Winter Sharking / Options

[Mr FeLiX]

Hey guys,

Thinking of heading out in the next fortnight to test the Seajigger and Saltist combo, and really wouldn't mind doing a bit of sharking.

I'm aware it's winter, but I have seen a few whalers, especially bullies, around the areas I frequent which appeared to be in active search of food.

Are the jetties here in QLD still a good option for sharking in the cooler months, or should I try other options?

Any sharking hints/tips appreciated guys.

[jeff f]

try putting your bait under a baloon and fishing in the afternoon when the sun has warmed the water surface.

this has given me my best results in the cooler months

[Mr FeLiX]

Do you have any pics or links involving a balloon rig for sharks mate? Definatley worth a look

[jeff f]

snelled hooks on a meter and a half of wire with a swivel at the other end

tie the swivelto a 120cfm length of heavy leader and slide on a heavy sinker

tie another swivel to the end then tie to your main line

get a meter of lighter monno and tie it to the top swivel tie the baloon to the other end

by varying the lengths of the components and sinker weights you can keep a good sized live bait close to the warmer surface water

dont be surprised if smaller bullsharks bite or even jump on the baloon before they take the bait

[Keen-as-fisho]

One spot where I have gotten them year round, Logan river. Mainly near marks rocks upto albert/ logan junction. I think you can cast from the land at Marks rocks, theres a few parks along that stretch aswell. No fancy rig required, I just use a 50lb mono trace with 4/0+ size hook and lightly weighted and just a medium boat rod. The key is live bait, mullet, hearing, catfish, bream etc..

Good luck

[katfish]

there seems to be more sharks around these days, this is just speculation on my part, or maybe because the upper Brisbane river is cleaner because they stopped dredging. the last time I drove along kingsford smith drive, I swear the water was a shade of blue. being that the water quality is better, more fish are venturing into the system, which also brings the toothy critters in as well. I think anywhere in the brissie river is worth a look, and as the others have said, live baits are best, or fresh dead baits are good also. my favorite fishing saying, big bait, big fish. good luck on your next adventure. I would like to tag along, if not only to see the new rig, but to have a blast as well. oh, and I do have a cast net, but I think I have forgotten how to use it ha ha, been that long since I`ve used bait. cheers

[sunnydays]

Hey Katfish,

I'm not denying the water quality, but if you look at the fence along kinsford smith drive, it makes the water look a lot more blue than it really is!

Ha Ha!

:laugh:

[Terry H]

Try outside the river mate.

Still plenty of sharks around in winter, just a bit cold for the angler.

[Mr FeLiX]

Might give it a burl this weekend guys, still not sure on a place to fish from exactley, but I'll give anything a go I guess. Don't think I'll try the river, probably wellington point (night) or somewhere similar

[billp]

I nearly got tipped off my yak a few weeks ago down Wello Point, by a shark feeding in less than a meter of water, about 100m from the jetty, so they are definately there. Happened at 5am so any time at night you should get them. He/she was just smaller then my 3.2 yak so that would give your gear a good work out .

[katfish]

this happened to me quite a few years ago in the stretch between colleges crossing and mt crosby weir.

was with a mate in my plastic yellow canoe. we decided to go for a paddle, so loaded up the rods and a bit of gear, including a few gar that I caught the week before.

the water was crystal clear, we got about half way up, so I decide to troll my halco combat behind us. we were looking for somewhere to stop & throw some lures. saw this dead tree branch, & said to friend this will be good place to tie off & have a flick. we didnt quite make it, even though it was only about20 metres away. as we were paddling, my rod was resting on side of canoe, and thought I saw the rod twitch, so picked it up. I thought I had picked up some weed or stick or something. the rod tip started to dance ever so slightly, & said to my friend, ``I think I have a sml fish on``. all of a sudden, there was a sharp, quick pull, then the line went limp. I reeled in to find, what was a catfish with body completely missing from erect dorsal spike down. with the head of the fish still croaking, I said to mate, ``hey, check this out ``. thats when the fun began. while I was stuffing around trying to get the head off my lure, Jeremy cry's out, ``SHARK``!! I was lookin around to my right, when I saw this bloody big fin, with bow wave, heading towards the canoe. oh shit!,. it went under the middle of the canoe, from right hand side, so looked left, & saw this big boil of water.at that point, I was shitten myself. the shark then came up to the back of the canoe behind me, head out of the water. I saw his eyes & swear he was looking at me, anyway, we bolted for the bank flat out. we stumbled onto the bank, rigged up those gar, tossed them out & waited. about 10 seconds later, I shouted, ``Im on``, then.. no Im not. Jeremy was standing right next to me, same thing.. Im on, then slack line. we rigged up again, only to have the shark take our offerings in one foul swoop we were left with no more hooks and no more gar. this all happened in about 10 minutes.

