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Brunswick River, Lighthouse Beach and Mobs Bay Ballina – May 2020

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As we entered May we were still in lockdown across Australia. The global economy was a slow motion train wreck, with businesses shuttered and unemployment sky-rocketing. Governments everywhere pumped money into their economies and so, despite their awful future prospects some companies like our banks, Qantas, Afterpay, etc – persuaded our moronic superannuation fund managers to buy even more new shares in them.

In addition to the ever-present threat of the ‘Egyptian Papyrus’ (COV 19 virus), May brought us a delightful mini-plague of noisy green frogs. They were hiding everywhere you looked.

Frogs

As the weather had cooled the flathead had increased in numbers in the Brunswick River, but they were still frustratingly small. I could be pretty sure of getting a handful on the bottom of the tide near the river mouth, but they were rarely big enough for dinner. The water was crystal clear and so perhaps the bigger fish were harder to fool.

I decided to head to Ballina and try and pick up a few bigger flathead. The strategy paid off and I had success fishing the first few hours of the run out tide. I was wading in the shallows in Mobs Bay and a few other points along the south side of the Richmond River, towards the river mouth. I also had a great session fishing the run out tide in the corner of Lighthouse Beach. The swell had carved out a small gutter at the north end and I caught four flathead in quick succession, on one early morning session.

I fished my light spinning rod with about a 1.5 metre, 10lb fluorocarbon leader tied on to 12lb breaking strain braid and an 1/8th or 1/6th of an ounce, size 1 hook jighead. As usual, the GULP 3″ and 4″ minnow soft plastics in the watermelon pearl and lime tiger colours produced the most fish.

I caught a full bag of five legal sized fish several times and used them to cook a flathead fish pie – which is a firm favorite at home.

Yeppoon – Byfield National Park – Fishing Creek – 4/5 June 2013

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Tuesday/ Wednesday

Byfield is a beautiful spot and I spent Tuesday exploring. The wind was a howling south-easterly, all day, so I focused on scouting out some good sheltered spots. I tried the lee side of the headland that I had fished the day before, at the end of Nine Mile Beach. This looks like a great spot but the waves were crashing in and I could not keep my lures in the dirty water. After a few hours, I gave up on the fishing and climbed up the hill.

It looks like the water is generally quite shallow and the sediment that has poured out of the creeks and bays must get stirred up by the wind. I climbed to the top of the hill and surveyed the whole area. There were a few trawlers working just offshore. I concluded this would be an excellent area to fish land-based, so I will be back.

At the end of 9 mile you can choose to fish the estuary or the beach
Further round there are plenty of fishy looking spots
Looking back along Nine Mile Beach
There must be fish here somewhere

On Wednesday the wind was still up and it had rained heavily overnight. I decided to try fishing one of the shallow creeks that feed into Corio Bay. I chose Fishing Creek, which comes in from the south and drove down Fishing Creek Road until it petered out at a bend in the creek. It was just after high tide at about 7.00 am. There was a small ledge path on the muddy, mangrove lined banks and I squelched my way along it.

The guys at Barra Jacks in Rockhampton had suggested this spot, when I was in there a few days before. They reckoned that crocodiles were very unlikely to be around at this time of year but that I should keep my eyes peeled. That always adds a little excitement to the session!

I was fishing with my light spin rig (Loomis GL2 and Shimano Stradic 2500) and I dropped all the way down to 8lb fluorocarbon leader and a 1/8th ounce, size 1 hook, jighead. I decided to stick with natural colours and started with a GULP 4” Minnow in the Peppered Prawn colour. The water was not too dirty as the tide had just peaked. I dropped the soft plastic up current and bounced it back to me, along the bottom. I cast as close to the bank as I could and gradually lengthened the pauses on the bottom. After about ten casts, I felt a bite and was connected to a fast fish for a few seconds, and then it was gone. I stayed in the same area and after about 10 more casts, I landed a small flathead. A few casts later I found another, it was just under 40 cm.

