulp jerkshad in the orange tiger colour, rigged on 40 lb fluorocarbon leader and a 10 gram jighead and cast out in that direction. The lure fluttered down and I lifted it off the bottom a couple of times, then line started peeling. The fish ran hard, out to sea. I could tell from the tail beats it was a tuna of some kind. After a couple of good runs and a few arcs back and forth in front of me, I landed it. It was a small mac tuna. I killed the fish and bled it and left it in a rock pool, planning on using it for sashimi.

I then swapped back to soft plastics to try for another jewfish. I found a few more little ones. Then I noticed the tuna jumping around again. I tied on a 50 gram no name metal slug and cast it out as far as I could and wound like hell. After about 5 seconds a fished smashed the lure. It was a bigger mac tuna this time and was considerably harder to subdue. I took my time and managed to turn it way from hazardous rocks a couple of times and then landed it.

It was bleeding from the mouth so I quickly unhooked it and speared it back into the water. It looked like it swam away ok. I put my gear down and walked about 25 metres to the rockpool where I had left the first tuna. As I approached I saw the eagle tucking in. The fish was too heavy to fly off with so it had decided to tuck in, in situ. It had helped itself to most of of the fishes belly for breakfast whilst I was catching the bigger one.

Some great fishing but as always, I got a reminder that everyone likes a meal at my expense!

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – June 2024

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June started with some light winds and swell so I could fish on the headlands. On the dawn falling and low tides I fished for tailor. I focused on metal slugs and big hard bodied lures. When the tailor slowed down I swapped to the lighter gear to fish for bream in the wash. I even caught a few mini queen fish on the metal slugs. During daylight there were plenty of small jewfish around and they kept things interesting by regularly hitting the bream soft plastics.

In the river there was ample bait schooling close to the banks. There were flathead everywhere and at dawn and dusk there were also schools of junior giant trevally marauding around and the odd decent sized tailor. I spent a few dusk sessions fishing for the trevally on Goodwood Island. I experimented with a few different lures and concluded that the favourite was the DUO Realis Pencil 110mm surface lure. I fished it with plenty of jerks and pauses. The trevally were not huge (the biggest was around 45 cm), but they are so much fun to fish for, especially when they strike a surface lure.

I caught a few keeper jewfish out on the headlands at low tide on the day of the new moon, on the 6th June. The bottom of the tide is the easiest time to fish on most of the ledges I frequent. I caught the two mid 70’s cm fish in successive casts at about 12.30 pm. The fish may well also bite on the top of the tide but unless its a very calm day with a low high tide, I cant get to them.

For the first time in a while both of these fish were very fat and the one I kept and gutted had a belly full of “yakkas” (yellowtail scad). Hopefully the bait will hang around for a while.

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – May 2024

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In Iluka, the mullet netting really got going in May. There were some big hauls at the mouth of the Clarence River and round on the beaches at Shark Bay. However with the fish plentiful everywhere it seems that prices were well down on last year. Beach hauling looks increasingly like a hobby or a tradition rather than a profession. Only the hardiest pro fisherman are still at it. The resource is sustainable but when the fresh fish is retailing at $2/kg only the export of the roe to Japan makes the process worthwhile. City dwellers are always clamouring for more fresh fish, but they just won’t eat mullet.

Mullet

As the mullet rested near the river mouth, the bigger jewfish and ever present sharks got stuck in. A tidy 16 kg mulloway was weighed in at Iluka Bait & Tackle. It was caught after the full moon, in the middle of the morning, close in to the wall on the riverside, while slow rolling a Reidys hard bodied lure.

We had a far amount of rain in May but the weather was quite warm. A few storms kept seas fairly high for most of the month. The tailor moved up the river following the bait on the high tides and the dive-bombing seagulls would show you where they were. There were plenty of flathead in close to the banks.

Mac Tuna Clarence River

The longtail tuna were still coming and going. I spent a couple sessions around the tide changes casting big surface lures for them. From time to time they came close, but never close enough to cast at. One morning I decided to try fishing the riverside of the wall. I put in an hour of casts with a few soft plastics for no results, so I swapped to a Halco Max 110 mm vibe type hard body. I rig these with single hooks so that I have a chance of getting them back when fishing off the rocks. On my third or fourth cast a speedster grabbed the lure and took off. From the tail beats I could see it was a tuna. The swell was light and I was able to go down quite close the waters edge as the fish ran in ever decreasing arcs. Finally I pulled it up onto a flattish rock and reached down and grabbed it. It was a solid mac tuna.

