Tag Archives: landangler

Bribie – Under the bridge – 5 March 2013

Posted on by
2

Tuesday

The rain is easing but it is just being replaced by howling south-easterly winds. The only real option would be to fish the couple of hours either side of dawn, in a fairly sheltered location. So it was off to Bribie again, to fish the area under the bridge, on the mainland side of the Pumicestone Passage, as the tide fell.

I arrived at about 4-45 am to find I was not the only mad angler wetting a line. A couple of fishos were on the bridge casting to the north – a few pylons out. A couple of good jewfish have been landed from the middle of the bridge, at night, recently. The favoured technique is to fish with very heavy gear then drop a grappling hook down once the fish is worn out. This strikes me as a pretty tough proposition – but it does work.

I rigged up and waded along the edge of the mangroves, to the south of the bridge. The wind was from the south east and was blowing around 15 knots. The water was dirty and running out, against the wind. High tide had been at about 3.00 am.

I started by fishing with a GULP Jerkshad in the Orange Tiger colour, on a 1/8th oz, 2/0 jighead. There was a bit of surface action on the edge of the pools of light, cast by the bridge lights. Every so often, I could trace the path of a cruising predator by the scattering bait fish. There were some pretty big surges and splashes which made me reluctant to wade out further.

I had no luck with the brightly coloured Jerkshad, so I made a counter-intuitive switch to a 3” GULP Shrimp soft plastic in the Banana Prawn colour. This is a gold colour that would not really stand out at all in the sediment rich, murky water. After about ten minutes of casting without result, I switched my attention to the deeper water, just out of reach of the bridge lights. I carried on peppering the area and was about to swap soft plastics again when I felt a solid bite and a few moments later, I set the hook on a good fish. As I pulled it in between the mangroves, bait went flying everywhere. There is plenty of food around. It was a good flathead, about 55cm long and I kept it for dinner. It was 5.10 am and its possible that the sun was trying brighten the sky but the clouds were too thick.

The first and biggest fish of the day
GULP 3 inch shrimp in Banana Prawn
The natural colours worked well
The second flathead was also a keeper
The third flathead swallowed the GULP Smelt minnow
A smaller plastic tempted this small bream
The Smelt minnow also got the last flathead
A good place to shelter
The sun nearly came out
But the wind kept blowing in the rain clouds

The heavens opened and I retired under the bridge. The fishos on the bridge had disappeared – probably washed away by the relentless rain. I started casting to the north and gradually moved along between the pylons. It was now a little lighter and the rain had stopped. The water was getting dirtier as the tide ran out. As I cast out, around the base of the third bridge pylon, I felt a good bite, but did not connect. I cast back in exactly the same spot and got hit again, still no hook up. I cast another ten times in the same spot gradually slowing the retrieve right down and increasing the length of my pauses. On the eleventh cast I felt the solid bite of a committed fish. I dropped the rod tip and slowly counted to ten. After what seemed like an eternity, I lifted it and felt the lure lodge in the mouth of the fish. The rod bent over, I felt the resistance and the tip started wobbling. I waded back to the shoreline and safely landed my second flathead. It was a little smaller than the first, just under 50 cm. It was 5.23 am. I also kept this one for dinner.

I swapped to a 4” GULP Minnow soft plastic in the Smelt colour. I concentrated in the same area, around the third pylon. At 5.34 am I caught another flathead, almost exactly the same size. Three fish is about right to feed my mob for dinner.

It was now light but the sun could not break out above the clouds and the rain showers just kept coming. I persisted in the same area but things seemed to go a bit quiet, as the traffic on the bridge built up and the water receded. I swapped down to 3” GULP Minnow in the Smelt colour and moved a bit further out, to the south of the bridge. I felt a couple of taps and then hooked a small Bream. It was now just after 6.00 am. A few casts later the same plastic produced flathead number four. The smallest of the morning, but it was still a healthy fish, at 47cm.

I waded south, past the oyster jetty and on to the windy flats. The sun almost emerged above the clouds but the now howling south-easterly immediately blew some more rain clouds in, to block it out. One of these gave me a thorough soaking and despite casting around for more than an hour, I did not get a bite out here.

Just before 8.00 am another nasty black cloud opened above me and I decided to call it quits. It had been a successful morning but the wild weather had made it a challenge.

Iluka – Woody Bay – 13 February 2013

Posted on by
Reply

Wednesday

On Wednesday I woke to more showers which were blowing through on a building south-easterly wind. I made some breakfast and waited for them to pass.

By the time the rain stopped it was about 6.30 am. The south-easterly was already blowing at about 15 knots and was forecast to get stronger through the day. There was not much point in trying to fish the headlands. The tide had been low at 5.00 am and had now turned in. I decided to fish around the rocks beside the boat launching area, on the edge of Woody Bay. This area, directly in front of the camp site, is sheltered by Woody Head. Even in a big south-easterly blow, it stays pretty calm.

A grey morning on Woody bay

A grey morning on Woody bay

I decided to switch to my really light spinning outfit – Shimano Stella 2500 reel, Loomis GL2 rod, 1.8kg Fireline and a 10lb fluorocarbon leader. The bait that had been jumping around close to the rocks, had been some kind of small whitebait, so I chose a GULP 3” minnow soft plastic in the Watermelon Pearl colour, which would represent a similar profile. I rigged up the plastic on a 1/8th oz., 1/0 jighead. As I stood in the shallows, the water was warm and I started casting along the edge of the semi – submerged rock bars. At about 6.45 am the rain started again and just as it did, I felt the familiar double tap bream attack. I did not hook up but on the next cast, I did. I wound in another very respectable bream.

GULP Minnow gets the first bream

GULP Minnow gets the first bream

I let it go and moved on, casting out and trying to rest my soft plastic lure, for as long as possible, right where the rocks met the sand. Just before 7.00 am I felt the faintest of grabs, as I hopped the lure along the bottom beside the rocks. Two more casts in the same spot produced nothing. On the third, the rod bent over as the jighead stopped dead.

It felt like the lure had stuck fast in the rocks but then very slowly the ‘rocks’ started to move. In a long slow run the fish moved about 6 metres to the south. Then paused and did the same thing again. I pulled up on the rod and tried to recover some line. It was only at this point that the fish realised that it was hooked and started really fighting. It was still so slow and heavy that I thought it was a ray or shovel nose shark. After a few more lunges it turned towards me and rose to the surface shaking its head. I could now see it was a big flathead.

With a ten pound leader I could not risk any abrasion from the barnacle-covered rocks so I let the fish play itself out. It had been lurking in less than 30cm of water so it was hard to keep its head down but I took my time and used the swell. I found a nice sloping rock bar and gradually eased the fish up in a breaking wave. It was a nice flathead who measured up at about 74cm. After a few snaps I put her back and she swam away.

