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Rockhampton – Fitzroy River – 22/3 November 2013

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Friday

Friday saw me back in Rockhampton. I am enjoying fishing up here, whenever I can, but I am also missing the Bribie Island flathead fishing. I have completely missed the busy months of September and October. I hope to get this job finished and be back out there soon.

Rocky is warming up and by 3.00 pm, its usually over 35 degrees and extremely humid. There have been a few more storms and the Fitzroy River is looking murkier and murkier. I arrived in town just after lunch. I had a few meetings, dumped my kit in the motel and headed across the bridge to the north side of the river.

I wanted to see if I could find any more giant herring, grunter or tarpon. The locals insist the last few hours of the run out tide are the best time to fish here, especially when they coincide with dawn or dusk. Full moon had passed on Thursday, so their would be plenty of tidal flow. The sun was dropping, as was the tide and it was hot and sticky. I arrived at about 5.30pm and wandered out under the railway bridge, to the edge of the rocks. Low tide would be at about 9.00pm. It had rained the night before and there were rumbling grey clouds on the horizon with a few, far away lightning flashes. I could smell the rain but it was not falling yet.

There were a few prawns jumping, so I started with a GULP 4″ Shrimp in the Banana Prawn colour. I had rigged it on a 1/8th ounce, size 1 hook jighead and I was using 12lb fluorocarbon leader. I was using my new 6′ Shimano Catana rod and the 2500 size Shimano Stradic reel.I was casting along the edge of the rocks, so I did not need a long rod – the fish are usually close to the shore, lurking around the rock bars and overhangs.

As the sun dropped the surface activity picked up and there were small jelly prawns scattering, each time I pulled the soft plastic up close to the rocks. After about 15 minutes, I decided to let it drop down right next to the rocks. Once I was sure it was on the bottom, I paused for a good ten seconds. I then jigged the soft plastic shrimp up and down few times and paused again. It was third time lucky and something fairly powerful grabbed the plastic and headed off. It quickly surfaced – a barramundi, about 45 to 50 cm long. It tail walked on the surface a couple of times, trying to spit the lure. After a short fight, I lifted it out of the water. Although I was delighted to catch a decent Fitzroy barramundi, it is currently the closed season for barramundi, so after a quick picture, I released the fish unharmed and decided to moved round to the next set of rocks. You are not supposed to target these fish at this time of year and whilst you cannot decide which fish is going to eat your lure, it was a fair bet that there would be more than one barramundi lurking at the base of those rocks, so I moved on.

Run out tide on the north side of the Fitzroy
The rocks are gradually revealed
The barramundi were sitting close to the rocks
A couple of photos then straight back
There were a few prawns around in the river
About 10 minutes later I found another one
Suddenly the barramundi were all around the base of the rocks
I changed sides to try to avoid the barra
The rain had brought the grunters out
2″ Shrimp gets a Tarpon
Fitzroy Tarpon
Lots of small fish around
No idea what this is
Low tide on the south side

The jelly prawns were all over the place but there was nothing much feeding, close in. I lobbed the soft plastic a little further out, and let it sink again. As I lifted it off the bottom, I felt a tentative bite but did not hook up. I kept casting and put in some long pauses, close to the base of the rocks. The sun had set and the rain and thunder was close. At about 6.15 pm, something slammed my shrimp at the base of the rocks. I knew it was another barramundi straight away. It soon surfaced and made a couple of leaps. I let it settle and pulled it gently out of the water. It was a little bigger than the first. I photographed and released it.

I moved to another location, about 10 metres further south for a few more casts. It was now about 6.30 pm and pretty much dark. The rain was imminent and the wind was gusting in all directions. I continued with the soft plastic lure that was catching fish – GULP 4″ Shrimp. In a carbon copy of the two previous captures, a third barramundi grabbed the lure at the base of the rocks. It was also about 45cm long. I released just as the rain started spitting and decided it was time to go. By the time I reached the car I was soaked to the skin.

The session confirmed all the local advice I had been given – fish during a big falling tide, at dawn and dusk. I think the humidity and pending storm also helped. The next morning, I swapped sides to avoid the barramundi and found a few small fish, some of which I have never caught before. The rain seemed to have fired up the small grunter and tarpon and I caught a few of each, in the hour around dawn.

That was it for Rocky for a while – hopefully I will get back around March, when those barramundi will have grown big enough to keep.

Yeppoon – Fishing Creek – 14 November 2013

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Thursday

It would be my last chance to fish in Yeppoon, for a while. The wind had been blowing hard, so I decided to give Fishing Creek a look.I arrived at about 8.30 am but I had misjudged the tide. It was a big high and it would be a while before it ran out enough for me to proceed down the creek. I fished around the top end and saw a fair amount of bait moving around, but did not catch anything. The combination of a strong north-easterly wind and the big tide had stirred the water up, so I could not see much.

By about 9.30 am the water level was dropping fast and I could walk down the creek towards Corio Bay. I was using my new G.Loomis TSR Ultralight 6′ 7″ rod. It needed to catch a fish, to settle its nerves and I thought it would be fairly easy to find a flathead for it, in this creek. I waded down the creek for an hour, stopping at a every bend and sand bar, but I could not find a fish.

I liked the feel of the rod and its very sensitive tip. I gradually got used to the feel of the 1/8th ounce jighead hopping along the sand corrugations, on the bottom. I lost plenty of jigheads to the trees and snags, as I got used to casting with the slightly longer rod. At about 11.00 am I reached a bend in the creek where a big drain rounds a sand island and empties out into the main channel. The fast flowing water has carved some deepish holes and exposed the mangrove roots.

I thought there must be a fish here. I put on a GULP 5″ Jerkshad soft plastic, in the natural, Peppered Prawn colour and loaded it onto a 1/8th ounce, size 2/0 hook jighead. I cast around the mouth of the drain, still looking for a flathead, without any luck. I turned my attention to the eddies, at the foot of the mangroves on the other side of the channel. After about three casts at these roots, the line pulled tight about halfway back across the channel and a fish took off with the soft plastic. The rod bent right over and absorbed the initial smash, then line started peeling. I could feel the tail beats of something fast.

It kept making for the mangrove roots but I gradually subdued it. When I caught sight of it, it was a trevally – about 40cm long. It is amazing how powerful these fish can be when they have a strong current to run with. It took a while but I pulled it up on to the sand and took a few pictures.

The rod was off the mark but I could not find any more fish. With the north-easterly now almost gale force, I gave up just before noon.

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Rockhampton – Fitzroy River – 11-13 November

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Monday to Wednesday

I would be in Rockhampton for most of the week. I wanted to put in a few sessions fishing the town reaches of the Fitzroy River. It’s now closed season for barramundi, but I am told there are all sorts of other things to catch on lures and soft plastics. Monday evening was hot, still and humid – perfect fishing conditions. It looked like it was about to rain and the mosquitoes and midges were buzzing in my ears, as soon as I got out of the car.

I had chosen to fish on the north side of the river, close to the base of the railway bridge. The grass is head high here, but there are a few tracks through it. I think its best not to think too hard about what might be lurking in the long grass at dusk. I always wear boots and long sleeves and trousers in this kind of terrain.

By the time I reached the waters edge I was soaked in sweat. The water was fairly murky but the locals I spoke with said this was about as clean as the salty part of the river ever gets. Once the rain started it would get much murkier.