I put in some sessions fishing at Iluka Bluff and landed a some more decent tailor. There were also a few trevally around. When the tailor slowed, I dropped down to the lighter gear – 12 lb leader and 1/6th ounce jig heads. I cast these around in the wash a found plenty 35 cm plus bream. The jewies were also on all the headlands.

May was another great fishing month.

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – August 2023

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August was a great month for winter fishing in the lower reaches of the Clarence River. The mornings were cool with mainly light south westerly winds. The water temperature was a degree or so warmer than August the year before averaging about 20.5 C.

Flathead injury

The warmer waters may have been attractive to the flathead. I caught plenty through the month in virtually all sections of the river. I caught the occasional bream but it has definitely not been a good bream year. There was plenty of bait and the cormorants and pelicans herded it around in the shallows.

Out on the rocky headlands there were plenty of tailor. There was ample bait schooling up and when the tailor were biting they did not much mind what lure I threw at them. Quite often I was fishing for a jewfish/mulloway with a big soft plastic when a tailor grabbed the lure. Sometimes I landed it and sometimes it just ate its way up the plastic and then bit through the leader. Either way I would then swap to a hard body and a few casts later I would get another one.

The resident eagle at Woody Head is getting increasingly bold when it comes to stealing fish. On one occasion he picked up a tailor that was still hooked. I had loosened the drag and thrown the fish in a rockpool while I went in search of my pliers. The eagle saw its chance and grabbed the fish and flew off. I heard the screaming drag, grabbed the rod and after a brief tug of war, it dropped the tailor back in the water with the lure firmly in its jaw. It was slightly easier to land second time around.

I could not find any jewfish in August. They were no doubt there but I was away for a week or two at the end of the month, so I did not fish as much as usual.

Port Macquarie – Rivermouth rockwall 1 July 2021

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In early July, before more lockdown madness started, I did a bit of work in the Hunter Valley. Catching a plane anywhere has become such a lottery that I decided to drive down and stopped on the way back to fish at Port Macquarie.

I only had one morning and the weather was pretty rubbish so I chose to fish the rock-wall. I had arrived just on dusk the night before and seen the birds working over a school of something in the river mouth. So at first light I drove round and took the ferry across the river to fish the north wall. To my surprise I could drive almost all the way to the end and park more or less next to where I wanted to fish – very civilised.

It was soon raining and very grey. I cast a 40g metal slug for I while. I was using my old Daiwa Seabass rod which is great for casting small slugs or soft plastics for tailor – although it does take a while to land a decent greenback – if you find one. The slug was not working so I swapped to a soft plastic lure. I chose a GULP 4″ Minnow. First in the Lime Tiger and then later in the Camo colour. I loaded them on a 1/4 ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead and both caught tailor for me. I caught half a dozen tailor and a couple of small trevally all between 30 and 40 cm, over about the next hour. Eventually the rain started to set in and I gave up.

A grey morning at the Hastings river mouth – Port Macquarie

The estuary looks like it would fish well for flathead, bream, jewfish and all the usual suspects. I look forward to visiting again soon.

Bribie & Mooball Creek – fishing the shallows – May 2017

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May saw me out on the flats in front of the Sandstone Point hotel at Bribie Island wading in the shallows. Winter took a long time to arrive and the water styed stubbornly warm all through the month.

The flounder arrived to supplement the flathead and the odd bream. I fished with my light spinning rod and reel, 10lb fluorocarbon leader and generally GULP Jerkshad soft plastics in various colours on 1/8th 1/0 jigheads. I filled a bag with five keeper size flathead in the run up to the new moon on the run out tide.

I also continued my search for fish around Pottsville and found a few tiny flathead and Bream in Mooball Creek. These grabbed the smaller soft plastic minnows.

