Tag Archives: Zman Minnowz

Bribie – the old oyster jetty flats – 7 March 2016

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Monday

The wind and wild weather persists. A look back at my fishing reports suggest that the run up to the full and new moons around February, March, April have produced the most consistent catches of flathead. The latter half of the run out tide also appears to be a good time to get at them.

So on Monday I ignored the wind and grey skies and drove up to Bribie at about 10.30 am, to fish the run out tide on the flats in front of the jetty and the Sandstone Point  Hotel. Low tide would be at 2.38 pm. The wind was about a 15 to 20 knot east-south-easterly by the time I arrived.

As regular readers know, I love my GULP soft plastics (and just for the record I don’t think I have ever received a free packet from anyone – so this is definitely not sponsor induced waffle). We all tend to use bait and tackle that we are confident with. If something works for us we go back to it – whether it’s a fishing spot/ area or favourite lure type. When I first caught a few flathead on a GULP Minnow Grub in the Pumpkinseed colour, I soon convinced myself that this was the only colour and shape that would catch fish. It caught plenty of fish for me but fortunately I was brave / frustrated enough at some point, to experiment with some alternative shapes and colours and even try hard bodied lures.

So this morning I resolved to stick with the ZMAN soft plastics that I carry around but rarely seem to use. My principal problem with them is additional buoyancy in the material they are made of and the lack of scent. I am convinced by the amount of strikes I get when I introduce a GULP soft plastic that is just out of the packet, that the scent is the thing that makes a difference.  Having said that they have a range of shapes in their paddle tail varieties that put GULP to shame. I started with a ZMAN Minnowz in the Redbone colour on a 1/8th 1/0 Headlockz jighead. These jigheads are specially designed to hold the ZMAN soft plastics in place and perhaps also counter the additional buoyancy, they are based on Mustad hooks.

I fished around the bridge and felt a few nudges and bumps from either the resident Moses Perch or perhaps some Pike. After a thorough peppering of the area I moved south, under the jetty and fished along the edge of the weed beds all the way along to the farthest green channel marker. About halfway I swapped colours to the same shape ZMAN in the Rootbeer Gold colour. Unfortunately this made no difference.

I had been fishing for an hour without a bite and I no longer believed the ZMAN soft plastics were going to catch a fish. Confidence is so important when fishing and I just don’t have it when it comes to these plastics. I reached into the tackle bag for a GULP Jerkshad in the BBQ Chicken colour and swapped over. I started back over the ground I had covered and after another 10 minutes, I caught the first fish of the day – a 45cm flathead, close to the edge of the weed.

I carried on moving slowly back towards the jetty, fishing with the same Jerkshad soft plastic. It was now almost 1.00 pm and I caught another flathead, about the same size. Twenty minutes later I caught another much smaller flathead.

Fisheries patrol boat
Bribie Pelicans
Bribie mud crab

There was huge (no doubt multi-million dollar)  fisheries patrol vessel moored in front of the bridge. I think I would rather see our taxes spent on hospitals and schools and just have boats checked in their way in/ out. Especially since the numbers of boats seized, fines issued or commercial licenses cancelled is miniscule. Since we send so much of our good seafood overseas it seems crazy to spend all this money just to race around persecuting recreational anglers.

By now I was casting around just south of the jetty. The jighead stuck fast in to something. It felt like a stick or lump of coral but it was moving. I slowly brought it to the surface with a tightened drag. I was a welcome surprise – a big mud crab with the jighead stuck nicely in one of its back legs. I checked it was male and big enough and I manoeuvred it into my keeper bag and gave up for the day.

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Bribie Island – the old oyster jetty flats – 21 June 2013

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Friday

It’s been a long time between fishing sessions. Work and the dreadful weather – particularly the wind, have limited my fishing opportunities. On Friday the rain and strong south-easterly winds were forecast again but I had no choice, I had to go for it. Fish don’t really care about the wind in an estuary, but if it is really strong, it makes it very hard to feel the bite and cast accurately, not to mention the cold, if it has some west in it.

On Friday morning, on the flats opposite Bribie Island, the wind was switching between a strong south-easterly and south-westerly and bringing plenty of rain with it. The tide had been high at 7.10 am and we were approaching the full moon, due in a couple of days.

I started fishing at about 9.00am. I wanted to fish the second half of the run out tide, through to about midday. I waded out under the bridge in a disposable rain poncho and my waders – I was dry underneath but the wind was very cold. The rain varied between a steady drizzle and heavy squalls.

Despite the wild weather the water was clear and cold. Unfortunately the algae (snot weed) are all over the sea grass and rocks on the bottom, between the bridge and the old oyster jetty. If you let your lure hit the bottom, it just gets clogged up with this stuff, straight away.