Plenty of flathead cover
A good sized flathead in the shallows
Light line meant a slow and patient approach
Measured up at just under 75cm

The Clarence River is still very de-oxygenated and full of fresh water from the floods. It is likely that all sorts of species (including flathead) have settled around these headlands to wait for it to clear. The birds were very active, constantly swooping in to pick up baitfish. So it looks like a fair amount of bait has also been washed out.

I decided to wade around the shallows in the bay and look for some more fish. I was soaked from the rain and being in the water was warmer than being out of it. I tried all around the rocks with the same soft plastic and a few others, to see if I could find anymore flathead – but I couldn’t. I watched a few long toms follow my lures in and have a snap at them, but did not hook any.

I swapped over to one of my favourite DUO hard bodied lures. With the river out of bounds there was not much water where I could use their range of finesse lures, but this bay was flat enough and clear of weed, so it was perfect. I tied on the DUO Ryuki Spearhead 45s in a gold/ green colour. This is a small trout lure that seems to work well on bream. It weighs 4 grams and is 45mm long with a small bib. As with most of the DUO range it casts a long way and slips into its action almost as soon as it hits the water. Although it is technically a sinking lure, its lightweight means that it effectively suspends, when you pause the retrieve.

Beyond the shelter of Woody Head it was too windy to fish
Too choppy out front
Plenty of birds chasing plenty of bait
DUO Ryuki Spearhead catches a small bream
Duo Ryuki Spearhead catches a bigger bream
He was not going to let go of this one

I cast it over the flats and around the rock bars as the tide rose. First it attracted a few undersize moses perch. Then, as I moved into slightly deeper water I found a patch of small bream. I caught a couple before they decided they had had enough.

At about 10.00 am I found myself almost back where I had caught the big flathead earlier. I had waded round the bay in a big circle. I continued to cast along the edge of the rocks and suddenly felt a solid hit and run. The fish was hooked and after a few good runs it calmed down and I pulled it up to the sandy beach. It was another good bream – just over 35cm long. I released it and carried on fishing for about another hour with no luck, so I decided to give up for the morning.

Iluka – Middle Bluff and Shark Bay – 11 February 2013

Posted on by
4

Monday

The wind started a little cool from the south west but was forecast to move round to the east and north east. The tide would be too full to fish the dawn at Woody Head, so I decided to give Middle Bluff a try again. I arrived in the pre-dawn light, just before 6.00 am and immediately set to work with the heavy rig. I started with 3/8th oz, 3/0 jighead and a Gulp Jerkshad in the Pumpkinseed colour. The bommie, beside which the jewfish lurk, was covered in wash and the sweep took a few of my lures in quick succession. I had done too much of this the day before, so I changed tactics.

The sun was up and I moved right to the north end of Middle Bluff. I switched to the light rod with 16lb leader and put on a 1/6th oz, 3/0 jighead. I started with a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad, in the Lime Tiger colour. I could just about cast the lure out, over the edge of the fringing reef and leave it there for a few seconds. Then I would have to quickly retrieve it with a wave, that was breaking over the reef. After a couple of casts, I lost the tail of the soft plastic, so I put on another. Each time I retrieved, small baitfish leapt ahead of the lure, as it approached the reef edge. After about three casts, a fish grabbed the lure right at the edge of the reef. I let it have some line and looked for a wave to bring it over the reef.

I had not caught much in the few days previously and I was a bit too eager. As the next wave washed over the edge, I pulled a bit too hard and the hook came out. I did not get a good look at it, but I would say it was more likely to have been a tailor or trevally, than jewfish.

I threw a lot of lures at this spot over the next hour, with both the light and heavy rod. After about twenty minutes one of my GULP 2” Smelt Minnows was bitten off right next to the edge, but that was it, I did not hook anything else. By about 10 am the water was surging over the rocks too often and I had to move off. The fish were definitely there, but they had again proved hard to get at.

By late afternoon the north-easterly breeze had picked up. I decided to try fishing at Shark Bay, to the north of Woody Head. This is another spot that is only really accessible around low tide. The rock platform at the southern end of the bay is exposed for a few hours either side of low. There is a large patch of reef just north of the main platform and the channel between is often a good target area.

The sea was fairly flat here. I decided to start with the light rod. I tied on 12lb leader and a 1/6th oz, 2/0 jighead and loaded a GULP 2” Minnow in the Banana Prawn colour. I cast north and waited for the lure to sink. As it did so,…….bang, it was hit on the drop. The Shimano Catana Coastline bent over and took the lunges. After a few runs I reeled in another good size bream.

A few casts later I pulled in a tiny Moses Perch and then I started to lose tails to some rapid hit and run attacks. I decided to put a bigger lure on and loaded a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad. On the first retrieve it was slammed. I knew it was a tailor from the mad head shakes. I wound in steadily and soon had it by my feet. It was about 40 cm long. Over the next hour I had several more plastics mangled, but could not hook up. At one point I saw a couple of long toms following the lure in. At about 7.00 pm, exhausted, I gave up for the day.

A hot sunrise at Middle Bluff
Bitten off twice at Middle Bluff – first thing
Shark Bay bream on GULP 2 inch minnow in Banana Prawn
The bream were good quality but hard too find
Fishing between the rocky outcrops at Shark Bay
Lost a few soft plastic lure tails to these fish
A 40cm tailor grabs as GULP Crazylegs jerkshad
The wobbegong arrived as soon as blood was spilled

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

Posted on by
3

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 – Bongaree – 8 January 2013

Posted on by
2

Tuesday

High tide at Bribie Island would be at 6.20 am. Conditions were still but the fires were getting going on the north side of the island and there was a strong charcoal smell and a hazy sky. I started at about 5.00 am.

I waded around on the sand flats beside the drain in front of the Seaside Museum and tried fishing with just about everything I had in my lure box.

The water was fairly clear and there was plenty of bait around. I cast over the broken ground with soft plastics and hard bodied lures, but I could not raise a bite.

Ominous skys at Bongaree
Grey skies just after dawn at the museum drain
Just one 30cm Flathead for 3 hours of fishing
The only flathead of the day

At about 7.40 am I caught a 30 cm Flathead on a GULP Lime Tiger Jerkshad. I fished on for another hour but caught nothing.

The fishing in this area is definitely challenging at the moment!

Bribie – Oyster jetty flats – 7 January 2013

Posted on by
3

Monday

The fishing was still tough but I had found fish in one location, so that is where I returned on Monday. It was a pretty high high tide at 2.4m, at about 7.30 am. I started fishing the last of the run in at about 5.45 am.

I waded south from the bridge, casting parallel with the edge of the mangroves into about a metre of water. I started with a suspending YOZURI Crystal Minnow lure, as I am convinced a big flathead would happily attack one, in the right conditions. Unfortunately these were not the right conditions and this one came up covered in weed on each cast. I gave up swapped to a GULP Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger colour, rigged on a 1/8th 1/0 NITRO Saltwater Pro jighead with OWNER hooks.