At last – a fish from Fishing Creek
Fishing Creek at high tide
The was good evidence of fish
Looked pretty fishy at high tide
They were hiding in close to the banks
Around the top of the tide the water was quite clear
Smelt coloured GULP Minnow worked on this one
Fishing Creek flathead – all around 35cm to 45 cm
I walked towards the main estuary and the creek gradually widened out
Small natural coloured plactics worked best
The tide ran out revealing sandy ledges and mangrove roots
They kept coming but only one at a time
Back at the end of the road at low tide

I continued down the creek towards the estuary. The tide was running out quickly revealing various ponds and channel. I was wet and muddy but the sun was out and I was catching fish, so things were looking up. I concentrated on the patches of deeper water and the caught a steady stream of small flathead, over the next 4 hours. The 3” GULP Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour was the most successful lure of the day. I tried the paddle-tailed Zman Minnowz, in a couple of colours, but did not catch anything on them.

I gradually ran out of water as the creek emptied and at about 12 noon, I turned around and walked back to the car. I caught a couple of fish in the shallow pools on the way back. By the time I reached the car, I had caught 9 flathead – the majority were between 30 and 40 cm long and only two looked like they were big enough to keep.

It had been a much more successful session and had given me confidence that this is a very fishy area, when conditions allow you to get at it.

Yeppoon – Byfield National Park – Corio Bay – 12 May 2013

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Saturday

Paid work had left me in Rockhampton on Friday, so I decided to have a go at fishing in Byfield National Park, over the weekend. I have a new car – an FJ Cruiser – the perfect fishing car. I love it – great clearance, plenty of power and a hose out interior. I needed to give it a workout and to get it dirty and Byfield, with its many creek crossings and sandy hills, looked like the perfect spot. There had been plenty of rain, so there would be water in the creeks, but the sand tracks would have firmed up.

I set out before first light on Saturday and drove from Rockhampton to Byfield. I grabbed a cup of coffee and breakfast in Yeppoon and arrived at the Waterpark Creek causeway, that leads into the park, at about 7.30 am. Water was flooding over the causeway. According to the depth markers it was about 400 mm deep – no problem for the new motor. You have to watch this spot when there are showers around, as a lot of rain runs off into this creek. The water level can rise very quickly and leave you stuck on the wrong side.

I had wanted to visit Five Rocks Beach but due to the recent wet weather, the tracks in that direction were closed. I headed for Nine Mile Beach, instead. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get to the beach from the causeway. The biggest obstacle is a climb up a big sand hill. The track was a bit churned up towards the top but it was fairly firm. I am not sure that the old Suzuki Grand Vitara would have had the clearance to make it, but the FJ rolled over the top.

Nine Mile Beach is spectacular and looked particularly wild with the grey clouds rolling in. The wind was howling so I decided to drive down the beach to find some shelter and fish in Corio Bay. At the end of the beach there is a small track that leads across the back of the headland. I took this and found some sheltered water. I believe this area is Corio Bay. The rain kept coming over in squally showers.

I took out my light spin rod and reel and wandered along the mangrove fringed banks of a sandy channel. In between the mangroves, rock bars protruded into the channel at regular intervals, forming a couple of small bays. The tidal variation is huge here, often rising 5 metres from low to high. By the time I started fishing it was about 11.15 am – low tide had passed at about 10.30 am. The water was dark grey and very muddy. The area looked very fishy and I heard a few big gulps, in the eddies around the edges of the rock bars – could have been cod or even a barra – who knows?

I started with a Zman Minnowz in the Houdini colour, on 1/8th oz, 1/0 jighead. I was fishing with 10lb fluorocarbon leader. I lost a few soft plastics and jigheads to the rocks. I re-rigged with the same plastic and cast out and suddenly a fish connected, tight against the rocks. It pulled hard and kept taking short determined runs. I thought it might be a cod but it did not stop still, like a cod would. I got some line back, but it was now under an overhanging rock and I could feel the line rubbing. I did not have the power to pull it out with the light rod. I saw a flash of silver but could not identify it and then it must have loosened the jighead against the rocks, and it was gone.

