queensland Video Report- Maroochy River Whiting

[Potter]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK6nZWkOJEs

Fished the Maroochy Sat and Sun. I’ll put Saturday’s solo video up soon but here is our little Sunday Session.

Maroochy River Fighting Whiting- A couple of mates from Brissy rocked up on my doorstep at around 10.00am (Sun, 27th Oct) with plans of going for a surf. That plan changed (I suck at surfing) when I mentioned we should go chase a few whiting in the Maroochy. With high tide at around 3.10pm we would be able to pump yabbies and fish the incoming tide in the lower reaches- which is my favourite time to fish.

Whilst plenty of good fish are caught from the shoreline, the best places require a boat or kayak. The plan is relatively simple. Fish several of the yabbie banks towards the mouth on the incoming tide-using yabbies! The whiting push up with the tide with the smaller fish leading the charge. With a couple of blokes we are able to walk the banks, spread out and locate a patch of fish and then call the other boys over (or not). I also like to anchor up in about a foot of water on the flats and cast back towards the banks. If we don’t locate fish/ get bites within 5 mins we move on. Same principles as out on the reef- no point wasting time fishing dead ground.

I was happy to kick back, video and give the boys some encouragement/ sh*t. They were trigger happy and would just about reef the head off any fish that took a liking to their yabbie but once they learnt to slowly load up the rod it was game on and of course everything turns into a competition. We caught loads of undersize bream, whiting and even a couple of long toms but still managed a few legal whiting, which the boys were stoked to take home. We did a bit of sight seeing, grabbed a feed at Swan boat hire and pulled the pin at around 3.30pm as the boys had to get back to brissy. Things usually go quiet on the tide change as the fish start to move off back into the channels. This is a good time to have a swim, a feed or go for a cruise.

Despite the fishing pressure, jet skis racing about, and lately the very clear water- we always come home with a feed. Although I'm sure everyone has their own game plan I recommend that if your going to a new area/ river try to get there on low tide so you can scope out potential fish holding areas such as yabbie banks, channels, snags etc…If it is a windy day and the boat is swinging use a back anchor. On an outgoing tide look for the current line coming off the back of the sandbanks, have a drift and then anchor up when you get a couple of bites. Stealth and a little burley may also help!

Yes… Grego has never pumped yabbies before!

[crazywalrus]

looks like a fun day - how red was Stevo by the end of the day

[Potter]

Yeh mate... they were fried. Bet they are sore today!

[ellicat]

How neat was that ?