Tag Archives: landanglers fishing reports

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – December 2023

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December was hotter and drier than usual in the Clarence Valley. In fact the only substantial rain for the month came on Christmas Day. The river was crystal clear and full of bait. The flathead were plentiful and even though I could not find them, other anglers were catching mangrove jacks especially on the more humid days..

Since I decided I can no longer afford G.Loomis rods (or perhaps just cant look after them properly), I have been using the Samaki Zing Gen 3 SZG-562SXL for light tackle fishing in the estuary. It is a great rod with a very fast action and sensitive tip. It is also unbelievable value at under A$150. However I never miss an opportunity to spend more money on tackle so I have been looking for something even lighter.

My search for and even more sensitivity put me firmly in trout rod territory and after a few windy days scrolling the internet and reading the reviews I decided to buy a Daiwa 22 Presso 562ULRS. This is an even faster action rod with a 0.3g to 5.0g cast weight rating but Daiwa stresses it should be very durable thanks to its ” X45 and HVF Nanoplus blank “. It is very light and demands a very light line and leader with its tiny guides. I pair it with my Daiwa TD SOL MQ 2500D spinning real, PE 0.8 braid and usually a 10 or 12lb breaking strain fluorocarbon leader. When fishing for flathead and bream in the estuary it really means you feel absolutely everything your lure comes in to contact with. So far I have found it very capable of subduing quite big fish and I am very happy with it. If I hook a small jewfish or a big flathead it makes landing the fish a little more challenging but I am prepared to let the drag do the work.

There were not many days when the swell stayed light enough to fish the rocky headlands. However when conditions were safe enough I went looking for jewfish. I found quite a few. They were mainly hiding under the overhanging ledges but not many were keeper size. The bait was thick and we had a run of bonito following the schools around. The tailor were also hanging around. The bonito eat what the tailor eat and will attack any fast moving lure. I kept a few for sashimi, which I have never tried before and they were delicious. It is a much lighter flavour than fresh tuna. As always eating it within12 hours of catching it probably helps. I am very lucky to live where I do.

Iluka – The Clarence River – April 2023

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March and April are traditionally excellent months for flathead fishing in the Clarence River. In 2022 after the catastrophic floods the fishing had bounced back very quickly and I had caught good numbers of flathead throughout the system. But in 2023, April was less successful than it had been the year before. Perhaps the shift from the La Nina to El Nino weather pattern had something to do with it. There was definitely a little less bait around despite comparatively warm water temperatures.

Bait prawn trawling in the Clarence River has been suspended due to an outbreak of white spot disease in the prawn farms that are adjacent to the river. The disease was detected in August 2022 and then again in early 2023 so all of the prawn farms destroyed their stock and and have stopped operating. Its very disappointing for the local economy but it will allow the river bed to recover its weed beds and other fish habitats if the trawling ban stays in place.

I still caught plenty of flathead, a good mangrove jack and a few good trevally. The juvenile jewfish and tailor were also always on the bite around dawn and dusk. The bream, however were noticeably absent (even around the full moon).

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Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – March 2023

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In March 2023, I was able to spend a bit more time fishing the rocky headlands of the Bundjalung National Park at Iluka. The swell came down to around the 1 metre mark on a few days and this meant I could safely fish in very close to the base of the various rock ledges at Woody Head, Frazer’s Reef and Iluka Bluff. I think the jewfish are always around, but when the swell is light you have much more chance of getting a lure in front of them for long enough to entice a strike.

I caught plenty of jewfish/mulloway through the month. I was mainly successful around the tide changes, particularly when these coincided with dawn or dusk. In one of the best sessions I caught five mulloway, all of which where over the 70 cm size limit. After a quick spell in the recovery rock pool I released them all. I often keep a fish for dinner but find the smallest fish (i.e. those closest to 70 cm) tend to taste the best. A 70 cm fish will yield about 1.2 to 1.3 kg of boneless fillets and I also roast up the frames and wings for a good meal. The head is usually given away to a neighbour for his crab pots.

The biggest mulloway that I managed to stop and land was just over 90 cm. I caught it at Woody Head, using a 5 inch GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad soft plastic in the nuclear chicken colour on a 3/8th ounce 3/0 hook jighead, 40lb fluorocarbon leader and 30lb braid. I was fishing with my Daiwa Saltist MH962 rod and Saltist 3000 reel. The moon was in the waning crescent phase and was 47% full. The tide had been running in for about an hour.