It was about 5.30 pm and the sun was dropping fast. There was plenty of bait around and every now and then, a predator would send tiny fish flying in all directions. High tide would be just before 6.00 pm and the water was not moving very fast.

I was fishing with the Berkley IM6 Dropshot GEN IV 6’6″ Light spin rod. I had it rigged with 14lb fluorocarbon leader and had put on a 1/8th ounce, 1/0 jighead and a GULP 2″ Shrimp in the Banana Prawn colour. I felt a few nudges and as it got dark the plastic was grabbed by a fish which took for a short powerful run, then dropped it.

Fishing the Fitzroy River at dusk

Fishing the Fitzroy River at dusk

A couple of casts later it must have come back around and this time it did not hesitate. It took off with the soft plastic heading for mid-stream. Almost immediately the fish jumped clear of the water and initially I thought it was a large Tarpon. On the second jump I got a better look and realised it was not a Tarpon. On the third jump I got a really good look at it because it jumped out of the water and up on the bank next to me. It was a giant herring. It thrashed around while I took a few photos and then with one final jump spat the lure and landed back in the water – a very tidy catch and release.

Fitzroy River giant herring

Fitzroy River giant herring

It was now 6.30 pm and very dark, so I decided it was time to get out of the long grass and head for a cool shower. Over the next few nights, I swapped sides of the river and fished through dusk, under the bridges through the high tide. I caught a few grunter and a few tarpon. I connected with another giant herring but failed to land it. I also had a couple of bite offs which could have been anything. I found the natural coloured peppered prawn and banana prawn plastics worked best.

Grunter bream on a GULP Peppered Prawn Jerkshad

Grunter bream on a GULP Peppered Prawn Jerkshad

Lake Monduran – 9 November, 2013

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Saturday

After a bit of work and a bit of time at home, I found myself on the road back up to Central Queensland, on Saturday. I often drive past the various arms of Lake Monduran, around Kolonga, but rarely have time to stop. But today I did have time and even though the sun was blazing and it was 10.30 am, I had to give this area a go.

Unsurprisingly, once back in Brisbane, I had been doing some tackle spending. I had replaced my G.Loomis GL2 with a G.Loomis Ultralight TSR Series , Fast Action, 2 to 6 lb, 6’7”rod. This is a beautifully crafted, incredibly light trout rod and even though it is a little longer than my preference, I think it will be a great Bribie Island flat’s rod. But I had also decided I wanted a fairly heavy shorter rod that would be easy to cast in the cramped, freshwater environments I have been exploring. It still needed to have enough power to subdue a big barramundi, if I came across one. Steve at Jones Tackle seems to now understand my light gear obsession and knows that I consider anything rated over 2-4kg to be really only suited to offshore big game fishing. After my recent bruising barramundi encounters, I recognised I was going to have to sacrifice ‘feel’ for strength but everything I tried seemed very stiff. In the end I compromised with a cheap 6’ Shimano Catana, rated 2 – 4kg. There is nothing very sophisticated about this rod but at $70 it was cheap enough to experiment with.

I parked in a shady spot pulled on some lightweight long trousers and my ankle boots and wandered off along the bank. The water was brown and still, almost every branch had a lizard on it and I could see tiny baitfish hovering around the fallen timber. I was not sure what would be in here. I was confident there would be fish of some kind. I tied on a GULP 4” Swimming Mullet in the Banana Prawn colour, on a 1/12th ounce, size 2 hook jighead. I was using 12lb fluorocarbon leader.

On my first cast I found a familiar species – the catfish. I moved along the banks casting at lots of snags and caught a catfish on almost everyone. I tried various plastics and it was the grub tails that were most attractive to the catfish. Whenever I let them sink and remain still on the bottom, for anything more than about 20 seconds, they would be hoovered up.

Lake Monduran
Hot and still
Catfish
Structure everywhere
Big Catty
Lizard lures?
Plenty of birds
This one had a beer gut
A couple from under this tree

I walked towards an area where the lake opened up a bit and came across an enormous flock of birds escorted by a pretty big group of pelicans. This area looked really fishy with lots of fallen timber and presumably, some deeper holes.

There were lots more fish but they were all catfish – there were some really big brutes among them so the new Shimano Catana was christened with a good workout. After a couple of hours I gave up. It’s always good to explore and maybe a dawn or dusk session here might haven been more successful.

Yeppoon – Emu Park – 29 October 2013

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Monday

Up early and back out to Emu Park to see if I could find more fingermark. I had the replacement Berkley Dropshot and the Shimano Stella 2500 was pretty well suited to it. I upped my leader to 14lb fluorocarbon, mainline was original fused Fireline, rated 8lb.

I have probably said this before, but I love the original fused Fireline in the fluoro/yellow colour. It casts well, I can see it in low light and it is extremely tough. The only downside is that I need a new spool of it after every 5/6 sessions, when its starts to fray and breakdown. I have tried Berkley Exceed and Nanofil but these are not an improvement on the original. Just make the original more durable please Berkley.

I arrived just after 5.00 am and there was a bit more water over the rocks and the wind was up. It was an easterly, blowing about 10 knots. There were a few clouds around, but rain was unlikely. The moon was a waning crescent with the new moon not due for about a week. The tide was running out and would be low just before 10.30 am.

The first fish was a tiny striped perch who grabbed the soft plastic, in close to the rocks. Next came the obligatory small cod. I fished for 30 minutes and caught a few more small cod. Perhaps the Fingermark had moved on.

Just after 6.00 am I found them again – maybe they were having a lie in. The first one made a tentative nudge at the soft plastic lure as it sank (a GULP 4” Minnow in the Watermelon Pearl colour), then it (or one of its companions) followed it in to the shore and thumped it right at the edge of the rocks. It took off and the added strength of the Berkley Dropshot was immediately apparent. It was a good size fish so I actually loosened the drag a little to avoid straightening the hook or pulling it out, and let the fish wear itself out. A minute or two later I had it at my feet. It was another very nice fingermark, well over 50cm long.

I released it, tidied up the soft plastic lure, re-positioned it on the jighead and cast it out again. Two lifts of the rod tip and bang, I was on again. It was another slightly smaller fingermark. The fish were definitely eating now. I released it and cast out again. This time the soft plastic did not reach the bottom. A fish walloped it and took off for New Zealand. A couple of times I felt that I might be slowing it down, but it was probably just pausing for a rest. I gradually tightened the drag but it did not make much difference. This fish was big and I could not really apply any pressure. Eventually the line went slack and I pulled in a bent jighead.

Another great start to the day at Emu Park
There was a bit more chop
First fish was a mini Stripey Perch
The biggest fish of the morning at about 55cm
They fight hard and dirty
I was having fun with these fish
Headlockz look tougher than they actually are
The swell assisted in landing a few fish
Watermelon Pearl did well
Good quality but not as big as the day before
The fingermark kept coming
Another one
There is always a cod
Greedy, greedy, greedy

The jighead was a TT Headlockz series; 1/8th ounce , size 2/0 hook. These carry a GULP Minnow 4” soft plastic very nicely. I have however, straightened a few of them. I think the heavier gauge hook necessary for the Headlockz system gives the impression they are heavier duty than they actually are. In my experience the original fine gauge Tournament Series TT/ Gamakatsu jigheads (in the orange backed packet) are actually tougher than the Headlockz. Having said that, I would probably not have landed this fish with a 6/0 heavy duty jighead – it was just too powerful.