Bribie – the old oyster jetty flats – 16 October 2016

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Sunday

We had had some wild weather through the end of the week in Queensland. A strong south-easterly had been blowing since Wednesday and fishing would have been pretty difficult. This was a shame as it was the run up to the full moon which is usually a good time to fish in the Pumicestone Passage.

Sunday was full moon and a very low 0.11m low tide had passed at 3.11 am.  I arrived and to start fishing in the dark at about 4.15 am. The water was still not really moving at this stage and there was lots of strap weed floating about. There was a pause in the strong winds with a change in direction, to north-easterly forecast in the late morning.

I was fishing with my G.Loomis SJR 6400 Rod. I started with a GULP Jerkshad in the Satay Chicken colour on a 1/8th ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead. After an hour this had not produced a bite so I swapped soft plastics to the Lucky Craft Mad Scientist Swimming Shad in the Ayu colour. These are fantastic soft plastic lures with a long streamline body and an enormous beating paddle tail.

Just after dawn at about 5 .15 am I felt the bite, paused and then struck. The hook held and I soon had a 45cm flathead swimming around me. There is plenty of fish left in our fridge so I released it.

Soon after dawn the tide started running in very quickly and I caught another flathead almost at the at green channel marker. It was a big slow fish and it initially swam towards me. Then it took off on on the first of three long runs after which it seemed content to be towed in to the shallows. It settled on the sand covered in water and buy lining it up against my rod, I could see it was over over 80cm long.  I tried to pull it on to sand to unhook, but 10lb leader snapped, and it swam off.

It was Sunday morning and the wash from the constant flow of boats heading out into the bay made the water very murky. I tied on a new jig head and loaded it with a GULP 4” Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour. I waded back towards the bridge.  Just to the south of the old oyster jetty hooked and dropped two more flathead.

Finally, casting around just north of bridge, I caught one more flathead. It was just about 40cm long. At 6.30 am with the wind rising, I gave up for the day.

Bribie – the oyster jetty flats and Bongaree – 10 October 2016

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Monday

On Monday it was back up to Bribie to fish the bottom of the tide. Summer had arrived and so had the warm water and northerly winds. September and October are traditionally thought to be good months for flathead fishing. In my experience the cooler months and consistent south easterly winds tend to produce more legal sized fish but it is often around the start of summer that I catch and release a few really big fish.

I could not start really early on Monday and arrived at about 8.30 am. I started off fishing just south of the bridge on the old oyster jetty flats. There was virtually no wind and it was hot and clear. I started to cast a GULP Mantis Shrimp soft plastic (in the peppered prawn colour) in to the shallows. The clear water and bright sun has probably contributed to a thick blanket of snot weed forming over the bottom in this area. It does not seem to bother the fish but makes bouncing a soft plastic along the bottom pretty difficult. I swapped to a GULP 4” Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour. I felt a couple of bites and soon hooked a toothy long tom. I carefully released it.

I moved south under the jetty and swapped soft plastics again. This time to the Mad Scientist Optishad. The paddle tail on this one did the trick and a 50 cm flathead snaffled it from a sandy hollow. Ten metres further south I caught another – this time a little smaller and things were looking promising. I kept moving south, towards the green channel marker. By now I had swapped to a GULP Jerkshad soft plastic in the Satay Chicken colour. At about 10.45 am I caught one more 45 cm flathead.

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The wind had turned south easterly and the incoming tide forced me back from where I wanted to fish. I waded back to the car and drove across to Bongaree. I just wanted to put in a few casts in the gutter that had formed in front of the Seaside Museum. I was back fishing with the Mad Scientist Optishad soft plastic and after only a couple of casts, I found another 45 cm flathead. It was lying in just 40 cm of water a couple of metres out. They really move up very fast on a rising tide. I peppered the rest of the gutter with casts but could not find another, but I shall certainly be back.

Bribie – the old oyster jetty flats – 10 May 2016

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Tuesday

A few days on home turf gave me another opportunity to visit the Bribie Pumicestone Passage flats in search of flathead. I am enjoying the later starts for fishing trips at this time of year. I woke at about 4.45 am and drove up to Bribie, from Brisbane.Low tide would be at 6.18 am, coinciding almost exactly with sunrise. It was 4 days after the new moon. The wind would be a very light south easterly. I pulled on my waders and waded out under the Bribie bridge at about 5.40 am.