There is a quite a range of NITRO stock in most shops and over the years it seems to have been called all sorts of different things. Basically, I like their jigheads that have black OWNER hooks (thin) and don’t much like their jigheads that have silver hooks (thick).

Jig head selection can be important when the fish are fussy. Generally, the less metal that is sticking out of the plastic the better – especially when you are fishing in the estuaries. This needs to be balanced with strength requirements.But as long as your drag is set correctly and you can be patient – even the softer (cheaper)hook styles will safely pull in very big fish.

I waded further south past the jetty, towards the drain that runs off the Sandstone Points flats. This often holds a few fish. I stayed close to the mangroves and cast round in a semi-circle, retrieving my lure slowly and methodically. Just before 7.00 am I found my first fish of the day – a solid 50cm Flathead. I released it and fished on.

The oyster jetty flats on a high tide
First flathead of the day
Flathead on the sandbanks
Underneath it was pretty cloudy
The high tide lifted the weed
A 50cm Flathead
Recovered quickly and swam away

The tide was running out now and unfortunately it was taking even more weed with it. I carried on fishing the drain area as I was sure there would be more fish there. At about 7.20 am I connected with another, slightly smaller Flathead, but it wriggled free before I could photograph it. At 7.25 am, I either caught it again, or caught another one, about the same size. I took this one back to the Mangroves to photograph and release. It was another handsome fish, just under 50cm.

By now the weed and wind were again making things difficult and although the tide run and the water level were ideal, it was just impractical to carry on. That’s fishing – too many variables. Just when you think it’s all falling into place some element of the environment changes and its back to the drawing board.

Bribie Island – old oyster jetty flats – 6 January 2012

Posted on by
2

Sunday

Between the wind and the increased traffic, finding the fish has been far from easy over the Christmas period at Bribie. All you can do is keep trying your favourite spots, on your favourite tides and hope things improve. As I look back over the blog and my dairies, which precede it – I see that December and January have been my toughest fishing months in the Pumicestone Passage for the last few years. Partly because if this, I have often run away to fish the rocks at Iluka or elsewhere, at this time of year.

The only spot that has been consistently producing fish for me is the area to the south of the old oyster jetty on the mainland side of the Passage, so this is where I started on Sunday morning. To add to the challenge high tide was just on dawn (3.57 am at 1.9m) and there would be a fairly strong south-easterly blowing at about 10 to 15 knots. This had the advantage of frightening off the boat traffic but would make casting less simple.

I started with a hard bodied lure as there was not much weed around. I love the DUO Realis Shad 59 MR. It is another of DUO’s finesse range, probably designed with bass in mind, but it annoys the hell out the flathead. It is 59mm long and weighs a little less than 5 grams. This is rapidly becoming my favourite suspending lure. It casts a mile and it seems to be able to just hang for ages in the water column. It’s great in this terrain, where you want to stay off the bottom. I was using an olive coloured model.

I was fishing a stretch of sandy bottom about 6 metres out from the edge of the mangroves. It was covered in about 80cm of water. I was retrieving the lure over the edge of a weed bed when suddenly something grabbed it. First it ran away from me and then it changed direction and hurtled back towards me. This must have left some slack in the line and as it came tight again, the drag screamed and the lure pulled free. Not sure what it was but it seemed a bit fast for a flathead – who knows?

I carried on working the same area and about 10 minutes later, there was a tug and a splash and an angry flathead appeared, shaking its head on the surface. After a brief fight I had it subdued and pulled it over to a gap in the Mangroves. It was about 55cm with a small open wound on its back and a pattern on its scales that looked as if it had been mauled by something with a broad mouth. Perhaps a wobbegong had had a go at it. I have seen some big ones cruising these flats.

I let the fish go and carried on peppering the area with casts. I felt another tug and lunge but again the hook pulled after a brief fight. The weed was starting to become a nuisance so I decided to swap to a soft plastic lure. I picked out a GULP jerkshad in the lime tiger colour, which has been doing quite well lately. I was fishing with a 1/8th 1/0 jighead. On the first cast I saw a flathead appear from the weed, grab the lure and immediately roll over, flashing its white belly, to release itself. I kept going and soon hooked it again. This time I kept it on the line. It was another nice fish, about the same size as the first.

This mornings spectators
The sun tried to come out
Duo Realis Shad 59 MR nails a Bribie Flathead
Duo Realis Shad 59 MR -perfect for flathead
This flathead was in 40cm of water
This one swallowed a GULP Crazlegs jerkshad in the new penny colour
The next one took a GULP jerkshad in lime tiger

As the tide started to run out strongly I gradually followed it, casting over the weed and sand banks. The gradually increasing high tides and big south-easterly blow had lifted a lot of sea grass and this was now clogging almost every cast. I reached the green channel marker and walked slowly back towards the oyster jetty. About half way along I connected with another fish, but it shook out the hook. I carried on casting in the same area for about 10 minutes until I felt another solid thud. I paused and then lifted the rod. It was another flathead about 45cm. I released it and battled the wind and weed for a further 30 minutes before giving up. I had found a few fish but also lost a few – not a bad session.

Bribie Island – the oyster jetty flats and Whitepatch – 2 January 2013

Posted on by
Reply

Wednesday

Flushed with the success of New Years Day, I invited a friend to come and fish the flats around Sandstone point with me on Wednesday morning. Andre is the perfect fishing companion. He comes well prepared, does not talk much, always pays for the coffee, but most importantly – he wants to catch fish.

It may sound odd but when you say you are a fisherman almost everyone seems to think you are in desperate need of company. Wives in particular, are constantly volunteering their husbands to go fishing with you. I think the problem might be that the annual ‘fishing trip’ away with the lads rarely yields any fish – this is because it is primarily a drinking trip. Perhaps the wives are thinking after 12 years of buying new gear, going to Fraser and coming back with 4 small dart and a shocking 3 day hangover, their husbands need some tips!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When I fish with Andre we have none of that ‘well it was a beautiful morning even though we did not catch anything” nonsense. The focus is on the fishing. However I have noticed that it is often a lot harder to find and catch fish when you are with someone else. Perhaps you over plan or analyse or maybe the two of you and wading and casting causes more disturbance either way today was not easy fishing.

It started very well – we waded out under the bridge on to the exposed mud flats on the mainland side of the Pumicestone Passage, at about 4.30 am. The tide was running out but was just slowing. The sun was not yet over the horizon and the air was still and warm. The south easterly that had been blowing up until the day before, had died away. Low tide would be at 5.52am. We waded down along the exposed sandbank to a point about half way between the old oyster jetty and the green channel marker – where I had caught plenty of fish the day before. The only real difference was that we would be fishing the last of the run out tide, whereas the day before, I had caught most of my fish on the beginning of the run in.

I rigged up with a GULP 4” Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour on a 1/8th oz, 1/0 jighead, 10lb fluorocarbon leader. I cast the soft plastic at the edge of the weed beds and a fish hit it almost as soon as I lifted it off the bottom. It was a nice 45cm flathead. A few casts later I pulled up a sub 40cm flathead which released itself before I could get a picture. Then, a little while later Andre pulled in another fish that was just about 40cm.