I re-rigged, this time with a bigger GULP 5” Jerkshad but after 10 minutes, this produced nothing. I swapped back to the smaller GULP 3” Minnow first in Peppered Prawn and then in Watermelon Pearl colour. I caught three smaller fingermark on each, over the next 30 minutes. It seems lure size was important to these fish.

At about 7.30 am I caught a small estuary cod and that was it – everything suddenly went quiet. I tried a few different soft plastics and moved to a few other spots around the headland, but it seems the fish had shut down again.

Another great session and a good way to warm up a new rod.

Rockhampton – Fitzroy River – 27 October 2013

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Sunday PM

First stop was the tackle shop in Rockhampton, to find an emergency replacement for my broken light spin rod. The G.Loomis GL2 range has moved on since I bought mine. I found all the available G.Loomis ‘fast’ action rods a little too stiff for my liking. I think this is because the new, higher quality graphite has less give. I decided to look at something cheaper with a little more give. I settled on a 6’6″ Berkley Dropshot, rated 2-4 kg, two piece. It would do, until I could look into a more refined replacement.

With the Barramundi closed season fast approaching I felt I should try another session, land-based fishing in the Fitzroy River, at dusk. The boats were thick and there where plenty of land-based anglers wandering the banks. Everyone was keen to tempt a Barramundi. The tide was running out and had been high at about 4.00 pm. The wind was north-easterly but its was dropping off.

The folks in Barra Jacks (http://www.barrajacks.com.au) had loaded me up with traditional hard bodied suspending minnows and 45 lb leader but the reports from the Barra Bounty competition (a few weeks earlier) had suggested many anglers had been successful using small soft plastics. Obviously, I had a few packets of these as well.

Fitzroy Flathead

Fitzroy Flathead

Rocky seasnake

Fitzroy River seasnake

Fitzroy River seasnake

Lures will catch anything

Lures will catch anything

Nasty

Nasty


I started fishing at about 5.30 pm behind the bowls club on the north side of the river, with a locally made, timber hard bodied suspending minnow lure in a silver colour. There were a few surface slurps and I could see decent bait schools swimming around. As the sun dropped on the horizon I felt some resistance and wound in. I had something but I could not see what. As I pulled it clear of the water I realised it was a sea snake. Is there no end to the predator list up here!

I managed to shake it loose from the line and it slithered off, back to the water. I decided to swap to soft plastic and put on a GULP 3″ Minnow in the Peppered Prawn colour, on a 1/8th ounce, size 1 hook jighead. It was now almost completely dark. I walked along the bank casting wherever there was an opening in the tall grasses.

Just before seven I felt a fish grab the plastic and I was hopeful. After a couple of small runs I realised it was a flathead. It came to the surface angrily shaking its head. It was about 45cm long. I released it and gave up for the day.

Yeppoon – Fishing Creek Barramundi – 13 October 2013

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Sunday

The wind was forecast to be a north-easterly that would build through the day and we were 6 days off the full moon. I could not stay away from Fishing Creek – the sandflies were driving me nuts but the good catches of the day before, drew me back to the same spot, just after dawn. The tide was another hour further in, as I waded through the shallows. I stopped at all the usual pools and channels and continued to fish with lightly weighted GULP soft plastics, in the natural Banana Prawn, Peppered Prawn and Watermelon Pearl colors. I caught a couple of small flathead and tried out a new MARIA suspending minnow hard bodied lure, that I have been sent. Sure enough it got the small flathead going and accounted for another two, before I lost it to a mangrove root. I could not find any big mothers but there were some enormous ‘lies’ in the sand, so they were around.

The MARIA lures that I have used so far have been very good. Despite this, they are slightly cheaper than many of the more established, mass produced lures on sale in Australia. Like my favorite DUO lures, they have superb colours and always have a very refined and specific action. I would love to see them in more tackle shops.

I wanted to fish the area where I had found a Trevally the day before. It is a mangrove lined curve in the bank with several fallen trees along it. The water powers round the curve, when the tide is running and the fallen timber offers a good ambush spot for bigger, predator fish.

My hunch proved right. I was now fishing with a 3″ GULP Minnow on a 1/8th ounce, 1/0 jighead. First taker was a 45cm estuary cod. It tried to lodge itself in the mangrove roots but I let it swim out and then pulled it ashore.

Something was smashing bait close to the mangrove roots and I thought it was probably another cod. I lobbed a long cast and it landed inches from the roots in exactly the right spot. I let it sink and thought – it will either be snagged or it will catch a fish. I twitched the rod tip up but there was no resistance. I let it sink again, paused and repeated the process. I did this about four times until the lure must have been on the bottom, in about mid-stream.

I twitched the lure up , off the bottom and it stopped dead, on something solid. Before I could register line was screaming off the reel. The fish was heading up current but in the direction of the mangrove roots. I instinctively started walking backwards and winding against the screaming drag. This had little impact at first but then it turned back towards me.

I tightened the drag a little and the fish seemed to pause in the current, for a few moments. It then lunged off again. It kept making long powerful runs but they gradually got shorter. After what seemed like a lifetime, I caught a glimpse of large silver scales and a big tail slapped the surface – it was a barramundi. I was as patient as I could be and I let it run when it needed to. I was fishing with 12lb fluorocarbon leader, so brute force was not going to land this fish. Fortunately I was on a gently sloping sandy bank so when I was sure it was played out, I gradually eased it out of the water.

Small Maria suspending hardbodied lure got this flathead
Plenty of big flathead in this system
Fishing Creek as the tide runs out
The cod were getting bigger
The flathead were getting bigger too
Mangrove roots – fish zone
My first legal saltwater barramundi
Might have been angry rather than hungry
It put up a serious fight
Just over legal size – but too handsome too keep
Beautiful fish – well worth the effort exploring
Tried a MARIA MJ Twitch suspending hard body and tempted another cod
Tarpon give you a real work out on light fishing tackle
Only small but they know how to fight

It was a beautiful 57cm saltwater barramundi. As it lay on the sand, the jighead just dropped out of its chin. I took a few pics and measured it and after a minute or two, decided it was just too handsome to eat. I took it back to the water and it swam off. It was about 9.15 am.

Now I was excited, but cast as I might, I could not find another barramundi. I swapped to a MARIA MJ Twitch hardbodied, suspending minnow and cast this out. This got whacked on its second try, but it only pulled up an angry estuary cod.

I moved on to larger GULP Jerkshad in the Cajun Chicken colour. After a few casts, something walloped the plastic and took off. It went berserk and started leaping and splashing. I took it for a Tarpon and after a very violent fight, I landed it.

I fished on until about 10.30 am and then decided I had had enough. It had been an excellent mornings fishing in a beautiful location.

Yeppoon – Fishing Creek – 11 October 2013

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Friday

On Thursday, I found myself with time off for a few days. I was in Central Queensland and decided to drive out to Byfield National Park, just north of Yeppoon. I stayed at the Rainforest Ranch Cabins in Byfield (which are very comfortable, but more focused on providing a romantic getaway than fish filleting facilities) and intended to drive over the sand hills, to fish in Corio Bay, as I have done before.

I was up early and reached the foot of the big sand hill that leads over to Nine Mile Beach, at about 6.15 am. I lowered my tyre pressures to about 22 PSI and put the FJ Cruiser into low range. Last time it had floated up this hill – but that was after months of rain. This time it was like wading through treacle. The sand was soft and dry and the track had no doubt been torn up by previous drivers, who had found it as tough as I had. I tried three times and stopped when I started to sink and rolled back down to try again. After three attempts I gave up. I was on my own and I was concerned I would get stuck and not be able to simply roll back down. I need a bit more practice at this sort of thing.