Mulloway
mulloway
tailor

There were also a few tailor around as there usually are at this time of year and I caught quite a few spinning metal slugs around the rocks.

jelly prawns

The fishing was also good in the river with jelly prawns and herring lining the banks. I caught plenty of flathead, small jewfish, bream and a few flounder.

Flounder Clarence River

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – February 2023

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January rolled into February and we had a bit of rain and a south easterly blow. After the massive floods the year before everyone was on edge. But the rain did not last long and there was to be no repeat inundation in northern NSW.

The river was full of jelly prawns and other bait schools and fished well for flathead. The small tailor were everywhere. They were a pest when trying to fish for flathead with a soft plastic lure. You would feel a bump and grab on the drop and pull up a munched and now useless soft plastic.

Tailor
tailor

I caught plenty of flathead and had a few good fishing sessions on the flats nearer the mouth of the Clarence River at Yamba. On one occasion I hooked a small flathead that was then eaten by bigger one at my feet. I dropped the rod tip and waited for about 30 seconds and when I took up the slack, sure enough the bigger fish took off. I pulled it around for about five minutes and then it either regurgitated the fish or just spat it out. I reeled the little one back in it looked completely unharmed. I took the hook out of its lip and it swam off.

Clarence River flathead

I was able to get out to fish the rocky headlands on a few days. I caught plenty of small jewfish/ mulloway at Woody Head and Iluka Bluff, but none of February’s fish were big enough to keep. There were also a few tailor schools hanging around at dawn and dusk.

Rudra Jerkbait Pro

Iluka – The Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – December 2022

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The swell was up and down again in December. I managed a few mornings fishing on the rocky headlands and caught quite a few juvenile jewfish on my favourite GULP Squid Vicious soft plastics. I can pretty much no longer find the lime tiger (green and orange) colour so I have switched to the nuclear chicken (red and green) colour. When the mulloway are hungry they don’t much seem to care which soft plastic you use, but I think the dangling legs of the squid pattern can tempt them out of hiding, when they are reluctant. I also believe the GULP scent makes a difference.

sunrise Woody head
GULP Squid Vicious
Jewfish
mulloway Iluka
Woody Head tailor

There were also a few tailor around, particularly at dawn and dusk. I caught them on the surface and with the soft plastics I had intended for mulloway. I found plenty of flathead, fishing the Clarence River around Iluka and Browns Rocks.

catching flathead

There was a hatch of prawns and when the jelly prawns were in the shallows close to the rocks, so were the flathead. I swapped through a few different Powerbait Shrimps and tried the Berkley Shimma Shrimp soft vibe. They both caught fish but so did any soft plastic minnow, worked slowly along the bottom, close to the bank.

Iluka – the Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – November 2022

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I was away for the second half of November and the swell had picked up again meaning that the rocks were largely unfishable. In the first half my son came down to fish with me and he caught his first mulloway on a soft plastic. It could not have been any smaller but he is off the mark! We caught plenty of good flathead and a few bream in the Clarence River, fishing at Browns Rocks. There were lots of very small jewfish hanging about in the holes or next to the drop offs but they only ever seemed to bite before sunrise or after sun set.

The swell picked up again but there were plenty of flathead in the Clarence River, fishing around Browns Rocks

Iluka – the Clarence River and the Bundjalung Headlands – October 2022

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My fishing diary is now so far out of date that posting pictures may seem superfluous. But in the interests of trying to maintain and approximate record of what I caught and when, I will post some pictures for each month and try to catch up.

There were lots of flathead in the river in October and loads of junior jewfish. I only managed one rock fishing session and landed one just legal size jewfish / mulloway. Everything was caught on soft plastics.

Iluka – the Clarence River and the headlands – September 2022

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The wet winter continued in September with eleven rainy days through the month. The weather was generally a bit warmer than average. Further south, the inland of NSW got a complete drenching which resulted in serious flooding.

On the safe swell days I caught plenty of small jewfish from the Iluka headlands. On one morning I managed to put eight in the rock pool,in the space of an hour. However they measured between 60cm and 70cm, so I released them all. Over the next few days I did manage to get a couple of keepers, which were both around 85cm long. I was using my latest favourite jewfish soft plastic which is the GULP Squid Vicious in the Nuclear chicken colour. I had it rigged on a 3/8 ounce or 1/2 ounce jighead and 40lb fluorocarbon leader.