I decided to try something a little more colourful and tied on a GULP Jerkshad in the Satay Chicken colour – a mixture of yellow and pumpkinseed. I stayed with the 1/8th 1/0 jighead and light leader. I cast it into the fast flowing water, in the middle of channel and let it sink. It was hit on the drop by something very fast and powerful. The fish ran with the fast current and took plenty of line very quickly. Then it jumped clear of the water and I could see it was Queenfish. Every time I got it close to shore it took off again, but eventually I pulled it clear of the water. I am sure it would only be considered a baby in local circles – but it was the biggest Queenfish I have ever caught. I took a few pictures and let it go.

Looks scary but it is concrete and well depth marked
The Causeway into Byfield
Nine Mile Beach
The tide went out and gradually reveled the rock bars
The muddy water yielded a muddy Queenfish
It was no monster but it gave the light Loomis GL2 and 10lb leader a good work out
Corio Bay – nice weather for ducks
These rock bars run out into the sandy bottomed channel
Sun one minute – drenching rain the next
Not sure what this is but it ate the Zman Minow

I tried more and swapped through hard bodied lures, vibes and a few more soft plastics. I ended up fishing with the Zman Minnowz again. I fished around the rockbars and felt a few bites. I left the lure on the bottom for long pauses. About an hour after the Queenfish capture, I hooked something else. It pulled hard and hugged the rocks. In the end I pulled up another fish I have never caught before. Not sure what it was – see pictures. I released it and decided to give up, as another shower was coming over the headland.

I drove back through the rain, safely crossed the causeway and drove back to Yeppoon. This is a fantastic spot. I will be back!

Bribie – oyster jetty to the channel marker – 28 April 2013

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Sunday

When the fish have been biting in a particular spot it is hard to tear yourself away, so it was back to Bribie Island. It is also good to fish the same spot for a few weeks, so that you can see if any patterns appear in fish behaviour.

Sunday looked more promising than Friday had been. The moon was still pretty full but low tide was at 5.21 am. I would not be able to fish much of the run out tide, but I could reach my favourite target area, for a couple of hours, as the tide started to run in. In general, I have had more success on the ‘run out’ rather than ‘run in’ tide, in this area, on the edge of the main channel. The moon is also a factor. As I mentioned in my previous post the big moon means a very big tidal flow and this is not very helpful here.

There are a different current flows that run over and around the sand banks, at different times of the tide. You feel this very obviously in your waders, as you move between cold water – rushing in from Moreton Bay and warmer water, flowing out, off the sand flats and shallows, from the Pumicestone Passage. This can make deciding which direction to cast in, quite confusing. If possible, you should always cast up, in to the current and hop the lure back along the bottom, towards you.

I started early, around 5.30 am and made straight for the green channel marker. It took about 20 minutes to get out there and I started by fishing with GULP Jerkshads in various colours, but these did not find the fish. I swapped down to a GULP 4” Minnow soft plastic in the Watermelon Pearl colour. I was using a 1/8th 1/0 jighead and the usual 10lb fluorocarbon leader. By 6.45 am the tide was running in and I found a small flathead in a sandy patch, about half way between the channel marker and the oyster jetty. I could only find one in this spot so, after 10 minutes of casting, I moved on.

Another spectacular autumn sunrise
Heading for the channel marker
Local hoodlums
All the fish were small today
A big moon is not always a positive
The Cajun chicken is good in murky water

It took more than hour to find the next one – at about 8.00 am. This one was over 40 cm, but I was releasing them all today. I covered the surrounding area with casts but could not find any more.

The incoming tide was now starting to push me out of reach of the main edge of the weed beds. I swapped to the GULP Jerkshad in the Cajun Chicken colour – black and pink colour. At 8.15 am I caught another small flathead – about 35cm long.

At about 9.00 am I was back at the bridge and had not caught any more. The combination of full moon and incoming tide had stirred the sediment in the water up and it was very murky again. I had only caught three fish. It seems that fishing the incoming tide is not working so well for me. We will have to see what happens when I get a chance to fish the ‘run out’ tide, next week.

Bribie Island – the oyster jetty flats – 22 February 2013

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Friday

I was back in Brisbane considering the land based fishing options. Next week it looks like mad weather – just about everywhere. It’s a tragedy – I have no work on the horizon so I could go and fish just about anywhere, but it looks like the east coast of Australia, will be washed out.