I turned around and looked at my options. It was now just about low tide. I decided to drive back through Byfield and towards Yeppoon. I would go to the end of Fishing Creek and walk down it, towards Corio Bay, fishing in the pools and mangrove lined channels. This spot had produced a few fish for me in the past but it looked like it had potential for far better things.

By the time I got going it was about 8.30 am. Low tide was about 7.30 am in Yeppoon, so I assumed it would be about 1.5 hours later, this far up Fishing Creek. The moon was a somewhere between new and full and it was not a particularly big tide. It was hot – already about 28 degrees. It was still but a northerly wind was forecast to pick up later in the morning.

I was fishing light – 2.8 kg Fireline and a 10lb fluorocarbon leader, Loomis GL2 Fast Action spin rod and Shimano Stella 2500 reel. I started with small soft plastics in natural colours on a 1/8th ounce, size 1 hook jighead. The locals had recommended the GULP 2” Shrimp and 3” Minnow, in the Banana Prawn colour, for flathead and grunter bream.

I waded through the shallows and paused to cast wherever there looked like there was a bit of a hole or drain. There were plenty of schools of small mullet (or perhaps blue salmon) cruising the shallows. I was hoping the bigger predators had followed them up the creek.

I passed plenty of flathead lies on the exposed sand banks, but most looked like the fish would have been under the legal size. My first fish of the day was a tiny flathead that was sitting a metre from the bank, in about 15 cm of water. It was now just after 9.00 am and I expect we were nearly at low tide, as the water was slowing.

The fish were here somewhere
Estuary cod
But it came back again
The edge of the sandbank looked good
The tide moves out pretty quickly

I found a slightly deeper channel, on a mangrove lined bend and concentrated on putting my casts in close to the mangrove roots. I lost plenty of jigheads to the trees and roots – but that’s where the fish live so if you are not pretty close, you will not catch them. I had some solid bites and caught another small flathead. At about 9.30 am something grabbed the GULP 2” Shrimp soft plastic and dragged it down into the roots. I could not pull it out so I let the drag off and eventually it swam out and I pulled it up on to the sandbank. It was an estuary cod, but only a small one. I let it go but as it swam away another predator – an eagle, swooped down and grabbed it. It did not have a good grip and dropped it on the sand. It soon swooped for another attempt and this time it was successful. It disappeared into the mangroves to eat its breakfast.

I continued along the creek and caught several more cod, the largest of which would have been just over 40 cm long. At about 11.00 am the tide turned in and I decided I had better head back to the car. I was delighted to be catching fish, even if they were small. I decided to try and get back here a little closer the high tide next time.

Bedford Weir – Blackwater – Saratoga – 23 September 2013

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Over the next 7 days I had four more afternoon fishing sessions at Bedford Weir. I decided I should explore the skinny water of the Mackenzie River, below the weir and I had heard tales of saratoga lurking in the pools downstream. There is a fairly rough track that runs alongside the river, as it runs away from the weir wall.

There are a few turn offs along the main track that lead down to the water. There are steep banks with lots of fallen timber and neck high grasses. The fallen timber makes it almost impossible to walk continuously along the bank for any distance so you have to keep scrambling up and down. Its a good workout and needless to say you have watch out for snakes! Judging by the dug up banks and flattened tunnels in the grasses, there are plenty of wild pigs around as well.

On my first session I concentrated on a wide pool, about a kilometre from the weir wall. There was a steep bank and then a small gravel beach area, next to an enormous fallen tree. At one end of this stretch the deeper water was close to the bank I was on and at the other, it was across from me. The water was fairly clear. It was hot again – well over 30 degrees. The sun was behind me and I started fishing at about 4.45 pm. I started with a GULP 2″ Shrimp in the Banana Prawn colour on a 1/12th ounce, size 1 hook, jighead and 8lb fluorocarbon leader.

The first taker was a small catfish. Then a much larger one took the lure under a log and I could not pull it out. As I was tying on a new leader, a long thin narrow shape slowly swam up the middle of the river, a few centimetres below the surface – it was a southern saratoga. It was followed a few moments later, by another one. I scrabbled around and tied on the new leader and jighead as quickly as I could, but they were long gone by the time I hurled a cast in their direction. After a few more catfish I gave up at about 6.00pm.

The next session was few days later. I arrived earlier, at about 3.00 pm. It was super hot – about 36 degrees. I approached the river bank as quietly as possible and my stealth approach paid off. Two saratoga were cruising mid-stream whilst another was lurking under a fallen tree branch, near the far bank. I thought about my options. I would need an accurate cast, as I might only get one chance. I would be trying to emulate an insect or bug, dropping from an overhanging branch. I decided on a lightly weighted soft plastic lure.The GULP Crabbie shape had legs and arms flailing and could work as a bug but I had run out. It had worked well but I also wanted something bright in the clear water. I had a 3 inch Ghost Shrimp in the Red belly colour,so I chose this.

My heart was pumping as I crept forward to the bank. I checked the knots and got myself as close as I dared. I lofted the cast over towards the fish in the shadows and it plopped into the water, inches from the bank and inches from the fish’s nose. Then time stood still, for about 2 seconds. I paused and slowly let the lure sink, then bang, it all happened so fast!

The saratoga from the shadows grabbed the plastic and instantly swam forward with it. As it did so, it pulled the leader under a partially submerged log. The leader caught on it and set the hook and the fish then went crazy. It leapt backwards over the log completing a nice loop over it. It pulled back and forth and fought and after about a minute, settled down. I let the drag off to see if it could, by some miracle, free itself but it just swam off with the leader sliding up and down on the log. It was only 8lb fluorocarbon and after a few rubs, it broke.

The commotion had scared the others off so I moved downstream and tied on GULP Ghost Prawn soft plastic in the same colour. I cast it at a likely looking snag and let it sink. When I lifted it off the bottom there was a tension and the rod tip started wriggling. There were a few pulls then a long, blistering run right across the river to a submerged log on the other side. It was obviously a very big catfish. I tightened the drag and heaved but I could not pull it out. I loosened the drag and tightened it again and the line pulled free from the fish. When I retrieved it, I could see it had been a catfish – the leader and lure were completely slimed.

I put it back in and over the next hour, caught a few more smaller catfish but the saratoga had gone into hiding.

Gulp Shrimp gets a catty
Snake skins everywhere
Mackenzie catfish
Mackenzie River – below the Bedford Weir
Mid-stream saratoga
Mackenzie river saratoga
Only briefly hooked then into to these logs
The catfish like plastics
Seriously slimed

Over the next few days I found the saratoga at various points up and down this stretch of the Mackenzie. I often saw two or three fish cruising mid stream. I tried casting everything at them. Surface lures, shallow and deep divers (including my favorite DUO hard bodies) and every soft plastic lure I had with me. Occasionally one would strike, but only because the lure landed right on its nose. I had more success with the fish I found sitting under tree banks in the dappled shade. These would follow a shallow diver or popper out into the stream, if I could land the cast close enough. A few made a real strike, but I could not hook up.

Frustrated – I looked for help on the web and, coincidentally saw a brilliant post on “Micks Gone Fishing” on ‘spybaiting’ for saratoga. Mick’s blog is brilliant and often makes me consider selling everything and moving north! He achieved what I wanted too – maybe his saratoga were just angrier or hungrier http://micksgonefishing.com/spybaiting-aussie-style/.