After some really heavy rain upstream, the Clarence turned pretty dirty late in the month so I went down to the mouth and fished the Iluka rock wall. In the first session (on the inside of the wall) I caught a couple of GTs on a jerkshad and then a 73cm jewfish. I decided to go back the next day. The water was brown and soupy which is just how the jewfish like it. I started just after dawn and soon found the fish. This time they were schooled up on the outside (ocean side) of the wall. I cast out the GULP Squid Vicious soft plastic and it was slammed on the first drop. I hooked six sizeable fish but just could not get any of them close enough to gaff.

I finally realised I was truly out gunned when a fish just grabbed the plastic and charged off with it straight towards New Zealand. I gradually tightened the drag and it slowed a couple of times but it never turned. I watched the line disappear off my spool and finally tightened right up. There was a momentary pause then snap and the line went slack.

By this time a couple of other fishos had arrived. I moved over to the other side of the wall and after a few casts, was on again. This time I hung on and with the aid of some expert gaffing assistance, pulled up an 85cm jewfish / mulloway.

The birds – particularly the cormorants – were patrolling the river every morning looking for the small tailor that were chopping through the bait schools. I caught a few bream but had more luck with flathead. The juvenile jewfish were ever present especially at dawn and dusk. There was lots of small bait in the river particularly the tiny jelly prawns that the flathead so love.

Jelly prawn Clarence River

Iluka – the Clarence River and the headlands – August 2022

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July rolled into August and although the La Nina weather pattern persisted, we did have a few cool clear days. There was plenty of bait in the river and a few mullet but according to the professionals the floods had killed the traditional autumn/ winter mullet ‘run’.

The birds would show me where the bait was schooled up and I would plan my fishing around their focus, whenever I could reach it. I caught plenty of flathead in the run ups to the new and full moons. In this river system when the bait is up close to the rock walls that line the bank the flathead are usually sitting directly underneath. I like to fish from high tide down to about half way out but I have caught them at any point in the cycle.

There were lots of junior jewfish in the river

With plenty of bait, the mini tailor were around in big numbers and so were the small jewfish. In some sessions it was hard to catch a flathead because these two species would always beat them to the soft plastic lures

The bream were also a consistent catch. Soft plastics, hard-bodied lures and a variety of fresh and frozen baits all seemed to work. On angler even claimed the only thing they really liked is chicken breast marinated in curry powder. I live and learn.

The big swells put the rocky headlands out of bounds for all but a few days of the month. However, when I could safely fish at Woody Head I caught a few tailor and a couple of legal sized mulloway / jewfish. The lure of choice for the jewfish remained the GULP Squid Vicious soft plastic in the nuclear chicken colour.

Iluka – Woody Head and the Clarence River – July 2022

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July had its fair share of windy days but was also a good fishing month. The mulloway/ jewfish were all around the ledges, when I could safely get at them and I caught plenty of keepers.

When the swell is up I focus on land-based fishing around Iluka and Yamba. If you have a pair of waders the options are pretty much endless and you can always find a spot to get out of the wind.

Fishing with my light rig and a 12lb fluorocarbon leader I caught plenty of decent flathead on soft plastics and small hard bodies. I also caught a few bream and tailor on these lures. The best tailor were caught working hard bodied minnow lures along the riverbanks at dusk. I got bitten off a few times like this. The biggest tailor I landed from the river where about 40cm long.

Iluka – Iluka Bluff, Woody Head and the Clarence River June 2022

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June was a cracking fishing month on the headlands and also pretty good in the Clarence River. The bream fisherman where getting good catches.

I caught plenty of jewfish at Woody Head, Iluka Bluff and Frasers Reef. The start of the incoming tide seemed to fish best for me and the GULP Squid Vicious soft plastic in the nuclear chicken colour, rigged on a 3/8th ounce, size 2/0 hook jighead worked best. I was generally fishing with a 40lb leader.

When fishing for jewfish I often caught some ambitious, chunky, bream. They are often lurking in the wash at the base of the rocks. I also caught some decent tailor and trevally, when I was casting metal slugs around at dawn or dusk.

Iluka – Clarence River – Browns Rocks – January 2022

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I had a quick fish at Iluka in the beginning of the New Year before the weather turned wild and stormy in early January. The flathead and small jewfish were still in the river. I did best fishing the run out tides before we had some really heavy rain that turned the river brown in the middle of the month.

