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Richmond River Mouth – South Ballina 27/29 January 2021

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A couple of days later I returned for a dawn fishing session at the mouth of the Richmond River. I started just before dawn on the rockwall I had fished a few days before – just upriver from the ferry. I caught a couple of bream but despite/ or perhaps because of the big moon there seemed to be less fish around.

I decided to move nearer the river mouth. I drove up to the locked gate on the road out to the rockwall. I packed up my gear and decided to make the trek out to the wall, stopping to fish at a few spots along the way.

I was fishing with my ultra light spinning setup. Because of the full moon it would be a very big high tide and the water was much clearer than it had been a few days before. I was not expecting anything big so I was using a 12lb fluorocarbon leader down to a 1/8th ounce, 1/0 hook jighead.

I stopped at a my first spot and put on a GULP 4″ Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour and let it sink down in the current, fairly close to the shore. I slowed it down as I pulled it towards the bank and the fish struck. It was a flathead and it must have been resting no more than an a few inches from the base of the rocks. It was around 45 cm long.

I moved a little further along the shoreline and caught a couple of bream – both were over 30cm long. It seemed the fish got bigger as I moved towards the river mouth. I walked all the way out to where the rock wall meets the beach. By now I was fishing with a Gulp 3″ Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour and I caught another bream on the river side of the wall. I cast a little further out and got bitten off. I re-rigged and caught a small chopper tailor on the first cast. At about 11.00 am I gave up for the day.

Fishing the Richmond River at South Ballina

I came back to the same spot on the 29th (the day after the full moon). This time I started off the casting with a GULP 4 ” Minnow soft plastic lure in the Pearl Watermelon colour. The first taker was a flathead. It was sitting close to the base of the rocks, on the river side of the wall. It measured in a 48 cm. I photographed it and let it go. If there is fish in the fridge, then it’s pretty much catch and release fishing for me.

I made my way out onto the wall past the resident osprey. He/she always seems to be sitting at this spot – which is a very good sign. Ospreys only eat fish. Just before the end of the wall on the open ocean side , I took up position. I was now fishing with a 1/6th ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead and I swapped through three or four different coloured minnow soft plastics. I caught bream on all of them – the biggest was about 34 cm long.

By lunchtime the wind and swell had built up significantly so I gave up for the day.

New Brighton, South Golden Beach – 24 January 2021

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The swell, the swell, the swell – its never-ending. But then there was a forecast of lower seas, so I decided to try some fishing in the surf. The swell had created some good gutters and so I drove down to the beach, just south of New Brighton on the north shore of the Brunswick River mouth.

I arrived just before first light at about 5.40 am. High tide would be at about 6.00 am. It would be new moon in about three days. I walked out with my Daiwa Crossfire 1062 (10 foot, 6 inch – 3.2 metre) rod and Shimano Stella 4000 reel. This is spooled with 30lb braid and as I wasn’t expecting anything huge to swim by – a 14lb fluorocarbon leader. I tied on a 1/4 ounce , size 1/0 hook jighead and loaded it with a GULP 4′ Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour.

Fishing the beach near Brunswick Heads

The horizon was now lit up and I cast out into what looked like a decent gutter. After a few casts I caught a small (25cm) bream, swiftly followed by a couple more. The fish flicked the plastic off so I tied on a GULP 3″ Paddle Shad in the Nuclear Chicken colour. This is a new shape from GULP and I like it a lot – now we just need them to produce it in my favourite Pearl Watermelon colour. This found its mark after about ten minutes. I felt a bit of weight and the rod tip bent over. This time it was a a flathead, about 45cm long.

The sun was now just coming over the horizon and I swapped to a another Paddle Shad, this time in the pink colour. I moved a little further along to the mouth of the gutter and kept casting. I felt a few urgent bites and drops. Then I caught a dropped a dart and eventually stayed connected to one.

Magpies vs Kites

By about 7.30am the swell had stretched out as the tide started to run out and I gave up for the morning.

Bribie – the old oyster jetty flats – 23 April 2014

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Wednesday

It was a late start for me again on Wednesday – juggling work and fishing is hard.  But then most of my readers are probably well aware of that!

I arrived at the Bribie Bridge at about 9.00 am and waded out towards the flats to the south of the old oyster jetty. The sun was shining and there was a light south westerly wind. It is definitely getting cooler and the wind had some bite in it. The moon was 37% full and waning. It would be a 0.6m low tide at about 10.30 am.

I started fishing with a GULP 2” Shrimp soft plastic in the Peppered Prawn colour and this soon found a fish. It was a Flathead – just over 40 cm. I released it and went looking for more.  The water was clear but there were still a lot of black clumps of ‘snot’ weed floating around. There were sand crabs everywhere. Plenty of them seemed to be in romantic embraces.

As the tide slowed, I moved further south. In one of the sandy hollows, I caught another fish. This flathead had the brightest coloured tail I have ever seen. I released it and carried on wading south. I swapped to a GULP Jerkshad in the Peppered Prawn colour and as the tide started to run in, I caught another 45cm flathead.

 

 

I briefly tried fishing with a few small hard bodied lures, but they kept getting clogged with weed. I swapped back to a GULP Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger (orange and green colour) and at about 11.00 am I found a couple more small flathead that were probably just under 40 cm.

This had not been a bad fishing session – especially as the school holidays have just finished and this area has been fished pretty hard. All fish were released today.

Not worth fishing – so here are a few pics of my favourite lures in action – 31 January 2013

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Surveying the dirty brown waters of our estuaries and Moreton Bay – I have decided this week, and probably most of next, will be a write off as far as land based fishing is concerned. But there is nothing more depressing than not being able to fish and not having any fishy pictures to look at, so I have put up a few of my favourite captures and lures from the last few years.

If you have a sore back from cleaning the mud out of some flooded area of your house I hope these will represent light at the end of the tunnel!

Duo Realis Shad 59 MR nails a Bribie Flathead
DUO Ryuki Spearhead 70S – another flathead slayer
DUO Tetraworks Yurameki hooks a Dart
A tough lure – DUO Roughtrail
DUO BEACHWALKER MD 120 in a great colour – but the wrong place
DUO Tetraworks Bivi strikes again
Another great small lure – the DUO Tetraworks Yurameki
A Flathead captured by the DUO Spearhead Ryuki
DUO Spearhead Ryuki 50S – annoys the Flathead into striking
A tailor falls off the RAPALA SXR12
Tailor on a RAPALA SXR 12
The day started with a small tailor on a YOZURI Crystal Minnow
Duo Beachwalker 120 MD
DUO PressBait Saira – 175mm 50g work of art
85g Raider
Squire on a blade – Bribie
DUO TETRAWORKS BIVI – Great lure in this darker colour
GULP, Gulp, gulp
Pumpkinseed – its consistent
Bribie tailor on another GULP
GULP Minnow gets a bream
GULP Nuclear Chicken Minnow
A 40cm Fingermark – Gulp Cajun Chicken
Gulp smelt minnow
DUO Hard bodies and GULP soft plastics – my favourites
GULP Black Shad
Tweed rockwall – Soapie Jewfish on a 95g Sniper slug
Hat Head – 18-09-2012 Jewfish no.3
10.5 kg Iluka Jewfish GULP Crazylegs New Penny
Pumpkinseed again
GULP Curry Chicken
Snapper from the Rocks at Woody Head – 3.8 kg GULP curry chicken

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