Bedford Weir and the saratoga, yellowbelly and catfish encounters had been a fascinating freshwater interlude – but it was time to get back to the briny.

1770 – Baffle Creek – Flat Rock Ramp – 10/11 June 2013

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Monday/ Tuesday

By Monday work was done and I was on my way back to Brisbane. I did have time for a quick stop at 1770. The weather was far from encouraging with heavy rain and persistent strong southeasterly winds. So on Monday morning I trekked round to the stretch of coast between Workman’s Beach and the beach I call Getaway Beach. This area is quite sheltered in a strong southerly. The top of the tide was just before dawn and I tried everything, big and small soft plastic and hard bodies – nothing raised a bite. The water was stirred up and murky and the swell made things tough. Every time I fished with heavy lures, I pulled up lots of weed and displaced rubbish from the bottom. When I fished lighter, I could not keep the lures in the water. After a few hours I gave up.

The weather looked good for Jewfish at 1770

The weather looked good for Jewfish at 1770

Tried everything in the tackle bag

Tried everything in the tackle bag

In the afternoon I decided to drive back to Brisbane, via Baffle Creek. I arrived at the Flat Rock boat ramp, just after lunch, at the top of the incoming tide. The wind was still a strong southerly and the rock bars to the east of the boat ramp were all covered in at least 30 cm of water. This area took a pummeling from the flooding, earlier in the year and there was plenty of evidence, with grass and debris still high up, in the mangroves. The ramp and picnic area were badly damaged but have now been repaired.

I waded out on the biggest rock bar just west of the picnic area and cast around the edges. The tide turned and started to run out just after 1.00 pm. There are big rock bars on either side of this channel. They form a funnel in the middle and on a big tide the water really races through. The water was quite clean at high tide, but got dirtier and dirtier as it ran out.

I started with GULP and Zman soft plastic on 1/6th oz, 1/0 jigheads. I had a few bites and watch the bait fish follow the lures in. Across from me on the other side of the channel, something was feeding in the eddies, formed by the opposite rock bar. I tried to land a few long casts in the right spot but I could not tempt them.

After about an hour, I move back upstream to the west of the boat ramp and cast around in the shallows. I was now fishing with my all-time favourite plastic, the humble 4 “ GULP Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour, on a 1/8th oz, 1 jighead. I was now down to 8lb leader, in the hopes of attracting a fish. After a few casts I did. It was a small dusky flathead. I continued along the sandy banks, casting at the base of the mangroves and soon found some more. I caught six in the next hour, but only two would have been just over 40 cm.

Plenty of hiding places on Baffle Creek
Good terrain just west of Flat Rock on Baffle Creek
View from the rockbar
A very small surprised Baffle Creek flathead
This seemed to be the common size in the creeks
In a month the bigger flathead will be everywhere
Baffle Creek was pretty dirty
The flathead were small but there were plenty of them

At about 3.00pm it was time to pack up. Overall, I had had a pretty disappointing couple of weeks on the fishing front. The fish had been small and hard to find. However, I had enjoyed exploring some new territory and as always, learning what does not work can be as important as learning what does. I found that when the going gets tough small, natural coloured soft plastics, like the GULP 4/3″ Minnows and light leaders, still produce results. The Zman Minnowz did not produce a fish on this trip – and they had plenty of outings. I will have to try their natural coloured minnow shaped range, but I still think the GULP scent and softer texture give their lures the edge. The weather had made things very hard but I believe the big flush out will set the area up for some great fishing in late winter. I am planning to get back up here as soon as I can.

Bribie – Oyster jetty flats – 26 June 2013

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Sunday

I was up early and even though it was cold and windy, I had to get my fishing fix. I drove up to Bribie and waded out under the bridge, on the mainland side, at about 6.00 am. Low tide had been at about 4.30 am. I had filled a bag on Thursday, so I was confident.

My target area would only be in range until about 7.30 am. The sky was clear but the wind made things tough and it was building. I waded straight to the north of the oyster jetty, to target the edge of the weed beds. This is where the fish are usually laying up.

Just one fish
Pelican
Meanwhile behind me
Great start to the day out in front

I tried lots of different lures – Gulps, Z-Men, hard bodies, but I could not find the fish. Just as I was being pushed back by the incoming tide, I finally connected with a fish. It was a 46cm Flathead and I caught it with a 4” Gulp Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour.

The tide was too high to stay in this spot and the wind was making things tough, so I gave up. There was a big moon in the sky behind me and recent trips suggest the fishing is tougher in this spot when the moon is full. Maybe that is true – but I maybe had just failed to find them today.

Bribie – Oyster jetty flats – 23 May 2013

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Thursday

I was back in Brisbane and keen to fish at Bribie Island again. I wanted to see if the Flathead were still around, so I drove up, just after dawn on Thursday morning. The wind was light, but cold from the southwest. I had come through lots of fog on the drive up but by the time I reached the Bribie Bridge, the sky was clear.

I started on the island side of the bridge, fishing from the bank, without my waders on. The water was very clear and the tide was slacking off. It was about 6.30am and it would be high tide at 7.32 am. I tried a few plastics here and felt a few bites, then lost a few tails form various soft plastic lures. Small Tailor or Pike are usually the culprits in this location.

At 7.30 am I decided to warm up with a coffee while the tide turned. This period of slack water does not produce many fish for me so I decided to wait 30 minutes. Then, I drove back over the bridge, to the mainland side and pulled on my waders.

It was now about 8.15 am and there was still plenty of water at the mangrove line. As I waded out into the clear water I was shocked at how cold it had turned in just a few weeks. Unfortunately, the bright sunshine and clear days have triggered the algal bloom (snot weed) in the weed beds and this will soon be a pain in the neck.

There was plenty of bait in the shallows and I waded south to the oyster jetty. I started with a GULP 4” Minnow in the Smelt colour. My legs were already cold after ten minutes in the water and I backed out on to the shoreline to warm up.

In the crystal clear water I could see a very fresh looking flathead lie. I paused at the jetty and put in a few casts just south of it in the shallows. On the second cast a fish hit the plastic hard and then dropped it. I dropped the rod tip hoping it would have another go – and it did. It took off but was nicely hooked. When I subdued it and pulled it closer I could see a nice, 60cm flathead in the clear water. I pulled it up on to the shoreline and put it in the bag for supper.

Very cool but a plenty of sunshine
Clear evidence of a flathead
Gotcha
Best of the day
The water was great for seeing what was going on
Rod bent on the first fish of the day
Clear water
Cold water – clear day
Trying some new ones
The second fish took a Zman
Next one on a Zman
And another a bit further out
Zman Minnowz in the Houdini colour
Only a few were too small today
I waded back with a full bag at low tide
This is the time to survey the terrain
Pretty sure this was where the first fish of the day had come from

I moved to the south and swapped over to a Zman Minnowz in the Rednone colour and fished around the base of the mangroves, near the drain that empties off the flats. After a few casts I had another good flathead – this on measured just over 50cm.

As the tide receded I moved further south, towards the channel marker. Over the next three hours I fished with both the Zmen and the Gulps and caught another 9 flathead. I kept 3 more, all around 45cm, to fill my bag for a good family fish feed. Of the 9 only two were undersize.