For the rest of the month I escaped Australia for a visit to my relatives in England. The UK seemed to have already moved on to living with Covid and although restaurant and pub staff were still masked up, everybody else was over it. It was bloody cold and I caught a stinking cold but regular RAT and PCR tests refused to say it was Covid. The plane was already packed with travellers keen to reunite and the additional Covid checks and paperwork made the tedious process of long haul travel more miserable than ever. I was glad to get back to Australia for some fishing in February.

Wild weather coming in – Clarence River

Iluka – The Clarence River at Browns Rocks – December 2021

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As November rolled into December, Queensland and Western Australia remained cut off from the rest of the country as they realised that it might not be a bad idea to get vaccinated. I continued to go bankrupt and found solace in fishing.

The wind and swell were relentless out on the Iluka headlands but the lower reaches of the Clarence River remained calm and clear. There were a few shrimp in the river and almost as soon as they arrived in numbers the river trawlers set about catching them. They ploughed up and down, day after day trying their best to catch their quotas. This is almost exclusively a bait fishery; the prawns are frozen and sold for bait. The trawler owners say it is a traditional and sustainable fishery but it seems like a lot of activity for a very meagre return. I understand that they frequently receive less than A$1000 a tonne for the prawns. Since 2018 the average catch per licensed boat has been around 5 tonnes per year. If you deduct labour, fuel, boat maintenance and depreciation then no one is making any money. Maybe we could just buy back the boats and licenses, give them a tinny each and all start fishing with lures!

Despite the prawn trawlers the fishing was pretty good on the flats around Browns Rocks (so they may not being doing much harm). I concentrated on fishing the falling tides on the flats. I swapped between hard bodied minnow lures (the DUO Realis Rozante 63/ DUO Realis Shad 52 MR SP, the DUO Realis Jerkbait 100 SP and a variety of no name cheap ones) I also used my favourite GULP soft plastic minnows and paddleshads.

Luderick, jewfish and bream

Some mornings were beautifully calm but the northerly winds usually picked up in the afternoons. We had a couple of big storms in the middle of the month. But the river stayed mostly clear.

Plenty of flathead in the Clarence River in November

I caught the usual range of species – bream, flathead, small jewfish, whiting and even the odd luderick. There were plenty of tiny tailor marauding around at dawn and dusk but not many keeper sized fish. On several days I managed a bag of 5 keeper size flathead. It was a month of flat river dawns and beautiful but very early sunrises.

Goodwood Island – Browns Rocks – early October 2021

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In early October we had a few big late afternoon storms and the swell came back up on the rocky headlands of the Bundjalung National Park. I decided to do my fishing wading around in the shallows around Browns Rocks, on the Clarence River.

I love this type of fishing, I was using light gear – a 6ft spinning rod with a fast action matched with a 2500 size reel. For line I use 12lb breaking strain braid and about 1.5 metres of 10lb breaking strain fluorocarbon leader, tied together using a uni to uni knot. I use soft plastics most of the time and fish with the GULP range. I think the infused scent encourages fish to both bite and hang on, once they have. I sometimes also use small diving minnow hard bodies or surface lures if the bite is hot. I favour the run out tide and the most common catch is flathead.

The tailor are also often patrolling this area and it is quite common to lose your whole rig to them. They were getting especially hungry around dawn and dusk in October and I lost a few rigs to clean bite offs.

Iluka – Woody Head – 1 September 2021

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The next morning I was back at the rock ledge, fishing at Woody Head. I assumed that the jewfish/ mulloway should still be around. In fact, if they were in this spot, they were probably schooled up under ledges all up and down the east coast of Australia.

The only thing that had really changed was that low tide would be about an hour later. It was a bright clear morning. The swell was just over a metre and the wind had been light from south west at dawn but was gradually turning south-easterly. The new moon was a week away.

I started at about 7.30 am. I was using my Daiwa Saltist rod and reel combination , I was pretty confident that the mulloway/jewfish would be around so I chose 40 lb fluorocarbon leader and a heavy gauge 1/4 ounce, size 2/0 hook jighead. The soft plastic of choice was once again the GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad in the Lime Tiger Colour.

I dropped it into the foamy swell just about 3 metres out and let it sink and drift back in. I felt I had the lure in the perfect spot and I did, because as I lifted the rod tip it caught hard against the cunjevoi cover rocks and was snagged. I snapped my line and re-rigged. Like all good addictions fishing is an expensive business.