We gradually waded north as a couple of boat based anglers slowly electric motored right along the line of the edge of the weed banks. We carried on towards the old oyster jetty. I swapped to a Minnow in the smelt colour and caught another sub 40cm flathead. On the bottom of the tide the weed started to lift and made the fishing difficult so we decided to switch locations.

We drove up to the north end of Whitepatch and waded around on the edge of the drop off, trying to rustle up some more fish, but we could not find anything. Eventually the weed problem also arrived there on the incoming tide, so we gave up for the day.

Bribie Island – Banksia Beach and Whitepatch – 31 December 2012

Posted on by
1

New Years Eve

I was still at Bribie Island and the big south-easterly wind and swell would make it just too hard to fish on the surf side. This gave me an excuse to go over to the western side of the island and fish in the Pumicestone Passage.

The wind would still be a pain but usually it calms down for a few hours either side of dawn and this morning was no exception. I started at Banksia Beach, just to the north of the wading bird roost. There is a nice coffee rock ledge along here and the area produces snapper in the cooler months and plenty of Flathead, all year round.

Low tide was just before 5.00 am and this is when I arrived. I waded out to the ledge and cast around on top of it and just over it. I was using might light spin rod and reel and had rigged a GULP satay chicken Jerkshad on a 1/8th 1/0 jighead, on 10lb fluorocarbon leader. After a few casts a felt a solid thud and the rod tip started wriggling. I struck a bit too hard and the fish was gone. Too long between fish and this can easily happen!

I peppered the same area with about 50 casts but could not find the fish again. I gradually went smaller and lighter with my jighead and soft plastics, until I caught an angry 20cm moses perch, on a GULP 3” minnow, in the emerald shine colour. I got a good soaking from a passing shower and at about 7.30 am, decided to move locations. I drove up to the north end of Whitepatch and waded out into the water.

The moses perch were all along the ledge
I rarely catch one big enough to keep
Smelt does the trick
A 57cm Flathead on a smelt jerkshad
A very healthy Whitepatch flathead
Whitepatch – scene of the capture

The tide was about half way in and I focused on an area where I had seen some flathead lies the week before. I had swapped to the more natural coloured GULP Jerkshad in the smelt colour but was still using a 1/8th 1/0 jighead. I was casting at the area, just on top of the ledge which now has some thick weed beds growing on it. I felt a very slight hit and decided to cast into the same spot again. As soon as the plastic hit the water the fish swallowed it and took off. It hooked itself and I just had to hang on. I soon had it back at the tree line and safely out of the water. It was a handsome 57cm flathead.

I was so relieved to have broken my duck that I decided not to push my luck. I took a few photos, released the fish and gave up for the 2012.

Bribie Island – The old oyster jetty flats – 18 December 2012

Posted on by
5

Tuesday

It was great to wake up at 4.00 am and only have a few minutes’ drive to wherever I wanted to fish on Bribie Island. My problem was that I was struggling to find fish. Was it the northerly winds or increased fishing and boating activity or was I just not looking in the right places?

Sunday and Monday had been dismal days. I had put in the hours in spots where I have often found fish and caught very little. There definitely was not much bait around. I have often found fishing at this time of the year tough and the last few days had been evidence of that.

I decided to try the mainland side of the Pumicestone Passage, around the old oyster jetty, just south of the Bribie Island bridge. This is an area of mud and sandbanks with extensive weed beds. It usually fishes quite well on the bottom of the run out tide. Low tide would be at about 0.5m at 6.32 am.

I arrived at about 4.45 am and waded out across the mud flats. The tide was still running out slowly but the water was dead calm and it was already stinking hot. I started with a GULP 4” Minnow soft plastic in the Pearl Watermelon colour. I waded south, casting at the edges of the weed beds.

At first, there was a little cloud in front of the sun as it came over the horizon but when it emerged, it was already white hot. The water was so shallow and warm that it provided no relief. I fished my way south and was encouraged to see a few patches of very tiny squid (about 3cm long) swimming around.

The northerly winds had blown hundreds of blue jellyfish in from the ocean and these were now dotted all over the sandbanks, like cake decorations. I walked down to the green channel marker and fished around but did not feel any bites. As the tide turned in, I turned back and walked parallel with the sandbanks. I slowly waded back towards the oyster jetty.

As the tide picked up pace it washed the loose weed away and the water became clearer. It was now easier to see the edge of the weed beds and that’s where I kept casting. I had swapped to a GULP Jerkshad soft plastic, in the Lime Tiger colour. Suddenly I felt the tell-tale ‘thud’ and I immediately dropped the rod tip. I paused and then struck. The rod tip started wriggling but the drag was silent. I realised it was working but the clicking mechanism was buggered. It was surprisingly disconcerting to play the fish without the noise of a clicking drag. I slowly waded back to the sand bank, playing the fish very gently – it hard been hard to find. It was a dark green, carefully camouflaged flathead – about 50cm long and I was very glad to see it.

I took some photos, bagged it then followed my muddy footsteps back to the edge of the weed beds. A few more casts, in the same area and bang, I had another. I still was not going to risk grabbing it, so I waded back to the sand bank again. It was another flathead, about the same size. I repeated this process three more times along the edge of the weed banks and caught three larger Flathead – the biggest was just over 60cm. I got them all on the same GULP Jerkshad in lime Tiger.

So I had fished for three days and caught the only five legal size fish, all within about 30 minutes. They had all been on the same 50 metre stretch of shoreline. And this was the same stretch I had covered in casts an hour before.

Hot and still – this morning
Tiny squid were all across this area
Ideal flathead habitat
The northerly blew them in
Jellys were everywhere
Flathead 1
Flathead 2
Flathead 3
Flathead 4
Flathead 5
Plenty of food
Better than Turkey

It was a relief to have a bag of fish for Christmas entertaining and even more of a relief to know there must be a few more out there. At that point I decided it was time for a cold shower, so I gave up for the day and waded back to the car.

Fingal Head – Where has the bait gone? 5 December, 2012

Posted on by
2

Wednesday

The trouble with land based fishing is that once you find a good spot its difficult to stay away or risk going elsewhere. So it was back down to Fingal Head to look for the Jewfish again. Wednesday looked good, although the moon phase was no longer very exciting. Light northerly wind was forecast. I arrived around 4.00 am and caught a small 30cm Tailor just before the sun came over the horizon. I was using a RAPALA SXR 12 in the ‘ghost’ colour.

Another fantastic sunrise

Another fantastic sunrise

There did not seem to be any more around so I swapped over to a GULP 4” Minnow soft plastic, on a 1/4 oz, 1/0 jighead. There was a much bigger swell than I had been expecting and there was a lot of weed floating around. It had rained hard the night before and it was close to low tide. But the biggest problem was that the schools of tiny bait fish, that have been hugging the rocks for the last few weeks, had disappeared.