Friday morning did not look very promising locally, either. The big south-easterly blow was not forecast to drop off until about midday and the Pumicestone Passage was pretty much full of fresh water, after all the recent rain.

But the point about fishing is you must never give up. So at about 8.00 am, as the sun came out, I set off for Bribie hoping to find some sheltered spots, where I could put in a few casts.

I arrived just before 9.00 am and decided to fish the mainland side of the Passage around the old oyster jetty. Despite the major tree clearance that took place last year, this area is still quite sheltered from a southerly wind and is a viable option, especially as the tide runs out. High tide had passed at 7.22 am at 2.2 m. I waded south, under the Bribie Bridge. The water was still lapping at the mangroves, but it was running out fairly fast. Predictably the water was pretty brown and full of sediment but you could still just see your feet through about 60cm of it.

I started by casting all around the bridge pylons. I was using a neutral coloured 3” GULP minnow soft plastic in ‘smelt’on a 1/8th 1/0 jighead. This produced nothing so I moved further south, to cast alongside and underneath the oyster jetty. I felt a few grabs in this area and soon realised there were some hungry long toms cruising around.

I crossed to the area just to the south of the jetty and swapped to a DUO Ryuki Spearhead hard body which is usually a great bream lure. Unfortunately I sacrificed this in the shallows to a patch of rocky bottom. I moved further south and changed tactics. I swapped back to soft plastics and tied on a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the lime tiger colour – still on a 1/8th oz, 1/0 jighead. I was using about 1.5 m of 10lb breaking strain fluorocarbon leader.

By about 11.00 am the tide was about halfway out and I had reached the area where the water drains off the Sandstone Point flats, round the corner. You could not see the bottom but you could tell from the eddies on the surface where the slack water was. I put in a couple of long casts (the southerly wind was helping me). I felt the plastic pull through the see grass but it did not pick up too much. The advantage of all the rain and wild weather is that it washes away any loose stuff.

A few casts later there was a big splash, as the lure hit the water and then a solid tug and run. Line was peeling straight away but as I lifted the rod I clearly felt the jighead pop through the fishes’ lip. This was a sizeable fish so I let it run. There is not much structure in this area, just a line of rocky bottom as you move back towards the mangroves. This fish was too big to tangle with in the water so I would have to walk it back to the shore line. I slowly took back some line and started wading towards the mangroves. The water was now shallower and dirtier, so I had to be careful to steer it over the rocky patches and onto the shore.

It was a solid flathead. I pulled it up on to a ready-made envorimat; a pair of abandoned trawlerman’s waders, that had washed up on the shore. I measured it against the rod and could see it was pushing 70cm. I took a couple of pictures then released it.
Although the water was now very cloudy, there was not much weed floating around so I decided to try out my latest DUO favourite – the Realis Shad MR 59 hard body minnow. It is a small suspending lure and that has caught plenty of flathead for me, but I am sure it will catch good bream over the weed beds. I picked out a white and blue one tied it on and cast out. This lure has a great action but it is the pauses that seem to entice the strikes. So I slowly retrieved it with lots of long pauses. On the second cast my theory panned out as, on the first pause, the lure was first knocked out of the water and then, a moment later, connected to a fish.

The hooked fish was too fast for a flathead – although it may have been a flathead that attacked the lure first. I soon had it subdued – it was a solid 30cm + bream. After a few pictures I released it but I could not find any more.

A good size flathead – about 70cm long
It would not shake this loose
The GULP crazylegs jerkshad can provoke a strike in a reluctant fish
Suspending hard bodies are great in dirty water – DUO Realis Shad 59MR
It crunched off one treble hook but it did not escape
A great colour and quality finish -DUO Realis Shad 59 MR
It started with two sandcrabs fighting over the lure
Sand crab tangle
This one was about 50cm
The rain clouds kept coming
Long tom -seriously ugly
Long Tom – like a mini marlin
The last went went for banana prawn colour

As the tide level fell I moved further and further south, towards the green channel marker. I was trying to fish the edge of the weed banks but in the dirty water on the bottom of the tide, I was finding it hard to see the edges. I swapped back to a GULP 4” minnow soft plastic in the smelt colour, on the 1/8th 1/0 jighead. This drew the attention of the long toms who I saw follow it in a couple of times. Eventually I got the lure into the right spot and the line started peeling. It was another flathead – just over 50cm. I decided to keep this one and after playing it for a while I managed to grab it with my rag and slip it in my keeper bag.