I carried on with the same patterned lure in the same spot. After about 1 hour and 30 minutes and two more lost jigheads, I felt a solid bite. The fish initially swam in, under the ledge so I let it run and tried to minimise my line rubbing against the rocks. I kept up the tension but when it seemed clear it was not going to come out I flicked the bail arm over completely for about 15 seconds and paused. I then tightened the drag a little and flicked the bail arm back. This did the trick and by the time I had taken up the slack line, the fish was still hooked and was a couple of metres out into the open water. It pulled fairly hard and it made another run but now it was pretty tired. The swell was just right to help me lift the fish up a couple of rock ledges to me feet. It was a nice jewfish, approximately 85cm long.

85cm Jewfish/Mulloway – Woody Head

In the late afternoon I went for a quick session casting around in shallows of the Clarence River at Browns Rocks. I used a DUO Realis Pencil 6.5 cm surface lure to target the small tailor that are almost always marauding around on dusk. I had great fun catching a few on my light gear until something bigger swallowed the lot.

Tailor on surface lures
Clarence River tailor on surface lures are great fun

Brunswick Heads – North wall – 30 July 2021

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At the end of July I was back in South Golden Beach. Possibly in lockdown (I can no longer remember) but fortunately the Brunswick River mouth was within easy reach for fishing ‘exercise’.

I set out to fish the north rock wall, which is reached down the unmade section of North Head Road. I walked out on to the wall at about 10.30 am. The tide was coming in and would be high at about 2.00 pm. I was fishing with my light set up and rigged up a GULP 4″ Minnow in the Watermelon Pearl colour on a 1/8th ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead. I was using 12lb fluorocarbon leader. The water was crystal clear and the swell was less than a metre. There was a very light northerly wind blowing.

I put in a few casts on the north side of the wall into the wave break area, close to the beach. Sometimes there are flathead lurking around the base of the rocks, but not today. The first taker was a bream. I threw him back and kept casting. I soon caught another small one.

I moved out to the end of the rock wall and swapped soft plastics to a GULP Pulseworm in the Moebi (beige flecked) colour. After a few casts I found another small bream and then lost the tail of the soft plastic. I put on a GULP 3″ Minnow in my favourite Lime Tiger colour. I thought there might be some dart around and this colour seems to work well on them.

A few bream and a queenfish from the north wall at Brunswick Heads

I worked my way around the far end of the rock wall and cast around in the mouth of the river. I had a few nibbles but could not hook anything so I moved back to the north side, I let the soft plastic sit as long as I dared, on the bottom beside the base of the rock wall. At about 11.45 am a fish grabbed my plastic close to the base of the rocks, as I lifted it to recast. It took off quite fast out to sea and then jumped clear of the water. I tightened the drag a little and soon subdued and landed it. It was a juvenile queenfish, about 45 cm long. I snapped it and threw it back. There were no more bites so after about 30 minutes more, I gave up for the day.

Iluka – Goodwood Island – 19 July 2021

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On Monday the 19th the swell was up again and the wind came with it. I had a lie in, cleaned my light spinning rig and took it easy in the morning.

In the afternoon the wind dropped a little. So I went out to explore. I decided to fish through dusk on the north arm of the Clarence River. I drove down past the Goodwood Island Wharf and walked across to the other side of island. The river bank is fairly over grown but there are a few good fishing spots in this area.

I rigged up with a 12lb fluorocarbon leader down to a 1/8th ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead. I put on a GULP 4″ Minnow soft plastic in the Watermelon Pearl colour. This is such a consistent performer for me and has caught jewfish, flathead, bream, dart, tailor, whiting and a whole range of weird and wonderful less common species.

In this area the north arm of the Clarence River is wide and shallow, There are open patches along the river bank and then large patches of young mangroves. Its is slightly muddier and swampier than the main arm.

Fishing the north arm of the Clarence River – near Iluka

The tide was pretty high and running in. I fished for a couple of hours until just after sunset. A couple of times a small school of tailor came past and bit the end of the soft plastic, but I did not catch any of them. I managed two flathead, one decent bream and an amazing sunset for the session. Its always good to explore.

Iluka – Woody Head – 14 July 2021

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In mid-July I was back in Iluka after a fair bit of rain and wild weather. The swell was forecast to drop to about a metre so I decided to spend a morning fishing at Woody Head.