The lime tiger colour certainly stands out
GULP Lime tiger gets nailed
The birds were hunkered down
One for the Zman Minnowz
GULP Pearl Watermelon, a consistently attractive colour

The situation improved to the south of the oyster jetty. I think the current is a little stronger here so the algae find it harder to take hold. I was fishing with a GULP 4” minnow in the Lime Tiger colour. After an hour of casting around I connected with a fish, but after a short fight, it slipped free. I persisted in the same spot for another 20 minutes. Eventually, I hooked the fish (or one of its neighbours) again. It was a flathead about 45cm long. Given how tough the fishing had been it seemed I was unlikely to catch the three fish minimum that I would need to feed my mob, so I released it.

I was now about 200 metres to the south of the old oyster jetty and the tide was running out, strongly. It was time to continue the sea trials of the Zman Minnowz. I chose the fairly natural, Houdini colour and put it on a 1/8th ounce, 1/0 jighead. I covered much of the same ground I had covered with the GULP Minnow and after about 20 minutes, I caught another small flathead about 35cm long.

I moved up and down casting at the edge of the weed beds but the after another 40 minutes with no bites I swapped back to a GULP 4” Minnow soft plastic lure, in the Pearl Watermelon colour. This produced a result on the first cast – another small flathead about 30cm long. I continued fishing the same area for another 30 minutes, but could not find anymore.
The wind was really building now, so I turned back and waded towards the bridge. On the way, I slowed my retrieve right down and left it longer on the bottom between hops. This produced one more flathead, just before low tide at about 1.00 pm.

Tough session – but the fish were there – as they nearly always are.

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.

Yeppoon – Byfield National Park – Fishing Creek – 4/5 June 2013

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Tuesday/ Wednesday

Byfield is a beautiful spot and I spent Tuesday exploring. The wind was a howling south-easterly, all day, so I focused on scouting out some good sheltered spots. I tried the lee side of the headland that I had fished the day before, at the end of Nine Mile Beach. This looks like a great spot but the waves were crashing in and I could not keep my lures in the dirty water. After a few hours, I gave up on the fishing and climbed up the hill.

It looks like the water is generally quite shallow and the sediment that has poured out of the creeks and bays must get stirred up by the wind. I climbed to the top of the hill and surveyed the whole area. There were a few trawlers working just offshore. I concluded this would be an excellent area to fish land-based, so I will be back.

At the end of 9 mile you can choose to fish the estuary or the beach
Further round there are plenty of fishy looking spots
Looking back along Nine Mile Beach
There must be fish here somewhere

On Wednesday the wind was still up and it had rained heavily overnight. I decided to try fishing one of the shallow creeks that feed into Corio Bay. I chose Fishing Creek, which comes in from the south and drove down Fishing Creek Road until it petered out at a bend in the creek. It was just after high tide at about 7.00 am. There was a small ledge path on the muddy, mangrove lined banks and I squelched my way along it.

The guys at Barra Jacks in Rockhampton had suggested this spot, when I was in there a few days before. They reckoned that crocodiles were very unlikely to be around at this time of year but that I should keep my eyes peeled. That always adds a little excitement to the session!

I was fishing with my light spin rig (Loomis GL2 and Shimano Stradic 2500) and I dropped all the way down to 8lb fluorocarbon leader and a 1/8th ounce, size 1 hook, jighead. I decided to stick with natural colours and started with a GULP 4” Minnow in the Peppered Prawn colour. The water was not too dirty as the tide had just peaked. I dropped the soft plastic up current and bounced it back to me, along the bottom. I cast as close to the bank as I could and gradually lengthened the pauses on the bottom. After about ten casts, I felt a bite and was connected to a fast fish for a few seconds, and then it was gone. I stayed in the same area and after about 10 more casts, I landed a small flathead. A few casts later I found another, it was just under 40 cm.

At last – a fish from Fishing Creek
Fishing Creek at high tide
The was good evidence of fish
Looked pretty fishy at high tide
They were hiding in close to the banks
Around the top of the tide the water was quite clear
Smelt coloured GULP Minnow worked on this one
Fishing Creek flathead – all around 35cm to 45 cm
I walked towards the main estuary and the creek gradually widened out
Small natural coloured plactics worked best
The tide ran out revealing sandy ledges and mangrove roots
They kept coming but only one at a time
Back at the end of the road at low tide

I continued down the creek towards the estuary. The tide was running out quickly revealing various ponds and channel. I was wet and muddy but the sun was out and I was catching fish, so things were looking up. I concentrated on the patches of deeper water and the caught a steady stream of small flathead, over the next 4 hours. The 3” GULP Minnow in the Pearl Watermelon colour was the most successful lure of the day. I tried the paddle-tailed Zman Minnowz, in a couple of colours, but did not catch anything on them.