I fished for about 4 hours with every plastic I had. I changed down to the lighter rod, lighter leader and jigheads, but none of this helped. Eventually, I crossed the causeway and walked along the headland to the south side to get out of the northerly wind. I stuck with the light rod and the GULP 4” Pearl Watermelon Minnow. After a few casts I felt a couple of double tap bites. I persisted in the same spot, making sure that the plastic was on the bottom before I started the retrieve. After a few more casts, I had a fish – a 25cm Bream. It had been a tough morning.

The 4" Minnow can be tempting

The 4″ Minnow can be tempting

I hope the bait has only disappeared temporarily.

Fingal Head – More Jewfish – 30 November 2012

Posted on by
2

Friday

A northerly wind to flatten the seas, a full moon and plenty of bait around the rocks – what more could a fisherman want? A few more hours of sleep, perhaps. Low tide would be at 3.20 am at Fingal Head and that is where I decided to go.

I arrived just before 4.00 am and walked out onto the rocks to find a few good size piles of scales – jewfish scales. The moon was still very bright in the sky. I started with soft plastic lures. I was sure the jewfish would still be around and I am convinced that their favourite food is big Jerkshads. So I started with a big GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Blackshad colour – black and white, with a split curly tail. I was using my heavy rig and cast it out on a ¼ oz, 2/0 jighead hook. I had 30lb leader on.

After a couple of casts I hooked a fish in the half light – a small Tailor about 35cm long. By the time I released the fish, there was only about an inch of the plastic left, I put on a new one and carried on fishing. It was only 4.25 am and the sun had not yet crossed the horizon. I was concentrating on the area at the south end of the rock platform. There has been a big school of small baitfish sitting here for a few weeks and the jewfish have never been far away.

Con arrived and confirmed that he had found some good jewfish the day before – around the 85cm mark. He had caught one on a soft plastic, but had been surprised when one took his Shimano Waxwing hard bodied lure, the previous afternoon. Steve, another local arrived and finally decided to give the plastics a go. His was a cheapy from Kmart which included the jighead. As we were talking fishy rubbish he cast it out a few times, to the south of the rock platform. On about his third attempt a fish grabbed the plastic and took off. After a quick run around it tried to wedge itself under the rocks but Steve played it patiently and let it swim out. He lifted it clear and was delighted with his first jewfish. It looked about 60 to 70cm long and was in great condition.

Now Steve found his rhythm and over the next hour he land two more good jewfish. I was getting just a little jealous and beginning to wish I had never mentioned soft plastics. I had been fishing all through and had had a few bites but could not seem to hook up. I put on a GULP 5” Jerkshad in the Smelt colour and just dropped it straight down beside the rocks and counted to 10. My lure would either be snagged or get a fish and luckily for me, it was the latter. It fought hard initially but I had the heavy rod and it soon tired. With the sea fairly flat I climbed down the stepped rocks to the water and lifted the fish clear. It was another jewfish, just on 65cm.

I continued fishing around that same ledge. I lost a few jigheads and plastics to the rocks and swapped down to a lighter, 20lb fluorocarbon leader. I was now using my old favorite GULP 4” Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour. At about 5.50 am there was a tug and then another and then line started peeling. This one wanted to swim out to sea initially and then turned north. I went with it and followed it round to the eastern edge of the platform. It was about the same size as the first and I soon had it up they rocks.

Tailor on GULP Crazylegs
Steve with his first jewfish
Kmart pre-rigged plastic does the trick
My first of the day
I was surprised the leader held this one
My second fish was much fatter
They love these soft plastics
Thats a few dinners

I swapped to a RAPALA SXR 12 for a bit and felt a few knocks from small Tailor but by 6.30am, the jewfish had gone off the bite. I fished on until eight, trying lighter gear but then, with the sun beating down, I cleaned the fish and went in search of a cold drink.

Fingal Head predator – 21 November 2012

Posted on by
Reply

Wednesday

A couple of big storms over the weekend and this week, the wind was back to blowing from the south east. The tailor have been pretty solid at Fingal Head and despite the long drive and the early start, that looked like the best option on Wednesday. The wind was forecast to gradually drop through the morning, from about 15 knots down to 10 knots. Low tide would be just before 8.00 am.

I arrived about 4.15 am (QLD time) and it was already past first light. There was a small shower of drizzle as I walked out to the rocks. It was cloudy and overcast but the south easterly was blowing a good deal harder than 15 knots.

I rigged the heavy rod – I am still using the 20lb Fireline and a 30lb fluorocarbon leader, for the first casts of the day. I tied on the RAPALA SXR 14 hard bodied minnow. After only a few rock fishing sessions it is looking a bit battered, but I always think you should try the biggest, most daring lure in the bag for your first cast, as it might just tempt something which has been lurking around all night.

It hit the water and bait sprayed in all directions which was a great sign. They were tiny smelt coloured anchovies about 3cm long. They certainly did not look much like a red headed RAPALA SXR 14 but on the next cast – tug, tug – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. That’s how the tailor seem to play. Sometimes I think a couple of fish hit the lure at about the same time and that’s why there is a slight delay before they start running. It’s only when the faster/ more aggressive fish wins and clamps down on the lure that the fun starts. This one tried to head south but with the heavy gear I turned its head and soon had it round on the north side and safely landed. It was another very handsome Tailor – just over 50cm long. It was spitting up plenty of the 3cm bait fish.

It had given the RAPALA SXR 14 a good work over. As I have mentioned, I like these lures – great action, good colours, consistent swimming depth and tough trebles and rings but the paint job and their lack of overall durability lets them down. This one had now lost more than 50% of its paint, it was missing a chunk off its rear end and the wire frame was bent sideways. It had caught three or four fish and was only in its third session. This not a cheap lure at approximately A$20, so it should be tougher than it is. I straightened out the wire frame and peppered the areas with casts again. But I did not get another hit.

After about 10 minutes, I swapped to a smaller RAPALA Clackin Rap CNM11 hard bodied minnow. This lure is 110mm long and weighs 20 grams. I had it in the Grey Ghost colour. RAPALA describe it as ‘slow sinking’ which really means it suspends in a big swell. The ‘clack’ is caused by a big ball bearing that rattles on a cylinder across the body of the lure. It has a lighter set of trebles and, on the back treble, one of the hooks is slightly elongated. It has a fairly standard slashbait /minnow action. The smaller profile or the louder rattle obviously did the trick because I hooked up on the first cast. It was a smaller tailor – about 35cm long.

