Tag Archives: fishing at dawn

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.

Between Gayndah and Biloela – 1 October 2013

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I have been stopping at as many creeks as I can during my recent travels. I keep the light rod rigged with a 10lb leader and light jighead, ready to go, in the back of the car. The other day, somewhere between Gayndah and Biloela, I crossed this puddle just after dawn. I could not resist a quick cast.

Looked fishy
Spangled Perch – I presume
A 2 inch plastic on a light jighead

The pool was just about a metre deep and hardly any water was running through. I put on my new freshwater favorite soft plastic; the GULP 2 inch Crabbie in the Emerald Shine colour. On my first cast I felt a few taps. On the second I pulled out a tiny pretty spotted fish – I assume it is a spangled perch. Great start to the day!

Bribie Island – Dawn & Dusk – 22 November 2012

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Thursday evening and Friday morning

I decided to look for some Flathead at Bribie Island. I was able to fish through dusk on Thursday and dawn on Friday.

Only one fish south of the Oyster jetty at dusk

Only one fish south of the Oyster jetty at dusk

On Thursday I drove up from Brisbane at about 4.30pm with a huge storm cloud blackening the sky to the west. I waded around the area just to the south of the old oyster jetty, on the top of the tide. I fished with a GULP 4“ minnow and various other shapes, but it was tough to find the fish. I hooked and then lost a fish at about 5.00pm, which felt like a small flathead. A little later, and a bit further to the south, I tangled with a Long Tom and saw it thrashing around but it bit through my 10 lb leader.

But a really spectacular sunset

But a really spectacular sunset

At about 5.30pm I finally hooked up with a 30cm flathead on a GULP 4” minnow in the Lime Tiger colour. That was it for the fishing but I did witness a fantastic sunset behind the oyster shed as I waded back to the car.
The next morning I tried the sand flats at Bongaree, on the island side of the Pumicestone Passage. As usual I was a bit stuck for ideas as I would be fishing the top of the tide. I know the flathead move up very quickly with the rising tide but I find it much easier to predict where they might be, on a falling tide. When the tide is high there is just too much ground to cover.

I started at about 4.40 am, just south of the jetty, with a GULP 3” Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour. The water was clear and still and high tide would be at 5.40 am. My plan was to move south from the jetty casting soft plastic lures over the exposed rocks and sand between it and the creek mouth that drains in front of the Seaside Museum.

I could not find anything under, or around the jetty. I hooked my first fish just after 5.00 am, little to the south of it. It was a flathead. I carried on casting all around the same spot but could not find another one.

I moved a little further south and swapped plastics to a GULP 4” minnow in the pearl watermelon colour. I was using a 1/8th 1/0 jighead and 10lb fluorocarbon leader. The water was still and it was hard works. I moved slowly south casting all around the creek/ drain mouth. Eventually, just after 7.00 am I caught another Flathead – about 40cm long.

I persevered and found just one more flathead at about 8.30am. This one was smaller, at about 35cm. At this point I gave up. I had found a few fish, but it had been another tough high tide fishing session. I had not seen much bait in the water and wind had been solid from the north for a few days. The moon was about half way to full. I think we may have reached the point in the year where the flathead get harder to find!

The second fish at about 7.00 am
Pearl Watermelon Minnow for this one
Clear water on the top of the tide
The first fish of the day – 5.20 am
The drop off is closer to the shore here
Lime Tiger minnow for breakfast