I was up before dawn and arrived on the platform at Woody Head at about 6.00 am. The tide had been low at 5.20 am and was now running in. It was a few days after the new moon, so it was about 20% full. The horizon was an amazing colour in the pre-dawn light. The swell was a bit angrier than forecast so I watched it for a while before I started fishing. As it got lighter I could see that the water was very cloudy.

When I felt I could cast safely between the bigger sets I tied on the ASWB 40g Flutter Drop fast sinking stickbait. This comes from Ebb Tide Tackle. I like this lure. It often seems to get a bite when other things are not working for tailor. I cast it out and started retrieving with long, fairly slow sweeps. I felt a couple of knocks on the first cast but nothing connected. I cast out again and repeated the process. This time the fish were ready and one grabbed it pretty quickly. I was fishing with my old battered Daiwa Demonblood 962 H rod and Daiwa TD SOL III LT 6000D-H spinning reel. I was using 40lb braid and a 40lb fluorocarbon leader. The Demonblood is such a solid rod and had no problem subduing the tailor. I pulled up a very fat fish – about 45cm long. I despatched it and put it in the keeper pool. It was now just after 7.00 am.

I kept casting in between some big wave sets, but conditions were tricky. At about 7.30 am I hooked another tailor, very close to the rocks. A big wave was coming so I loosened the drag and retired to safety while it washed over the ledge. I then retightened and felt the fish was still on. However the line was rubbing on the cunjevoi covered rocks. The swell forced me back again and I just flicked the bail arm over. The wave hit hard. As I moved back towards the edge, I flicked the bail arm over and wound like mad. The fish seemed to have freed/ untangled itself and I pulled it up to my feet. It was another tailor, about the same size as the first.

The BKK trebles (which are pretty tough) were all bent up and I was soaked, so I called it quits for the morning at about 8.00 am.

ASWB 40g Flutter Drop gets the tailor at Woody Head

Port Macquarie – Rivermouth rockwall 1 July 2021

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In early July, before more lockdown madness started, I did a bit of work in the Hunter Valley. Catching a plane anywhere has become such a lottery that I decided to drive down and stopped on the way back to fish at Port Macquarie.

I only had one morning and the weather was pretty rubbish so I chose to fish the rock-wall. I had arrived just on dusk the night before and seen the birds working over a school of something in the river mouth. So at first light I drove round and took the ferry across the river to fish the north wall. To my surprise I could drive almost all the way to the end and park more or less next to where I wanted to fish – very civilised.

It was soon raining and very grey. I cast a 40g metal slug for I while. I was using my old Daiwa Seabass rod which is great for casting small slugs or soft plastics for tailor – although it does take a while to land a decent greenback – if you find one. The slug was not working so I swapped to a soft plastic lure. I chose a GULP 4″ Minnow. First in the Lime Tiger and then later in the Camo colour. I loaded them on a 1/4 ounce, size 1/0 hook jighead and both caught tailor for me. I caught half a dozen tailor and a couple of small trevally all between 30 and 40 cm, over about the next hour. Eventually the rain started to set in and I gave up.

A grey morning at the Hastings river mouth – Port Macquarie

The estuary looks like it would fish well for flathead, bream, jewfish and all the usual suspects. I look forward to visiting again soon.

Iluka – Woody Head – 18 June 2021

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It was back to Woody Head the next morning as the swell was forecast to be light. I started again with a big soft plastic, looking for a jewfish on the bottom of the run out tide. I tried for about 30 minutes from first light through to dawn. I did not get a touch in all my favourite spots.

As the sun came up I switched to a brass coloured 55g Halco Twisty and threw that out towards the horizon. On my third retrieve, a fish grabbed the lure close to the rocks and tried to head down into them. Fortunately it was only a small trevally and I muscled it up, took a picture and threw it back. We were coming up to low tide and the water was still very cloudy.

A few tailor and trevally at Woody Head

About ten minutes later a tailor grabbed the same lure. I landed it and threw it back. It was about 45cm long. On the next cast I lost the whole rig to something big and toothy. It was only on the line for about 10 seconds before cutting through my 40lb fluorocarbon leader. I re-rigged and put on a new Halco Outcast 60g metal slug. I moved a little further north along the rock platform and kept casting. I soon found some more tailor. I caught 4 more – all between 35cm and 45 cm before things went quiet.

By about 9.00 am the tide started to push me away from the rocks so I gave up for the morning.