The fish had been quite spread out but they kept coming. It was a couple of days before the full moon and the tide I was fishing had been the smaller of the two on that 24 hour period. This moon and tide combination seems to be proving pretty a pretty successful fishing period for me.

1770 – Workmans Beach – 7 May 2013

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Tuesday

The wild weather continued; strong south-easterly winds and plenty of rain. On Tuesday morning I braved the rocks at the southern end of Workman’s Beach, near Agnes Water. This area is sheltered from a southerly and south-easterly and there is plenty of fishy looking territory.

Workmans Beach – wild weather
The sun nearly came out
Looked very fishy
The sun appeared.. briefly
The jewfish spot was out of bounds

After a few days of big seas, the water was all stirred up and a milky brown colour. I started with soft plastics and then switched to slugs and hard bodies, but nothing yielded results. The sun came out mid-morning, but not for long. As the day wore on, the wind picked up. It then brought the clouds back in. Just after lunch, there was another downpour, so I gave up. Tuesday had been my first zero fish session for quite some time!

Nothing seemed to work today

Nothing seemed to work today

1770 – Eurimbula Creek – 6 May 2013

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Monday

Where did the weather come from? I had checked the forecast before I left Brisbane and apart from a bit of south-easterly wind there was virtually no rain forecast for the week. I woke up on Sunday night to a massive rain storm at 1770. By dawn on Monday the rain was pouring down and the wind was blowing 20 knots from the south-east.

At about 10.00 am I went for a drive down towards 1770 to try and fish the north, sheltered side of the headland. I parked by the Captain Cook monument and walked down the water’s edge. The water was already brown and muddy after all the rain and the tide was about half way through the run out. I fished for 30 minutes and then another heavy shower came over and soaked me so I gave up.

I dried off and drove back out of Agnes Water and down the track to the mouth Eurimbula Creek. This area is pretty flat and there was plenty of water over the road at various spots along the route. A few hours of solid rain and the drains and creeks soon fill up. I got through alright and parked at the edge of the camp ground. Unsurprisingly there were no campers around.

The sky looked ominous but it had briefly stopped raining. Eurimbula Creek mouth is also a bit sheltered from a south-easterly. The water was just as dirty as Round Hill Creek and the tide was still running out. As the tide drops it reveals a steep mangrove lined bank on the south side of the creek mouth. This is great fish holding structure but it is a little difficult to get to and fish from. The tide runs out fast creating some good eddies around the fallen trees and mangrove roots.

Round Hill Creek – Plenty of rain
A grumpy trevally
Does not matter how you hook them
Wild weather at Eurimbula Creek
Difficult to cast amongst the mangroves
Lots of fishy structure
One small bream late in the day

I fished with a few different soft plastics – bright colours, natural colours, paddle tails, shrimps and minnows. I had a few bites and whenever I pulled a lure in, it was surrounded by bait but I did not catch anything.

I swapped to a DUO Tetraworks Bivi, a small sinking vibe lure and hoped the vibrations might stir the fish up. There had been a few surface bust ups, so there were some fish around. The DUO Bivi weighs 3.8 grams and 40mm long. It casts like a bullet and has a great action. I cast it out, up-stream towards the far bank and let it sink. I then hopped it along the bottom with the current and tried to swim it as close to the snags as I could. I repeated this a few times and felt a few bumps. After about 20 minutes of fishing this lure, it was smashed close to the snags. Fortunately the fish took off towards the middle of the stream. I was fishing with the light spin rod so I did not have much power. The fish used the current and felt decent. After a little bit of back and forth, I pulled a trevally up the sandy bank. It was hooked through the tail.

That was it for the day – the rain came pouring down again and I headed home.

1770 – Getaway Beach – Jewfish – 5 May 2013

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Monday

A friendly tackle supplier is fed up with reading about my exploits with the very capable Shimano Catana and decided to give me an alternative rod to try out. It arrived on Saturday – a N.S Black Hole Cabin II – S-862 L Spin Rod. It is 2.59m long (8’6”) and rated 8-14 lb. It will throw up to a 30g lure or ½ oz jighead, for a soft plastic. It is designed for throwing small lures in the surf or off the rocks. NS Black Hole rods are made in Korea and have forged a strong reputation for durability, mainly in the US. It seemed like a good idea to put it to work. So on Sunday I decided to head for Agnes Water and 1770 for a few days.

I arrived in the late afternoon and went straight down to the beach opposite the 1770 Getaway resort, where I like to stay – http://www.1770getaway.com.au . They have great stand-alone cottages and an on-site restaurant / coffee shop which produces a magnificent lamb spit roast, twice a week. The best thing about the resort is that Michael, the owner, is a mad keen fisherman. He has good information on where to fish when the wind is blowing from almost any direction. He is always very willing to share his knowledge, just sit him down over a coffee and pick his brains.
I had matched the new N.S Black Hole Cabin II with my Shimano Sustain 4000 reel. I had it loaded with 15lb Super PE braid and decided on a 16lb fluorocarbon leader, to start with. The beach is about a 10 minute walk from the resort and has a number of rocky out crops. It is just round the corner from Workman’s Beach, which is a little more sheltered, if there is a strong south-easterly blowing.

It was about 3.30 pm by the time I was ready to fish. The water was pretty stirred up and the swell was building. The wind was on shore at about 10 to 15 knots and it was bright and sunny. High tide would be at about 5.45 pm and the moon was about three days off new. I walked out on to one of the rocky out crops and loaded up with a Powerbait 4” Ripple Shad on the gold and black colour on a ¼ 2/0 jighead. I fished the lure along the edges of the rocks but after about 15 minutes, I had not had a bite. I decided to change to a heavier 3/8th 2/0 jighead, to make sure my lure was on the bottom. I also swapped soft plastics to a 5” GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the New Penny colour.

I fished around the rocks for another 20 minutes or so and felt a few bumps. The swell was up, I had a new rod and I did not know the terrain, so it was hard to tell if I was bumping into fish or the bottom.

Just before 4.00 pm, I lifted the lure from the bottom and felt a bit of resistance. I dropped it back down for a few moments, then struck. The rod tip started to wiggle and bent over. The new rod behaved well and soaked up the lunges and the Shimano Sustain drag took care of the hard initial runs. The tricky bit was the swell and the rocks – 16lb leader will withstand a Jewfish mouth for a while but it won’t last long if it rubs against the barnacles.

Fortunately the swell was pushing the fish in and there was a nice ledge at water level. I took my time and left the drag alone. The swell pushed the fish on to the ledge and I jumped down and grabbed it.

A 77cm jewfish on the new N.S Blackhole Cabin II rod
A fish in great condition
Scene of the capture
They can eat big baits
Definitely swallowed the lure
This one was surgically extracted
Plenty of foamy water
Getaway Beach

It was a great looking Jewfish – 77cm long and in fantastic condition. It had completely swallowed the jighead, which was now very obviously lodged in its throat. It had little chance of survival, so I decided to keep it and share it with my hosts at the 1770 Getaway resort.

I continued fishing until dusk but did not find any more. It had been a great opening session and I had successfully christened the new rod which had performed well.

Bribie – flathead bonanza on the oyster jetty flats – 2 May 2013

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Thursday

The moon was waning, the winds had dropped and the tides looked perfect. Low tide would be at 9.16 am, at 0.6 m. There had been a strong south-easterly wind the day before, but this would ease off in the morning and pick up as a pure southerly, later.