As the seasons come and go and the predominant wind direction alters, the tidal flats change shape quite dramatically. For example, just to the north of the bridge on the mainland side a big sand bank is forming and the weed is growing very quickly. However just to the south of the bridge the rubble bottom is becoming more exposed and there is less weed. These changes are best viewed at absolute low tide and it is good to keep an eye on them.

I started fishing with a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Curried Chicken colour, on a 1/8th ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead, tied on with 12lb fluorocarbon leader. It was still dark but the sky was starting to turn a magnificent red colour. I was standing on the rubble bottom just to the south of the bridge. I was casting towards the bridge and hopping the lure back along the bottom towards me, in line with the tidal flow. I cast the soft plastic lure in the direction of a pylon and kept it moving quite quickly, to avoid getting snagged on the many rocks in this area. The tide was ebbing and the water flow was slowing as we got close to low.As is often the case in the predawn light, a flathead slammed the lure and almost jumped out of the water in its desire to swallow it. It was well hooked and I soon had my first fish of the day – it was just short of 50 cm long.

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The sun came up and I moved south. The tide slowed and so did the fishing. I covered a lot of ground without a bite. I worked through a few soft plastics and tried a small hard bodied minnow for a while. I caught nothing for the next 90 minutes as the tide turned, and started to run in.

At about 8.30 am I was fishing with a GULP 4” Minnow soft plastic in the Pearl Watermelon colour. I was just to the south of the old oyster jetty. A flathead burst out of the water behind my lure as I lifted it out of the water, at the end of the retrieve. It missed. I moved back and let things settle down. About two minutes later I threw a short cast at the area and felt the bite. This time I hooked it. It safely pulled it ashore. This one later measured 46 cm.

I carried on back towards the bridge as the tide pushed in. I caught another flathead just north of the jetty, but it was under 40 cm long, so it went back. It was just after 9.00 am when I reached the bridge. I cast around just to the south of the bridge where I had caught the first fish of the day and was rewarded with another 45 cm flathead.

As I waded north under the bridge I put in a few casts and caught my final fish. It was a small flathead of some kind with frilly fins. I released it and gave up for the morning.

Bribie Island – the oyster jetty flats – 27 April 2015

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Monday

Another big gap between fishing sessions but by the end of April I was back in Brisbane for a few days and the weather was calm, cool and bright. As soon as I had time, I drove up to Bribie Island to see if the flathead where around. March and April always seem to produce plenty of good flathead from the flats around the island.

I hit my favourite spot – the muddy, weedy, sand flats to the south of the old oyster jetty, in front of the Sandstone Point Hotel, which is currently under development. This will be a huge pub when it is finished. I think it is great to see a development that seems to fit in with the natural landscape. My only disappointment was the wholesale removal of the native gum trees behind the mangrove line, to make way for the project. These used to provide a good break when the cold south-westerly winds blow.

I started a little after first light and a bit before dawn at about 6.00 am. I think this short window between getting light and the sun coming over the horizon is an excellent time to fish. The change in light triggers the feeding response and the low intensity means they are bold enough to chase lures and baits into the shallows.

A 2.0m high tide had passed at 4.09 am, so I was fishing the run out tide. The moon was about half full which meant that the tidal flow would not be that significant. There was about 50cm of water at the base of the mangroves, as I waded towards the old oyster jetty.

I was fishing with my very light spin rod – NS Blackhole 6’ SGII 602L Trout rod I picked up in Tumut last year. It is rated for 2 to 8lb line and 2 to 10 gram lures. My beloved Loomis GL2 had a fatal accident in 1770 and the gang at Jones Tackle are seeking out a replacement for me. In the meantime this light, fast action rod is great for flathead, bream and other estuary targets.

It was now about 6.45 am, I had rigged a GULP 4” Minnow soft plastic in the Pearl Watermelon colour on a 1/8th ounce, size 1 jighead and I was using just over a metre of 10lb breaking strain fluorocarbon leader.  I was casting ahead of me in to the shallows. The water was clear but a little cooler than it had been fishing at 1770, a few weeks before. I had just passed the cable crossing warning sign when I felt a faint grab at the soft plastic. I dropped the rod tip and paused but did not entice a strike. I cast back at the same spot and felt the same slight grab. I cast to the right – nothing. I cast to the left – nothing. Then I cast back along the original trajectory and paused with the soft plastic on the bottom, for a good ten seconds. When I lifted it the fish struck. It was a flathead – a little over 50cm. It was good to know persistence pays off.