I gradually ran out of water as the creek emptied and at about 12 noon, I turned around and walked back to the car. I caught a couple of fish in the shallow pools on the way back. By the time I reached the car, I had caught 9 flathead – the majority were between 30 and 40 cm long and only two looked like they were big enough to keep.

It had been a much more successful session and had given me confidence that this is a very fishy area, when conditions allow you to get at it.

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.

Yeppoon – Byfield National Park – Corio Bay – 12 May 2013

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Saturday

Paid work had left me in Rockhampton on Friday, so I decided to have a go at fishing in Byfield National Park, over the weekend. I have a new car – an FJ Cruiser – the perfect fishing car. I love it – great clearance, plenty of power and a hose out interior. I needed to give it a workout and to get it dirty and Byfield, with its many creek crossings and sandy hills, looked like the perfect spot. There had been plenty of rain, so there would be water in the creeks, but the sand tracks would have firmed up.

I set out before first light on Saturday and drove from Rockhampton to Byfield. I grabbed a cup of coffee and breakfast in Yeppoon and arrived at the Waterpark Creek causeway, that leads into the park, at about 7.30 am. Water was flooding over the causeway. According to the depth markers it was about 400 mm deep – no problem for the new motor. You have to watch this spot when there are showers around, as a lot of rain runs off into this creek. The water level can rise very quickly and leave you stuck on the wrong side.

I had wanted to visit Five Rocks Beach but due to the recent wet weather, the tracks in that direction were closed. I headed for Nine Mile Beach, instead. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get to the beach from the causeway. The biggest obstacle is a climb up a big sand hill. The track was a bit churned up towards the top but it was fairly firm. I am not sure that the old Suzuki Grand Vitara would have had the clearance to make it, but the FJ rolled over the top.

Nine Mile Beach is spectacular and looked particularly wild with the grey clouds rolling in. The wind was howling so I decided to drive down the beach to find some shelter and fish in Corio Bay. At the end of the beach there is a small track that leads across the back of the headland. I took this and found some sheltered water. I believe this area is Corio Bay. The rain kept coming over in squally showers.

I took out my light spin rod and reel and wandered along the mangrove fringed banks of a sandy channel. In between the mangroves, rock bars protruded into the channel at regular intervals, forming a couple of small bays. The tidal variation is huge here, often rising 5 metres from low to high. By the time I started fishing it was about 11.15 am – low tide had passed at about 10.30 am. The water was dark grey and very muddy. The area looked very fishy and I heard a few big gulps, in the eddies around the edges of the rock bars – could have been cod or even a barra – who knows?

I started with a Zman Minnowz in the Houdini colour, on 1/8th oz, 1/0 jighead. I was fishing with 10lb fluorocarbon leader. I lost a few soft plastics and jigheads to the rocks. I re-rigged with the same plastic and cast out and suddenly a fish connected, tight against the rocks. It pulled hard and kept taking short determined runs. I thought it might be a cod but it did not stop still, like a cod would. I got some line back, but it was now under an overhanging rock and I could feel the line rubbing. I did not have the power to pull it out with the light rod. I saw a flash of silver but could not identify it and then it must have loosened the jighead against the rocks, and it was gone.

I decided to try something a little more colourful and tied on a GULP Jerkshad in the Satay Chicken colour – a mixture of yellow and pumpkinseed. I stayed with the 1/8th 1/0 jighead and light leader. I cast it into the fast flowing water, in the middle of channel and let it sink. It was hit on the drop by something very fast and powerful. The fish ran with the fast current and took plenty of line very quickly. Then it jumped clear of the water and I could see it was Queenfish. Every time I got it close to shore it took off again, but eventually I pulled it clear of the water. I am sure it would only be considered a baby in local circles – but it was the biggest Queenfish I have ever caught. I took a few pictures and let it go.

Looks scary but it is concrete and well depth marked
The Causeway into Byfield
Nine Mile Beach
The tide went out and gradually reveled the rock bars
The muddy water yielded a muddy Queenfish
It was no monster but it gave the light Loomis GL2 and 10lb leader a good work out
Corio Bay – nice weather for ducks
These rock bars run out into the sandy bottomed channel
Sun one minute – drenching rain the next
Not sure what this is but it ate the Zman Minow

I tried more and swapped through hard bodied lures, vibes and a few more soft plastics. I ended up fishing with the Zman Minnowz again. I fished around the rockbars and felt a few bites. I left the lure on the bottom for long pauses. About an hour after the Queenfish capture, I hooked something else. It pulled hard and hugged the rocks. In the end I pulled up another fish I have never caught before. Not sure what it was – see pictures. I released it and decided to give up, as another shower was coming over the headland.

I drove back through the rain, safely crossed the causeway and drove back to Yeppoon. This is a fantastic spot. I will be back!