queensland Brisbane holiday for a fishing fix

[tiotony]

Long time no post for me here (I used to post reports from Cairns), as I moved to Singapore for work and don't bother fishing here because its not worth it.

Anyway heading to Brisbane next week for a fishing fix, I haven't been able to fish for over 8 months so I would even love just catching tillys off the bank or something. Will be staying in Algester but will have a hire car. Any advice on some land based spots would be highly appreciated, and I would be more than happy to pay all expenses including stopping somewhere for a feed for any 'guided' land based sessions. Have the missus in tow and she is not into fishing, but she would be more than happy to sunbake while I fish if there's any suggestions on spots that could fill that criteria!

I also have to buy some gear as all my gear is still in Cairns; so suggestions on gear for specific spots would also be highly appreciated.

Due to the relatively cheap direct flights from Singapore, and the fact my Mum lives in Brisbane, I'm planning to make Brisbane my 'base' for when I come back on holiday to get a break from Singas. So I was thinking of going mid range with a couple of outfits (eg: the Diawa Sol/ Shimano T-Curve price area), and leaving them in Brisbane. Maybe around a 2500 size reel/ 4kg braid to soak a live herring, and a lighter SP outfit to throw some little plastics around. 

Although I would appreciate the offer, more interested in doing the land based thing rather than heading for the horizon in a boat, as I work in the offshore industry so I spend too much time on boats already. 

My fishing background is mostly tropical estuary, so catching the southern bread and butter estuary species is very interesting for me because its species I don't normally target.

Cheers in advance for any advice. 

[curranboy99]

Hi tiotony

I have fished in Brisbane for couple years solid (landbased only) and think i may be able to give some advice that will be somewhat helpful for targeting southern bread n butter.

For fishing gear my outfit of choice is a Shimano Sonic Pro 7'0 2kg - 4kg Spin Rod with a Shimano Sieena 1000 spin reel loaded with 3lb berkley fireline crystal that all up costs about $150ish and handles bream & whiting very well and is quite a bit of fun using it. The terminal tackle/rigs i use consist of: For whiting; main line -> sz2 or sz3 ball sinker -> Surecatch Brass Barrel sz12 swivel -> (1m - 1.2m) Black Magic Fluorocarbon Leader 4lb -> Gamakatsu Worm (red) Hook sz4. For Bream; main line -> sz0 or sz1 ball sinker -> Surecatch Brass Barrel sz12 Swivel -> (0.5m - 0.7m) Black Magic Fluorocarbon Leader 4lb -> Gamakatsu Octopus (black) Hook sz2. 

And spots for bread n butter i would recommend north of brisbane (as that is where i fish): For whiting (my specialty) would be Margate Beach (northern end, near suttons beach surf club) on a rising tide preferably near high but the whiting will bite from low to high tide, and the only bait i will use here is LIVE bloodworms which are bought from either Sandgate Bait and Tackle or Hornibrook bait and tackle never caught anything here on servo prawns, the technique i use is to cast my baits 15m out from the shoreline and let them soak for a cruising fish to pick up and i always hold the rod as some of the bites are very subtle and it produces whiting to 33cm. Also for whiting Cabbage Tree Creek from the Trawler Dock to the Mouth (this is at shorncliffe) (using the same technique as margate) is plaged by whiting that are just undersized as well as moses perch, bream, and some good size flathead i've seen caught (pushing 60cm flathead), but if you are going on a brisbane hoilday i won't recommend cabbage tree creek as it takes a lot of time to get decent fish; For bream spots i would recommend the pine river at Deepwater Bend ONLY on the tide-change using mullet strips as bait or Kedron Brook Floodway (Nudgee Beach) from the Off Leash Dog Park to the Mouth of the system using mullet strips as bait at high tide (never caught anything on the falling tide), also at nudgee i have caught some very nice whiting there up to 37cm on live worms but that is a once a year catch.

Hope this helps, sorry for the long rambling reply but its the only way i could write it all, and Margate Beach is also sunbakeable and is a nice place to swim on a hot day

       

[tiotony]

Thanks for the tips curranboy99, although I lived in Brisbane as a kid on the south side (a long time ago now!) so its more my stomping ground but I guess its changed a lot fishing wise in 25 years. I was thinking I might get a cast net and try Brisbane and Logan rivers with a live prawn.

[curranboy99]

1 hour ago, tiotony said:

Thanks for the tips curranboy99, although I lived in Brisbane as a kid on the south side (a long time ago now!) so its more my stomping ground but I guess its changed a lot fishing wise in 25 years. I was thinking I might get a cast net and try Brisbane and Logan rivers with a live prawn.

No worries. Using a smaller live prawn in the lower reaches of the Brisbane River (Pinkenba and Boggy Creek) should get you instant success if there's anything fishie there. And according to modern fishing mag a live prawn unweighted fished on sand/weed flats is the best estuary bread n butter bait.

Good Luck for your holiday fishing  

[crazywalrus]

Hi Tony 

Around Algester I think most of the creeks have Tillys.  You should hook up with Calum he is up at Kinchant Dam at present but will be home next week. He is off work at the moment and I think you got him onto the base in cairns so he owes a couple of favours.   Oxley creek has plenty of Tillys and not a big drive. 

Regards CW

[tiotony]

Thanks crazywalrus, I walked a creek here in Algester but didn't see any tillys; also tried going down paradise road to try to find somewhere on Oxley creek but the road was closed off due to flooding? Did get a 47cm jack in Coomera river after soaking livies for about 4 hours and have also been getting little bream in the Brisbane river.

Have already lined up Callum for next week!

BTW I should have gone home for holidays as word from Cairns is that the fingermark in Trinity inlet at the moment are the best they have been in 20 years   , plenty of 8kg+ fish around apparently, so 'barra corner' would have been productive.