RAPALA SXR 14 lands another tailor
A very battered RAPALA SXR 14
There is really not much paint left
The paint was flicking off while I watched
The RAPALA CNM11 Clackin Rap Minnow – 110mm
The tailor stretched the first split ring
This fish just pulled the treble out of the split ring
The tailor kept coming
It is very difficult to land a Jewfish when the swell is from the south east
Its a fish eat fish world
Anybody recognise the teeth marks?
Sometimes it just gets silly

By 6.30 am things had gone quiet, so I decided to try a soft plastic lure. I tied on a 3/8th ounce, 2/0 hook, jighead and loaded it with a GULP 4” minnow in the pearl water melon colour. I still had the heavy rod but I had dropped down to 20lb fluorocarbon leader. I dropped the lure down close to rocks on the eastern side of the rock platform. I could see a thick school of bait sitting there. I let it sink to the bottom and immediately got snagged. I broke off the line and re-rigged. This time I cast out a bit further and let the plastic waft in, close to the rocks, as I retrieved it.

Just before I lifted it from the water there was a big bait spray and a Jewfish engulfed it. The fish turned and took off. I had got a clear look and it looked like a 10kg fish. At first it started heading north but it soon turned south, in the direction of a load of rocky snags. Even with the big rod and a fairly tight drag, it was taking plenty of line. After a few minutes of sustained pressure I brought it to the surface, close to the rocks. Landing it would be very tricky, but the problem was solved before I had to think about it. With a shake of its head, it spat the bent hook out and was gone.

I swapped the bent jighead and mangled soft plastic for a tougher one and cast out again. After a few casts and a couple more jigheads lost to the bottom, I hooked up again. I did not get a look at it this time. It swam straight around the corner to the south and broke the leader on the rocks. This was getting frustrating.

Con – another local rock fisherman was spinning with a ’waxwing’ lure on the north side of the rocks. He gave me a shout and I went over. He had hooked a small tailor and something had decided to eat half of it on the way in – ouch. I tried a few casts in the area with a soft plastic but could only manage to catch a dart and then a long tom, neither of which seemed like likely suspects for the tailor robbery. Something bigger was prowling around but despite trying every lure in the bag, neither of us could tempt it.

At about 8.30 am I gave up for the day and drove back up to Brisbane. Still plenty of bait and plenty of fish around.

Bribie Island – the oyster jetty flats – 4 November 2012

Posted on by
Reply

Sunday

Sunday was a grey and rainy morning. The early starts and drives south had worn me out so I had a lie I, until 4.15 am and then decided on a quick wading session at Bribie.

I drove through a few showers on the way up and decided to stay on the mainland and fish the weed banks and mud/ sand flats, south of the old oyster jetty. The jetty is now out of bounds pending re-development but it has been repaired and made safe. The complete removal of the tree cover in the area has made the light quite different and I have been wondering if it will affect the weed growth and therefore the fishing. The terrain has flattened out a quite considerably but I think that has more to do with the change of wind and current, as we settle into a more obvious summer weather pattern.

I arrived just after 5.00 am and the sun was up, but buried behind the grey clouds. I waded past the jetty and had a look around. It was just about slack water on low tide. There was no surface action and the water was pretty murky. I tied on a 1/8th 1/0 jighead and loaded it with a GULP 5” Jerkshad in the Curry Chicken colour – red and yellow. Unfortunately the bright dry sunny days have encouraged the growth of the ‘snot weed’ or algae. This takes particular hold in the areas where there is not much current flow. It means you get a jighead full of slime if you hit the bottom.

Once you reach the edge of the weed beds you can cast parallel with them and avoid it. But don’t go past the sandy patches between the weed as these often harbour a few fish and this was where the first Flathead came from today. It slammed the plastic as soon as it hit the water and I hooked up without really trying, as it tried to swim off with it. It was just under 50cm.

I let the fish go and swapped to a another small hard body from DUO that I have been wanting to try out – the DUO Realis Shad 59 MR. This is a small suspending lure designed for bass but suitable for plenty of other species. It is finished to the usual superb standard and I chose one in the olive colour to try out. I had upgraded the trebles and split rings for saltwater work – the Flathead don’t take prisoners!

It was a very brief sunrise
The DUO Realis Shad 59 MR
Very small – very angry Flathead
The DUO Realis Shad 59 found the fish
The DUO Realis Shad 59 MR – a real Flathead teaser
The bright red got them going today
The last one of the morning
Flathead ‘lie’
Clear evidence-Flathead have been here

I was pretty sure there was more than one Flathead in the sandy patch in front of me and my first cast with the Realis Shad confirmed it. After two quick hops of the lure, a fish knocked it out of the water and then swiped again with a splash. But I did not hook up, so I wound the lure back in and cast out again. This time I let it sit for about 10 seconds – and then gave it a short pull. A fish attacked again and this time it was hooked. But the fish was only about 30 cm long.

I let it go and tried again. After about three more casts, the line pulled tight and a really angry fish surfaced. I pulled this one over to some exposed reef and landed it. This time good Flathead about the same size as the first of the day. I sent it on its way and moved south.

The tide was now flowing in strongly. I waded along casting over the weed beds. I caught two more Flathead – both about 45cm long, on the Realis Shad. The incoming tide had now lifted lots of strap weed and this was starting to clog the hard bodied lure. I swapped back the GULP curry chicken Jerkshad and this tempted two more 45cm fish before I gave up at about 8.30 am.

As I waded back along the shoreline there were Flathead ’lies’ everywhere. Many were very close to the Mangrove roots, showing that the fish will move up into very shallow water on the higher overnight tides.

You have a very good chance of catching dinner at the moment, especially if you get up early!

Fingal Head – Jew & Tailor – 1 November 2012

Posted on by
Reply

Thursday

I was up early again – full moon had passed on Wednesday. Low tide would be just before 4.00 am. It would still be a pretty big tidal flow. A northerly blow was forecast but it would be calm around dawn. I decided to drive back down to Fingal Head.

I arrived in between dawn and first light – just a little late. It was cloudy but as the northerly picked up it turned into a beautiful morning. I started with DUO Beachwalker MD 120 hard-bodied minnow in the orange colour. I had swapped back to treble hooks. There were bumps and splashes on each of my first three casts. On the fourth cast I hooked something. It pulled pretty hard and I thought I had connected with a good fish and then I realised it was a small Tailor – hooked through the back. I let it go and carried on casting but could not hook anything else.

I swapped over to a 65g Raider metal slug and moved round to the north edge of the rock platform and cast as far as I could. After about 20 casts I felt a knock at the base of the rocks. Then, on the next cast, a fish hit the lure right at the base of the rocks. It was a small Tailor – around 40cm long. I let that one go. I decided to try some soft plastics on the lighter rod and reel combo – the Shimano Catana Coastline light rod, 2500 reel, 6lb braided main line and 10lb leader.

A local fisho, Bill arrived with his Alvey and big rod and threw out a fresh prawn. His first cast produced an excellent Tarwhine, which looked to be about the 1kg mark. There were definitely fish around.

The strong northerly was making it easier to fish on the southern side of the rock platform now. I cast out a GULP 4” Minnow in the Smelt colour, on a 1/6th 1 jighead and let it slowly sink. I cast in all directions and did not get any interest for about an hour. The water was very clear and just in the mouth of the channel that separates the causeway from the mainland; there was a school of small baitfish, hugging the rocks. There is a slight overhang here and some deeper water close to the rocks. I dropped the plastic into the middle of the channel and thought I felt the faintest of bites. I flicked the bail arm over and released a metre or two of line. As I slowly retrieved it, it flicked tight and the rod bent over. Line started peeling and I started thinking – how and where will I land this?

