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.

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.

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.