I waded under the jetty and slowly fished my way to the point where the shoreline turns the corner towards Sandstone Point. I paused here and threw a few casts along the drain that channels the run out tide round the corner and over the flats. I felt a couple mad grabs and swipes and realised that the Long Toms must be snapping at the soft plastic. I could not find a flathead in the drain so I moved on.

I waded along the gradually emerging sand bank until I was almost at the green channel marker. I stuck with the same soft plastic all the way. I then turned back to walk along the edge of the weed beds, in the direction of the jetty.

About half way back to the jetty, I felt a solid hit and paused. When I lifted it, the fish was hooked. It was another, slightly smaller 45cm flathead. I now had two in the bag, but would need at least one more to feed my mob.

I slowly moved north, casting and casting. After another 1 hour I still only had two fish. I was back at the jetty and the water was clear and almost still. It was now about 9.30 am and nearly low tide. I out in a few casts alongside the jetty. On about the third cast a very angry flathead slammed my soft plastic.  I subdued it and carefully pulled it ashore.

That was enough for me. Three fish, four nice fillets from each, that’s twelve good pieces of fish – which makes a very decent family meal. It took 3 hours to catch and about 12 minutes to eat. Good to be back on my home turf.

1770 – Flat Rock – Dart – 7 April 2015

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Tuesday

The family took off for Lady Musgrave Island to have a look at the reef. But the prospect of ninety minutes battling high seas had me close to throwing up so I dropped them off at about 8.00 am and drove back down to Flat Rock.

The sun was out when I arrived and there was a light northerly wind blowing. I had the beach to myself and walked south to the spot where I had been fishing the day before. I was fishing the same fairly light rig and was sticking with the 12lb fluorocarbon leader. I would not stop any toothy fish with light leader but even if I upped it to a 30lb breaking strain, I doubt I would be able to hang on to a mackerel or big trevally. I prefer to fish lighter and lose a few fish than not get the bites. I tied on a 1/6th ounce, size 2 hook jighead and loaded it with a GULP 3” Minnow soft plastic in the sardine colour. It was now about 9.45 am and just about high tide. I started by fishing the gutter on the inside of the Flat Rock without much success. The sky turned grey and the wind started to pick up.

After about an hour I had had a few bites but caught nothing. I moved south and as the tide started to run out I waded across the gutter in a fairly shallow spot and stood up on the Flat Rock in ankle deep water. I started casting out beyond the rock. This immediately resulted in fish contact. I could see and feel the moses perch swiping at the soft plastic lure close to the front edge.

I cast out a bit further and found a small dart. I caught a few more and then changed to bigger 4” Minnow soft plastic. The dart kept hitting the bigger plastic but could not swallow it. I swapped back down to the 3” Minnow in the New Penny colour and instantly hooked another, slightly bigger dart.  I moved up and down the front face of the rock and tried different plastics. The dart kept coming but they did not get much bigger. The rain came too and gave me a good soaking. At about 1.00 pm, I gave up for the day.

1770 – Getaway Beach and Tom’s Creek – 3 December 2014

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Wednesday

Wednesday was a beautiful morning but a disappointing one, from a fishing point of view.  I was still at 1770 and I decided to walk round from the beach that has the desalination plant intake to Getaway Beach. There is some really fantastic looking fishy terrain along here but apart from small dart and Moses Perch I have yet to catch anything decent here. I started at about 4.30 am and witnessed a beautiful sunrise but after a couple of hours of casting hard bodies and soft plastics all I had caught was a tiny sand flathead.

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I decided to retire and do something different for the afternoon session. I drove down to Tom’s Creek which is a tributary of Round Hill Creek. The boats can only get up to it for an hour or so, either side of high tide, but there are a few spots where you can fish it from the shore. I have had some powerful hit and runs, whilst fishing with soft plastics here but, apart from a few good grunter bream (javelin fish), I have landed very little.