I decided from the slow and powerful runs it was not a Tailor. I would try to coax it round the rocky outcrop, to the front of the rock platform. The northerly had flattened the sea and it was safe to jump down a few steps to the wash area, to grab a fish between waves, if I could get it that far. It did not want to come round the rocks and with the light rod and 10lb leader I could not apply much pressure. I left the drag quite light and just kept winding. Eventually I dragged the fish round the rocks and saw it was a small Jew. I used the surge to get it onto a flat rock at the water line and then hopped down and picked it up, between waves. It was a good looking 55cm fish. I slit its throat and put it in the keeper pool.

The plastic and leader was a bit gnarled but OK, so I threw it back out. Two or three casts later and I was on again. This time it was a much bigger fish and initially I really was not making much of an impression. But Jewfish tire quickly and after a while the fish was beaten but the swell was still making things tricky. I aborted a couple of attempts to pull the fish round the rocks but eventually it swam in the right direction. I got it on to the same ledge as the previous one, jumped down and grabbed it under the gills. This was a much bigger fish at about 75cm. I decided to keep this one as well. It was 8.15 am.

I swapped the soft plastic for bigger one – a GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Black Shad colour. I stuck with the 10lb leader and the 1/6th 1 jighead. After about 10 more minutes of casting and retrieving, close to the overhang – bang, I was on to a fish. This one was bigger again and after a long tussle I got it to the same spot. But this one was too much for the 10lb leader and as I pulled the fish onto the rock ledge, it snapped.

Hooked
DUO BEACHWALKER MD120 – not quite the right place
45cm Tailor on a 65g slug
Flipper – showing off
Hoodlums
Bill with a big Tarwhine
This is where the Jewfish were hiding
A small but solid jighead
The second Jewfish was bigger – about 75cm
55cm and 75cm – Jewfish

I decided to upgrade to the bigger rod and use 20lb leader. I stuck with the 1/6th 1 jighead and the same soft plastic. I carried on or another hour but did not get another bite. Was it the heavier leader or had I spooked them? I am not sure. All the fish were caught in no more than 2m of water – the Jewfish certainly don’t mind feeding in the shallows.

At about 10.00am I left the platform to Bill, cleaned up the Jewfish and went in search of ice.

Bribie Island – More Flathead from Bongaree – 25 October 2012

Posted on by
Reply

Thursday

I was stuck with my usual problem at Bribie Island. High tide would be an hour or so after dawn at about 6.00 am. I never know where to fish on the first few hours of the run out tide. Once the water comes flooding over the ledge (that runs almost the entire edge of the Pumicestone Passage) it quickly floods on to the sand flats. It brings plenty of hungry fish with it and I have caught big Flathead and other species in this shallow water, but it can sometimes be difficult to know where to start the search. It feels like there is just too much ground to cover.
The low tide was also getting higher and the tidal flow was slowing, as we moved away from the new moon. The wind was swapping around between northerly and south-easterly but it had been a fairly strong south easterly on most early mornings through the week.

By Thursday the wind was forecast to ease off a little around dawn so I started on the flats in front of the creek drain, which comes out under the bridge, by the Seaside Museum. At high tide all of the rocky structure is submerged and the Flathead move right up to the creek mouth to feed on what is being washed out. They like to tuck themselves in in the grooves in the rocks or bury themselves in the sand just beside them.

The wind was a strong south easterly and there where soon a few white caps on the surface. It was a stark contrast to the still waters of the week before. I fished around the rocky ground but did not get any hits so I waded south, to the new opening at the south end of the tidal lagoon. I cast around, but it was very windy. The bait was certainly not so thick and the big schools of Mullet had moved on.

I moved back to the south. Just passed the museum I felt a tug at my soft plastic – a GULP Jerkshad in the Cajun Chicken colour. I paused but there was no fish there when I struck. Two casts later, in the same spot, the fish grabbed it again. I paused again and this time, when I lifted the rod tip, the fish was hooked. It was a good Flathead and it used the run out tide to make some good runs, but after a short fight it was on the beach. You have to be patient and wear them out when you are fishing with 10lb leader. The last drag up on to the sand can often be the point when the leader snaps. Everything held and this was a handsome fish, measuring just over 64cm. It was just after 8.30am.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As the tide ran out, I continued south and found another three Flathead – between 45cm and 50 cm. I caught three on the Cajun Chicken Jerkshad and the last on a bigger Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Pumpkinseed colour. All the fish were caught on a 1/8th 1/0 jighead. I did not get a bite from the Pike or small Tailor so the bait really does seem to have thinned out.

Bribie Island – Bongaree Flats – 21 October 2012

Posted on by
2

Sunday

Sunday saw me back at Bongaree on Bribie Island, again. It was another morning low tide at about 7.00 am. I arrived at about 4.45 am and started fishing on the flats in front of Buckley’s Hole. The water was almost completely still and the midges were everywhere. The sun came up behind me and lit up the school of Mullet, that were finning around on the flats.

The first fish came just after the sun rose

I put on another small DUO hard bodied lure – the Spearhead Ryuki 50s. This is designed as a freshwater trout lure but it will catch just about anything. It is a 50mm long, sinking minnow and weighs 4.5 grams. It has a great wiggling action and is perfect when there is no weed floating around. I cast it towards the drop off and hopped it back along the sandy bottom. After about three casts I connected with a fish. The start of the fight is often very lively with the hard bodied lure – I think the trebles are more painful when they first get lodged and the fish reacts accordingly. It settled down and after a few runs, I had it on the beach. It was a 55cm Flathead. It was just before 6.00 am.

A 55cm Flathead on the DUO Spearhead Ryuki

Kenny arrived and explained that the Jewfish had been breaking the surface to lunge into the Mullet on Saturday morning. The fish were clearly listening because about ten minutes later there was a huge surge about a metre in front of us and loud boof, as a big Jew tried to engulf a Mullet or Pike. It must have missed, as it chased the bait over the ledge and up towards the beach before turning away.

DUO Spearhead Ryuki 50S – annoys the Flathead into striking

Kenny caught some Pike on a bait jig and put one out. We saw the Jewfish repeat its bait attack about 30 metres further north. I decided to wade north and fish around the drain in front of the Seaside Museum. I picked up another small Flathead – just under 40cm. A couple of guys had landed three good ones, a little further north. There were bust ups every 15 minutes or so at various points along the ledge. The bait was everywhere and the bigger fish were making the most it.

Plenty of rods in the water by 9.30 am

By 9.00 am there were rods everywhere and boats, kayaks and jet skis humming up and down. I decided to give up for the day.