I swapped to a different colour in the same soft plastic – banana prawn. A few casts later this produced a fish – it was a very lively long tom. It did plenty of leaping around and made a couple of runs straight at me which was not that much fun. Usually these fish will cut through the leader pretty quickly but this one seemed to be hooked on the side of its long snout. I managed to flick it off the hook and carried on prospecting for flathead.

Just before 2.00 pm I caught another flathead who was perched on the edge of the weed line. This one was just under 50 cm. I swapped over to the bigger GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad soft plastic in the lime tiger colour. This did not produce a fish but it did pull up two sand crabs. I am not sure if they were hungry or mating – either way they ended up in a right tangle. I had been playing football with the crabs all morning – perhaps they were finding it difficult to see me coming in the muddy water.

Just after a 2.00 pm, a set of squally showers moved through and I decided to give up. Conditions had been very average but the fish were there – and I suppose that is all that really matters!

Fingal Head – Tailor – 30 October 2012

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Tuesday

I never get bored of catching fish but I have enough Flathead in the fridge so it was time for a change of scene. I decided to drive down to Fingal Head on Tuesday morning, to fish the rocks around the lighthouse and the causeway.

My view is there are some things you can be late for – work, submitting your tax return, your wedding, the births of your children, etc – and then there are some things you must never be late for – fishing. I am ashamed to admit that I was late on Tuesday morning. I was up at 3.45 am and on the road south, a few minutes later, but the sun was well over the horizon as I pulled into the car park, at Fingal Head l. It was just before 5.00 am (QLD time). I quickly pulled my rock boots on and hiked out to the causeway and promontory, below the lighthouse. The skies were grey and rain was on the way. The wind was from the south east, initially.

There were a couple of guys fishing and plenty of fresh blood in the rock pools. This just emphasised for me, the need to arrive just before dawn (rather than just after). One of the fisherman confirmed they had landed a good Tailor just after first light.

I rigged up one of my DUO hard bodied favorites – the Beachwalker Mid120. This is a fairly shallow diving minnow. I have swapped a few of my lures over to single hooks to see how this affects my hook up and capture rates. I think trebles may connect with more fish but bigger, single hooks give you a better chance of landing the fish, from the rocks, once it is hooked. I was using a bright orange coloured DUO Beachwalker and after a few casts I saw the small Tailor following it in. There were some splashes behind the lure and a couple of knocks but I did not hook up.

I swapped to a soft plastic GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Black shad colour on a 3/8th oz, 3/0 jighead and threw that out. I was fishing with my Daiwa Demonblood, 9’6” rod, 30lb braid and 20lb fluorocarbon leader. The soft plastic did not seem to interest the fish. In fact, I did not even lose the tail to the smaller fish, which is what usually happens here.

I swapped through a few more plastics and hard bodies but could not connect with anything. At about 8.15am I swapped down to my lighter Shimano Catana Coastline rod and 2500 size reel 8lb Fireline Exceed and 16lb fluorocarbon leader. I tried fishing a few smaller soft plastics on light jigheads but they did not attract any fish.

I swapped over to another of my DUO lures – the Bay Ruf Manic 115. This is an 18 gram stick bait that is cleverly weighted to cast long distances and sink slowly. At only 18 grams it is a little light to cast with my big rig but it is perfect with the Catana. I had left the original trebles on this one. It does not look like it has much action but on closer inspection, it has a very tight sub-surface wobble which leaves a pulsing wake.

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I cast it out and let it sink for a few seconds. On the first retrieve I saw a fish come up behind it then turn away. On the next cast a fish grabbed it right at the base of the rocks and took off. It was at this moment that I remembered the rod is called the Shimano Catana Coastline LIGHT. It bends over nicely and is a great shock absorbed but it cannot apply much pressure to decent sized Tailor. After a few frenetic runs, I started to get a bit of line back. The fish jumped and I saw it was going to be a headache to land – it was a good Tailor well over 50cm.