It was now about 9.30 am and I started fishing with my light rod and 10lb fluorocarbon leader. I fitted a 1/8th  ounce, 1/0 jighead and loaded it with a GULP 4” Minnow in the New Penny colour. I lost a few rigs working out where the snags were located.  I kept getting fast, aggressive bites but was struggling to hook up. I slowed things down and after about twenty minutes I connected with a mad fish – it was a Tarpon about 35 cm long, and it leapt around all over the place. I photographed and released it. I had a couple more bites from its mates, but could not hook up.

The tide was running out fast and so I swapped to a slightly heavier, 1/6th ounce, 1/0 jighead, but continued with the same soft plastic lure. This soon produced results and I caught a couple of grunter bream, the largest of which was about 35cm long.

I swapped to a bigger GULP jerkshad soft plastic in the Pearl Watermelon colour. I was casting as close as I could to the mangrove roots, on the far bank. At about 10.30 am something slammed the soft plastic, as it sank. It immediately headed for some rocks and after a couple of runs, it unhooked itself.

By about noon the water was fairly shallow and the tide had slowed, so I gave up for the day.

1770 – Wreck Rock – 2 December 2014

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Tuesday

Once again I apologize for not writing up my fishing reports sooner but Christmas got in the way.  This one and the few that I will publish over the next few days, are from early December 2014 – better late than never.

I managed to get a few days off in Gladstone in early December. That enabled me to shoot back down to Agnes Water and 1770. Once again Gavin and Kim found me a great deal at Loka Santi – through http://www.1770beachaccommodation.com.au/. These apartments could easily become my home away from home.

I started at Wreck Rock on Tuesday morning. Low tide would be mid-morning and there was a light north-easterly wind blowing. It was a bright sunny day and the water was fairly clear. I was using my NS Blackhole light surf/ rock fishing rig and started with 12lb fluorocarbon leader and 1/6th ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead. I was fishing on the northern set of rocks.

I started at about 9.20 am but did not get a bite until around 10.00 am. I was using a GULP 3” Minnow in the Sardine colour. I was right at the north end of the line of rocks that are exposed as the tide runs out. Over my last few trips there have always been fish at the end of this set of rocks. Last time, it was mostly dart and stripey perch but in the cooler months it is often tailor, trevally and bream. You regularly see the tuna further out but they very rarely come close enough to cast at.

Today the first fish was a small trevally. It was followed by two more, in quick succession. None of them were more than about 35 cm long. Then things went quiet so I walked over to the rocks at the south end of the bay. I fished all round these and even dropped right down to 10lb fluorocarbon leader, but I did not get a bite.

By noon the easterly wind was making things tough so I gave up for the day.

Iluka – Woody Head – 27 November 2014

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Thursday

It was another grey and humid start on Thursday morning in Iluka. There had been several showers overnight and the rain seem to have stifled the wind and swell. I had been doing well at Woody Head so I drove back out there, before dawn.  It would be an early morning low tide – which is pretty much perfect for fishing the rock ledges.

The recent bite offs suggested there was something big and toothy around so I tried again with a big shallow running hard bodied lure – the DUO Jerkbait 120 SP. I cast it around all through dawn but could not stir anything up.

I moved south along the rocks and swapped to a GULP 3 “ Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour on a 1/6th ounce, size 1/0 jighead. I was now on my lighter rock fishing NS Blackhole rod. I was using 14 lb fluorocarbon leader. I caught a small bream at about 5 am, from the spot which I believe the locals call the ‘Jew Hole’. It is a large inlet with a deeper channel in the middle, to the south of the area known as the ‘Barnacles’, where I usually start my fishing.

The sun came over the horizon and there was a brief glow of red before it got lost again, in the thick cloud. At about 5.30 am I hooked a fish and it took off. It was moving fast and I caught a flash of silver and realized it was a solid dart. I soon subdued it.  I caught another on the next cast and about 4 more, smaller ones over the next 20 minutes.  Then, I swapped to a GULP 3“ Minnow in the Green Camo colour and caught another, bigger dart. I bled the two bigger dart and left them in a rock pool that had a ledge overhanging it. Hopefully the various freeloaders – kites, pelicans, crows, crabs and wobbegongs, etc, would not find them.

