November was an excellent month for fishing at Iluka on the Clarence River. The weather was cool and dry. The river was full of small bait fish and the flathead were plentiful. I caught plenty, fishing mainly GULP soft plastic lures along the bottom. Their favoured hang out is the sandy or muddy bottom right at the base of the rock walled river banks.
Out on the rocky headlands of the Bundjalung National Park the swell was safely manageable for a few sessions and I caught my biggest jewfish of the year, so far. It was 90cm long and put up quite a fight trying to flee into an underwater cave. It was just after first light a few days before the new moon. On several mornings I caught and released multiple fish over 70 cm. I opened the stomach of one of the particularly fat mulloway that I caught. It was bursting with small whitebait.. I also had a few good early morning tailor sessions, out on the rocks. The tailor were also spitting up the same small bait.
The weather cooled but very slowly in May. The water temperature dropped quite quickly and averaged about 2 degrees C cooler than May 2022. We had a few misty starts on the river and some spectacular sunrises.
The swell settled and I managed a few rock fishing sessions at Iluka Bluff, Fraser’s Reef and Woody Head. I landed a few jewfish using the GULP Crazylegs Jerkshad and Squidvicious soft plastic lures, mainly in the nuclear chicken colour. The dangling legs of these patterns often seem to attract a strike when other shapes are not working. Only two of the jewfish/ mulloway that I caught in May were big enough to keep. Both were around 80 cm long. There were a few tailor around but not many bream.
The flathead were still hard to find in the river even though there were plenty of jelly prawns hatching on the new and the full moons. The trevally were still marauding around, especially at dawn and dusk.
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.
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.
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