I steered it round the rocks and tried to pull it in close to a ledge where I might be able to grab the leader and pull it up. I increased the pressure and tightened the drag but then the lure pulled free of the mouth and the fish was gone. I pulled up the lure which had scale on it and a slightly bent rear treble. Things went quiet again and I had a chat with another angler – Steve. We were distracted from our chat by a few swooping birds who started dive bombing the swell, a few metres out in front of us.

We both chucked a lure at the boil – I had the Bay Ruf Manic and Steve had a 45g metal slug. We both hooked up straight away. After a brief fight I had a 50cm Tailor at my feet and Steve had landed a slightly smaller model. The Bay Ruf Manic had lost its tail-end treble – half of which I later found lodged in the roof of its mouth. DUO lures had produced for me again.

By this point my shoulders and back were killing me, so I decided one fish would do. I walked back to the car – covered it in ice and drove back to Brisbane.

Brooms Head – The Razorback – 24 September 2012

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Monday

Sunday had been pretty breezy so I spent the day with the family – after all, that is what family holidays are about – I suppose. By Monday I had had enough of them and the wind had eased off in the early morning, so I decided to try fishing the rocks on the southern side of the headland.

I started out on a prominent rock that juts out into the water, just north of Back Beach. I fished with the Catana Coastline rig again, using a 10lb leader and various soft plastics. I did not raise any bites but first the dolphins came through and then a magnificent black back appeared out of the water. It was a big humpback and the dolphins played around it for a while.

I watched the show and then decided to head back to the rocks, known locally as the ‘Razorback’ on the southern edge of the headland. This is a very dangerous spot to fish but, if the sea is flattened by a north westerly, as it was this morning, and there is not much swell – it can be approached, safely. Every now and then a big wave comes over the top of these rocks and I have witnessed several people get washed down the barnacles and leave plenty of skin on them. If you see/hear a big wave coming over, it is best to hunker down and hang on, rather than trying to out run it. Your clothes will dry out quicker than the grazes will heal!

I had watched the swell from my other fishing spot for about an hour before I deemed it safe to go out onto these rocks. I had rock boots and a small automatic inflating life vest on. I stuck with the 10lb leader and a 1/8th 1/0 jighead. I chose a brightly coloured GULP 4” Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour, for my first cast. The wind was now negligible but there was a slight ruffle on the surface of the clear water. I watched the lure sink and counted to five. As I lifted the rod tip I felt a solid hit and run. The fish took some line but the Catana and drag absorbed the lunges and soon I had a healthy 34cm Bream at my feet.

A stunning sunrise on a calm morning
First I found the Dolphins
Then I saw the Whale
GULP Shrimp – nailed
These Bream were hungry
This one as a horse – just under 40cm
The Bream were either side of the ‘Razorback’
Lime Tiger also went down well
I kept four good ones – between 34cm and 40cm
Nice to have your hands full
They bit so hard – the jigheads got stuck
Four quality Bream for dinner

I lost the jighead on the next cast – snagged tight, as the current wafted it into the rocks. I re-rigged with the same weight jighead and leader but swapped to a GULP 2” Shrimp in the Molting colour. I cast this one along the inside of the ‘Razorback’ and it was slammed in close to an opening in the rocks. It was another solid Bream and it was easier to subdue and land on this side. When I got it to my feet I realized it was a monster – pushing 40cm.

I carried on for another 30 minutes and the Bream kept coming. They took all types of small soft plastic – the GULP, 3” Minnow in Smelt, Emerald Shine, Rainbow, Lime Tiger and Pearl Watermelon and the GULP 2” Shrimp in the Banana Prawn and Molting colours. I caught about twelve fish and kept the best four. They were all between 32cm and 40cm. These fish were not fussy.

At about 8.30 am I stopped and cleaned my catch in the rock pools. As I looked down, I could see why the Whales were around. The water was full of tiny see through Krill. There were small shrimp like shapes fluttering around everywhere. I thought this was what the Bream could have been eating, but when I opened their stomachs, I found them all empty. I still could not see any bait in the water but at least now I had found a fishy spot.