I estimated the bull shark to be about 5 feet long, his head was the size of a dinner plate.

we left hesitantly, carrying on like a couple of school girls all the way back to colleges boat ramp, not quite sure what really happened. telling our other mates back on dry land what happened, with reply s of ``yeah good mate``sure you did.

anyway, hope you enjoy my shark encounter, cheers.

[Beejay]

Try Tingalpa Creek, there is plenty of live bait there as well, anywhere from the mouth back to the train bridge.....cheers Beejay

[werewolf]

katfish wrote:

this happened to me quite a few years ago in the stretch between colleges crossing and mt crosby weir.

was with a mate in my plastic yellow canoe. we decided to go for a paddle, so loaded up the rods and a bit of gear, including a few gar that I caught the week before.

the water was crystal clear, we got about half way up, so I decide to troll my halco combat behind us. we were looking for somewhere to stop & throw some lures. saw this dead tree branch, & said to friend this will be good place to tie off & have a flick. we didnt quite make it, even though it was only about20 metres away. as we were paddling, my rod was resting on side of canoe, and thought I saw the rod twitch, so picked it up. I thought I had picked up some weed or stick or something. the rod tip started to dance ever so slightly, & said to my friend, ``I think I have a sml fish on``. all of a sudden, there was a sharp, quick pull, then the line went limp. I reeled in to find, what was a catfish with body completely missing from erect dorsal spike down. with the head of the fish still croaking, I said to mate, ``hey, check this out ``. thats when the fun began. while I was stuffing around trying to get the head off my lure, Jeremy cry's out, ``SHARK``!! I was lookin around to my right, when I saw this bloody big fin, with bow wave, heading towards the canoe. oh shit!,. it went under the middle of the canoe, from right hand side, so looked left, & saw this big boil of water.at that point, I was shitten myself. the shark then came up to the back of the canoe behind me, head out of the water. I saw his eyes & swear he was looking at me, anyway, we bolted for the bank flat out. we stumbled onto the bank, rigged up those gar, tossed them out & waited. about 10 seconds later, I shouted, ``Im on``, then.. no Im not. Jeremy was standing right next to me, same thing.. Im on, then slack line. we rigged up again, only to have the shark take our offerings in one foul swoop we were left with no more hooks and no more gar. this all happened in about 10 minutes.

I estimated the bull shark to be about 5 feet long, his head was the size of a dinner plate.

we left hesitantly, carrying on like a couple of school girls all the way back to colleges boat ramp, not quite sure what really happened. telling our other mates back on dry land what happened, with reply s of ``yeah good mate``sure you did.

anyway, hope you enjoy my shark encounter, cheers.

crap was that in winter though? I remember back in the day paddling along on a surf ski there, dangling feet over the side while bass fishing...

I've always wanted to paddle up from Colleges and fish for bities

[katfish]

hey werewolfe, cant remember, it was that long ago. probably 20years ago, crikie, thats showing my age. the cattie would have only been about 6inches long, but was funny hearing him croaking without a body. to this day when I tell the story, Im sure people think I made it up. it was around the time a skier got bitten on the thigh at Karana downs. the wound on his leg seemed to match the size of bullie that we encountered.

according to grants guide to fish, it is in fact a bull shark (carcharhinus leucas), or, estuary whaler, a proven mankiller reaching up to 8.5 feet in Australian waters. however, in saying that, there is also the common whaler (carcharhinus obscurus),which also travels into estuaries up as far as the fresh water.

which one we encountered, I dont know. the photo in Grants,( photo 39a) suggests that it was the `common whaler.

people should respect this, as they are aggressive, and will bite. cheers.

[vaughan]

Logan river is a top spot for bull sharks.

Try Reider Rd at Carbrook or Ageston Rd on the other side of the river for land based sharking.

If you got a boat the Logan/Albert River Junction is very good.

Dawn and dusk are good times and most the sharks I've got have been on 20cm pillies, but they'll eat anything, even cooked tiger prawns

Nylon coated metal trace with a 4 long bait holder and 2 sinker.

V

[faulked]

bullies grow past 10ft with ease in the brissie river

[katfish]

that aint fiction.

is it water temp or the amount of bait fish in the system?

[Terry H]

faulked wrote:

bullies grow past 10ft with ease in the brissie river

I think I disagree mate.

I would argue its a very select time period that the bigger sharks come in, which I would think would indicate they come into the river for a specific purpose. Outside of the select time period I have received zero hits from large sharks, where as inside that time period I have had quite a few hits, runs and hookups.