Things slowed down a little so I moved further south to an area known as ‘Mossies’. This is a large, flat set of rocks covered in ankle deep green weed, at the southern end of the Woody Head platform. It is really only safe to fish here in gentle conditions, around low tide.  It was now about 6.00 am and low tide had been at 5.51 am. The first fish to grab the plastic was another solid 30 cm + bream. Another bream followed, on the next cast.

I was now almost as far south as I could go on the Woody Head rocks. I cast out the Green Camo minnow and let it waft down beside the ledge. Before it hit the bottom something smashed it. It took off to the south with a blistering run then turned back and torpedoed into the base of the rocks and snap went the leader.

I looked for tougher leader but I had used it all, so it was 14lb or 10lb. I tied a strong knot with the 14lb and put the same soft plastic minnow on a 1/8th ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead. I cast back in the same spot and after a couple of tries, I was on to a fish again. I had the drag set tighter this time and I pulled pretty hard from the minute I hooked up. It was a tough fish but this time I kept it out of the rocks. After a few minutes it was tired and I landed it with the aid of the swell. It was a small king fish (or possibly an Amberjack – not sure) about 55cm long. I took some pictures and threw it back. A few casts later I was on to another one. This one was slightly smaller but put up just as tough a fight.

Next taker was a golden trevally which was longer than the king fish but not quite as mad. It was still a tough fight on the lighter rod and great fun. It was not even 6.30 am and I had caught four species. That is the beauty of Iluka.

I fished for another hour until the sun was really out and the cloud had burned away. Things slowed down a little but the bream and dart kept coming. I ended up keeping a few of the bigger dart, the trevally and a couple of bream, to make a mixed fish fried rice. I find using different flavoured and textured fish is great for this kind of dish. I fillet the fish and fry it, then add it to the cooked rice with some fried spring onions, crushed garlic, fresh coriander, Thai fish sauce and fresh lime juice.

By 8.00 am I was back at the car after a great mornings fishing.

Iluka – the Clarence River and Iluka Bluff – 24 November 2014

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I woke up to a rising 25 knot north-easterly wind. So I could not fish the rocky headlands. I would have to find some shelter from the wind. I decided to go back to where I had been fishing the night before.

So just after first light, I walked along the top of the rock wall, to the south of the boat ramp. I started with my light spin rod and a GULP 3 “ Minnow soft plastic in the Peppered Prawn colour. I caught a tiny bream after a couple of casts and then saw a school of fish come through the gap in the rocks. They splashing and gulping on the surface and I realized they were small tailor. I suddenly understood the term ‘choppers’ as this is exactly what they were doing to the surface of the water. I cast into them and got a bite but no hook up. When I retrieved my lure its tails was missing.

Clarence River tailor The gap in the rockwalls Clarence River

As I re-rigged a trailer boat came through the gap. The owner of the boat left his two-stroke running while he jigged for bait in the gap a few times. He did not get anything and after a few more goes he revved up and took off. Not surprisingly the fishing went quite for about 20 minutes. Then the choppers were back.

This time I cast my soft plastic 3” minnow right into the middle of the school and let it sink. It was whacked about three times as it floated towards the bottom. I jerked the rod tip up and connected with a fish. It was a small (30cm) ‘chopper’ tailor and it was soon jumping around in the mud at my feet.

Another boat came through and repeated the process that the first one had, with similair results. I had not realized this gap in the rocks was such a heavily used thoroughfare. The water must be consistently deep as a couple more boats soon came hurtling through. I decided it was getting a bit too noisy for the fish to hang around so I went back to find a coffee in town.

The wind kept howling all day. At about 3.30 pm I decided to see if the sheltered side of Iluka Bluff was worth fishing. A couple of other keen fisho’s were also braving the wind. They already had a couple of good-sized (45cm+) tailor from the foamy water. I big popper in the Qantas (red and white) colour had been the most successful. I did not have a popper with me so I tried a DUO Jerkbait 120 SP sub surface shallow diving hard bodied minnow. After few casts I lost this to the rocks. I tried a few plastics but the wind just blew them away. After 30 minutes of battling I finally decided that the day was not suitable for fishing and headed for the pub.