I was confident that the fish would be in my favourite spots – so I drove back up to Bribie at about 4.30 am. I was hopeful that I would find some flathead under the bridge lights. I waded out just after 5.00 am. The sky was clear and the moon was about 40% full.

There has not been much surface activity under the lights in recent weeks and today was no exception. I cast around the drains and weed beds on the edges of the illuminated pools created by the lights. I caught one very small flathead on a GULP 2” Shrimp soft plastic in the Banana Prawn colour.

After about 30 minutes, I waded south, past the oyster jetty and started casting around the Sandstone Point corner drain. The water over this area was already pretty shallow – only about 50 cm, in most places. I moved to the edge of the sand bank and launched a few casts directly into the main drain. After three or four – I felt the lure stop dead. I thought it had snagged on the tufty seagrass at the edge of the drain. Then there was a tug and powerful, long, initial run. This was a good fish and it towed me around for a bit. I wanted to tire it out, as there were a few boulders and abandoned crab pots between and a gap in the mangroves, where I planned to land it. It soon tired and I pulled it up, on to the mangrove roots. It was a great start to the day – a good flathead – 66cm. I was still using the GULP 2” Shrimp soft plastic in the Banana Prawn colour.

I stopped for a chat with a keen local angler who had also waded out along the mangrove line – very keen – he is in his mid-eighties! He took to soft plastics after many years of fishing with an Alvey and bait, and now loves them. I hope I am still embracing change at his age – fantastic!

I wandered out a bit deeper, in front of the long sand bank and put in a few casts back towards the oyster jetty. The sun was up now. I hooked a couple of fish but dropped both. I was still fishing with the GULP 2” Shrimp. I stayed put and methodically sprayed the areas, where I had dropped the fish, with casts. I soon found one again and it was just under 40 cm, so I shook it free. A couple of casts later I had a better fish on and after a few solid runs, I decided to walk it back to the sand bank. It was just under 60cm.

As the tide dropped, I waded down towards the green channel marker and back again. The fishing got better and better. I caught another nine fish between 7.00 am and 8.20 am on GULP Jerkshads in the Cajun Chicken and Satay Chicken colours.

Rod bend at sunrise – nice
The biggest of the day at 66cm
Good fish kept coming
GULP Shrimp – completely inhaled
Cajun Chicken for this one
They kept coming
GULP Satay Chicken for this one
This one could not resist some yellow rubber
And another flathead over 50cm
Then it was time for the Z men
Z Man Minowz in the Houdini colour
The colours look better in the water than out
The fish just kept eating the Z man
All tangled up chasing the Z-Man
And another flathead
And yet another
They just kept coming
The Z-Man Minnowz drove them nuts

It was my turn to try something new. Many readers have been asking why I don’t use the Z-Man soft plastic lures. Steve, at Jones Tackle – http://jonestackle.com.au/ (and many others) have been trying hard to persuade me of their brilliance. I recognise they are cheaper and more durable than the GULP range but I have not really got used to their colours and I find their texture a lit too ‘rubbery’. I think the colours look very good in the water, but not very good on the packets. Steve insisted I buy a packet of Minnowz in the Houdini colour and try them out. I chose this moment to give them a work out. The Minnowz have a standard minnow shape with an additional paddle tail.

Well you can probably guess what happened. On the first cast, a fish hit the lure on the drop and I pulled in a tiny, 25cm flathead. On the second cast, I pulled up a 40cm flathead and from then on the Z-Man Minnowz caught a flathead about once every 10 minutes, until I gave up at about 10.00 am. At first they appeared to be catching smaller fish than the GULP Jerkshads but then I caught two 50cm+ specimens towards the end of the session.

So Steve, and everybody else – you are right, they do catch fish. Could this be the end of Landangler’s exclusive love affair with GULP? Well, one swallow does not make a summer. I have a feeling anything would have caught fish today. But I was impressed enough to buy a few more packets!

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 – Oyster jetty flats – 24 April 2013

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Wednesday

The tide was all wrong but the fish were around, so I decided on Bribie again. We would have a 2.2m high tide at 8.05 am. This would mean the tide would be just over half way in, at first light.

I arrived just before sunrise and wandered south along the shoreline, on the mainland side of the bridge. I passed the oyster jetty, casting soft plastics on the flats on either side. I felt a few tugs in the area just south of the oyster jetty, but I could not hook up with anything. I was fishing with a GULP Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger colour, on a 1/8th 1/0 jighead. I was using 10lb fluorocarbon leader.

I find the last of the run-in tide the hardest to fish, land-based, at Bribie. You can no longer reach the various drop offs on either side of the Pumicestone Passage. The fish move up quickly but suddenly there is no obvious structure for them to hide in; they spread out over the open expanse of flats and it is difficult to know where to concentrate your efforts.

As I thought about where to fish a huge flock of cormorants came into land. I have never seen a group as big as this before. They settled on the water for a few minutes then took off again.

In this area the only obvious structure is the slight drain that runs round the corner from Sandstone Point. Even this seems to be gradually silting up at the moment. This is where I decided to focus my efforts. The water was flowing round the corner from the south. I stood beside the mangroves and cast to the south, in the direction of the long, now submerged, sandbar.

It was now about 7.00 am. After a couple of casts, a fish grabbed the plastic, made a short run then it let it go. This also happened on the next cast and I saw the familiar snout of a long tom, following my lure in. I cast a little more towards the south east and when I took up the slack I had a fish on the line. I set the hook and it took off with the current. I soon had it under control and waded back to a gap in the mangroves. It was a good flathead, about 50cm long. I let it go.

I waded back to the same spot and cast out again. I continued fishing this area as the tide came up. I swapped to GULP Jerkshad in the Curry Chicken colour. After a few casts the line pulled tight again and I had another flathead, about the same size. It was about 7.30 am. In the next twenty minutes I dropped two more fish and caught one smaller one.

Things went quiet around the tide change so I decided to wait out the slack water over breakfast and coffee. I waded back to the car and went off for breakfast. The wind was picking up from the south-east, but it was a beautiful morning.

By 10.00 am I had waded back to almost the same spot that I had been fishing earlier. The water level was much lower but I put in a few casts anyway. After about 10 casts, I caught another 45+ cm flathead, on a GULP Jerkshad, in the Satay Chicken colour.

The tide was now running out strongly and the big sand bar, down by the green channel marker, was clearly in view. With the wind behind me, I could reach the edge of the main channel and the sea grass beds, with some long casts. I started to make my way towards the green channel marker, casting as I went. I hooked a stingray which towed me around for a while and then broke me off. I also connected with an spiky puffer fish which grunted, spat jets of water at me and fluttered round in circles for a while before cut the line and got rid of it.

A clear sky and crisp sunrise again
Cormorants – en masse
Lime Tiger flathead
Curry Chicken flathead
Another Curry Chicken flathead
Sandstone Point corner drain – high tide
Stalker
Another one on the GULP Curry Chicken Jerkshad
Stingray giving the Loomis GL2 a work out
This stingray seems to have sprung an oil leak
Cajun Chicken flathead
A handsome fish
Another Cajun Chicken flathead
Another Lime Tiger flathead
I did not like the look of this one
Yet another lime tiger flathead
They kept coming
A little one on a Watermelon Pearl Minnow to finish up
The sandbar at low tide
Nearly stepped on this one

I re-rigged with a GULP Jerkshad in the Cajun Chicken colour. The water was now really running and lifting more and more sediment as the tide got lower. This did not seem to bother the fish. I averaged one every 15 minutes or so, for about the next three hours. The colour of plastic did not seem to matter. Most were around the 40 to 45 cm size, but there were several more 50+ cm models amongst them.