Bribie Island – Buckley’s Hole Flats – Whitepatch – 17 October 2012

Posted on by
4

Wednesday

Whilst fishing definitely delivers the joy in my life, unfortunately, it can’t seem to deliver the cash. Paid work has many evil consequences – less fishing and no time for a midday hammock session, to name a couple. But perhaps the most evil is the exquisite torture devised by the ATO – the tax return.

I have been fortunate to live in a few countries over the years and unfortunate enough to pay tax in most of them. Nowhere is the process more excruciating than Oz. I admit I have not tried North Korea – which is about the only place where I think they could make it more painful. I like the idea of the Greek tax system where 95% of doctors reported an annual income of less than A$ 9,000, last year – but then again, their economy has ended up a few chickpeas short of a bowl of Hummus. When I was in Indonesia we had to pay our income tax, in person, every year, with a sack load of cash. It seemed the tax collectors did not trust the banks to honor cheques, but it did not seem a particularly good idea from a corruption prevention point of view. In Hong Kong – I thought I had earned a fortune one year and was dreading the bill. I filled in the two page return (yes – just two pages) and got a letter back about three days later explaining that my paltry income did not exceed the tax free threshold and there was no need to submit further annual returns, until it did. You could almost sense their pity!

My other problem was that I took so long to do last year’s tax return that, in the blink of an eye, I received a ‘friendly’ e-mail reminder that this year’s is due. No wonder the unemployment rate is rising – much easier to pop down to the community bank – known as Centrelink and collect your ‘pay’. They will even do the tax return for you.

Spleen vented – on to fishing. I decided on Bribie Island on Wednesday morning. New moon had been on Tuesday and it would be a very low tide (0.1m) at about 4.00 am. These really low tides are great as they enable you to see the terrain you have been fishing, when there is more water around.

I started at the mouth of the drain, in front of the sea side museum at Bongaree. It was just after first light at about 5.00 am. Having seen the marauding Tuna on Monday I decided to start with a big DUO Beachwalker hard bodied lure on my heavy rod. I soon got worn out by that process and there was no sign of marauders, so I swapped back to my Loomis light spin combination.

I put a GULP 2” Minnow in the Smelt colour on a 1/8th, 1/0 jighead. I was fishing with about 1.5m of 10lb fluorocarbon leader. There was a school of mullet finning around on the surface, right by the edge of the drop off. I cast in to it and it was so thick that I jagged one through the eye. I threw it back and continued to walk south along the edge, casting parallel with the shore into the tide, that was now racing in.

It walked and then waded for an hour and caught a couple of Pike. By now I had reached the flats at the south end of the tidal lagoon in front of Buckley’s Hole. I was now fishing with a GULP 3” Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour. The incoming tide had pushed me away from the drop off. As I was about to lift the plastic for another cast something grabbed it. I struck a bit too hard and pulled the fish quickly up to the surface, where it shook its head maniacally and spat the lure out. It was a keeper size Flathead.

I swapped to a bigger soft plastic – a GULP Jerkshad in the Cajun Chicken colour – black and pink. There is now a new opening in the sand bank at this end of the lagoon – which means there is a new drain as the tide runs out. I was right in front of this opening, standing in about 30cm of water, when I felt another solid thud. This time I was more gentle – but the fish was smaller – another Flathead just on 40cm. I took it to the sand, photographed and released it.

There was now too much water over the ledge so I decided to drive up to Whitepatch and fish the high tide. I drove down to the north end of the beach and waded back, to the south, casting in to the last of the incoming current. I caught a few more Pike.

As I reached the point where the black coffee rock is visible along the shore line I paused and concentrated a few casts in close to edge. On high tides the Flathead will sometimes move up close to these rocks. I was now fishing with the GULP Jerkshad in the Satay Chicken colour – yellow and pumpkinseed. After a few casts I found a fish – another Flathead that was just over 40cm. I took a few snaps and flicked it off the hook.

First catch was a Mullet
Landed a Flathead eventually
New terrain at Buckleys Hole
The Whitepatch coffee rock
The Whitepatch Flathead

It was now 11.00 am and time to give up. I had only caught two keeper fish but I had surveyed a lot of ground. There is still plenty of bait around so prospects look pretty good for the next week or so.

Brooms Head – the Lagoon ridge – 22 September 2012

Posted on by
Reply

Saturday

It was on to Brooms Head in Northern New South Wales for our family holiday. Fortunately this represented another fishing opportunity. I have fished here a few times and never found it very easy. The terrain looks incredibly fishy but it often fails to deliver. It is also a very exposed stretch of coast, so the swell can make things tough.

Now September can be particularly tricky when fishing from the rocks. The wind keeps changing around and the water can be cool and clear or brown and dirty (if it has rained a lot). Fortunately it was cool and clear at Brooms Head. But it was so crystal clear that it would be difficult to fool the fish.

I started on Saturday morning trying to fish the mouth of the lagoon on the north side of the headland. I say trying because the north easterly was producing enough chop to give me a good soaking every 10 minutes or so. I was fishing with the Shimano Catana Coastline light rod with the Shimano Stella 2500. I soon swapped from hard bodies to soft plastics and from 20lb to 10lb leader.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I was fishing with a 1/8th 1/0 jighead and a GULP 2” Shrimp when I caught the first fish. It was sitting right in the mouth of the lagoon – a Pike – followed by another, on the next cast. I threw them back and then cast out a bit further. I lost a few jigheads to the rocks and then re-rigged with a GULP 3” Minnow in the Lime Tiger colour. I cast close into a bommie and let the lure sink. It was hit hard by a small angry Bream. It was about 25cm but would not be much of a meal so I threw it back.

At about 8.00 am I was soaked through, cold and no longer getting any bites so I gave up. A few fish, but not a very promising start.

Hat Head – The Spinning Ledge – 21 September 2012

Posted on by
4

Friday

Friday was another beautiful but frustrating day. My only real fish producing spot, this week, was at the northern tip of the Hat Head headland. So at 4.30 am I was marching out to this spot with all my gear again.

Sometimes I got the feeling I was being watched

On Thursday there had been some Tuna out there and a couple of guys, fishing on the Spinning Ledge had tangled with some kingfish, but not managed to land one. The wind was light from the northwest in the morning and then turned into a stronger northerly around lunchtime. I was there early and tried the usual routine –starting with hard bodies and then changing over to soft plastic Jerkshads.

I tried everything, but nothing worked. The Dolphins were in close just after dawn and maybe they had scared the fish off or eaten them. I tried a few more spots around the headland and came back to the Jewfish spot at dusk, hoping to take advantage of the 5.30 pm bite. I don’t know what I did wrong, but the fish did not show up.

This was my last session at Hat Head. It had been a great week in a great spot. I had learned the cold water temperatures often mean the clarity improves and fish are harder to fool. I had also confirmed that if there is no bait around then there are no Salmon or Tailor either. I had also proved that there are always fish out there – somewhere.

There are endless rocky headlands to fish along this coast

I will definitely be back here, soon.