At about 1.30 pm, I had to tear myself away – always hard to do when you are catching fish. I had caught more than 15 flathead through the morning and it does not get much better than that!

Bribie – Oyster jetty flats again – 22 April 2013

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Monday

After a good session at Bribie last week, I was keen to get back out there. The wind was light and the moon phase was good, with the tides getting bigger in the run up to the full moon, on Friday. I could not fish the dawn, but I could fish the run out tide for a few hours before low tide, at about 1.00 pm.

I arrived just before 9.00 am and decided to keep fishing the flats on the mainland side of the Bribie Bridge. There had been plenty of flathead around and I presumed they would still be there. There was not much wind and the sky was cloudy.

I understand it is New South Wales school holidays this week so I expected a bit more boat traffic than normal but as I walked out at about 9.30 am, there were crab pots as far as the eye could see. As I waded south from the bridge, they were everywhere. I counted 50 in sight before I gave up. It made casting a little difficult, in places. There were plenty of sand crabs around, as I kept kicking them. However the density of pots meant that there was a boat arriving to; figure out which were theirs, check them and reset them, every five minutes.

This did not do much for the fishing but after all the crap weather we have had, is was good to see boats out and about and the odd pot being pulled up with a few keepers in it. I decided to stay in the shallows and find some undisturbed areas to fish.

The tide was running out quite fast and so the boats and pots gradually retreated, leaving me to fish the edge of the sand and weed banks, which were now covered in only 800 mm of water. This is where I concentrated my casts. I tried to pause my retrieve right at the edge of the banks. This was where my first fish of the day hit just before 10.00 am. I was using a GULP Jerkshad in the red and yellow Curried Chicken colour on a 1/8th, 2/0 jighead. It was a good flathead but the sand banks where not yet exposed so I had nowhere to land it. I tried the tricky manoeuvre of pulling the fish into my body then grabbing it with a rag. The fish promptly spiked me hard, unhooked itself and wriggled free. It was a good spike right in the middle of my thumb. I could not rub some slime into it to ease the sting, as the fish had gone and taken all its slime with it! I wrapped it up in a bit of rag.

When you get spiked like this the blood does not clot very quickly, as the venom in the spike is slightly anti-coagulant. So if you are not careful, you end up dripping blood everywhere. This is not ideal in waist deep water! The thumb calmed down after a while and I carried on casting. I kept peppering the same spot with casts and I soon hooked up again. This was a slightly smaller fish and made sure it was tired out before pulling it in close and grabbing it with the rag. It ended up being a bit over 45cm.

I moved further south and was soon close to the green channel marker. I swapped to a GULP Jerkshad in the Cajun Chicken – the black and purple colour. I used the usual technique along the edge of the sand bank and soon caught two more undersized (35cm) flathead. I persisted in the same area and after about ten more casts, I felt a good bite. I paused and dropped the rod tip. When I lifted it I had another fish on. This one was about 45 cm again, and I safely grabbed it and put it in the bag.

It was now about 12.45pm and I turned back and waded towards the bridge. In the shallows, just short of the jetty, I hooked another flathead and pulled it up to the shore. It was also a keeper, at about 50cm long.

Three little flathead went swimming one day...

Three little flathead went swimming one day…

I had to give up at about 1.15 pm, just as the tide stopped moving. I had forgotten the camera today, so only one snap of the keepers is included, from my phone. Considering the late start and all the boat traffic, it had been another good session.

Bribie Island – Oyster Jetty to the channel marker – 18 April 2013

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Thursday

At last the cooler (and hopefully drier) weather is beginning to show itself. I love this time of year. Dawn is later so I become slightly less nocturnal and the fishing improves exponentially with the cooling water temperatures and the more consistent south-easterly winds.

It was back to Bribie Island – my home fishing territory. I was in position under the mainland side of the Bribie Island Bridge at 5.00 am, about an hour before dawn. Low tide would be just before 9.00 am. This is the ideal tide situation for fishing these flats. The tide is about halfway out and running nicely. The fish have moved up into the shallows during the night with the high tide and are now gradually retreating. They stay in shallower water in the pre-dawn light, as they still feel fairly safe.

I cast around but the water was already too shallow directly under the bridge lights, to warrant fishing that area, so I gradually moved up, past the old oyster jetty and concentrated on an area of weed banks, about level with the end of the jetty. There are sandy hollows in the weed and when the water depth is just right the flathead like this spot.

I started with a GULP 4” Minnow in the Smelt colour on a 1/8th oz, 1/0 jighead. I was fishing with a 10lb fluorocarbon leader and my Loomis GL2/ Shimano Stella 2500 spinning outfit. It was still dark. It was now just before 6.00 am. There was just a faint glow on the horizon. I put a few casts out into the shallows and the fun started. The first fish was a good one – a flathead, just over 55cm long. I was going to release them all today but this one had half a tackle shop hanging out of its mouth, so I put it in the keeper bag. It looked like it had swallowed at least one hook and had some pretty heavy trace with another broken hook hanging off it.

I cast out again and felt another bite, but did not connect. On the next cast, I caught it – another Flathead – but this one was just a baby – about 30cm long. I kept going in the same spot and about 5 minutes later, I felt a good fish connect. This was another good fish, a little over 60 cm.

The sun was now up and I gradually moved further to the south. There were a few long toms around and these would occasionally attack the soft plastic. I caught another undersized flathead at about 6.30 am and then things went quite for about an hour.

First flathead of the morning
The second flathead
Plenty of leftover tackle
Flathead
A pretty good sunrise on the way
Another flathead
Seriously flat head
Amazing clouds
Flathead
They kept attacking
The hard body fished best
Flathead
The fish kept coming
Plenty of sand crabs running around
The Realis Shad 59MR gets down to about 1.5m
Another great DUO paintjob
DUO Realis Shad 59MR hard body
Most fish were legal size
Plenty of fish and plenty of sunshine
The patched up shed and old oyster jetty

By 7.30 am I was about half way to the green channel marker. I had swapped to a GULP Jerkshad soft plastic in the Cajun Chicken colour. The water had started fairly clear but as we got closer to low tide it became murkier. Suddenly I felt a solid bite and I was on to another fish. I pulled it on to the sand. It was about 45cm. I then caught a couple more, of about the same size, on the same soft plastic.

I was sure there were more fish in the area but after another 20 minutes of casting, they seemed to have calmed down or perhaps, grown wary of the soft plastic. I swapped over to a small hard-bodied lure – the DUO Realis Shad 59MR. I have had success with the lure in this area before, but today I was using a new colour – purple/ silver called HD Gill. It is a 4.7 gram, 59mm suspending minnow with a great action. It will hover for a few seconds at the end of a swim and maintain its depth, to about 1.5 metres below the surface.

This soon stirred the fish up. I worked it along the edge of the weed beds, out by the channel marker and soon started hooking up. The first couple of fish were small. I turned back and covered the same ground I had been over with the soft plastic jerkshad and after an hour and half, I had caught six more flathead. They were all over 45cm and had all attacked the Realis Shad 59MR.

By about 9.45 am I was back at the bridge. I had three of the better fish in the keeper bag for a meal and I had really enjoyed the session. Early in the tide the water had been very clear and there had been no rain – let’s hope the fishing and weather stays this good.