queensland Plan B = Toothy Delight

[kmcrosby78]

Had planned on going to Mud Island last night once the kids were in bed to fish the 10pm high tide but when preparing the boat around 5pm I did my usual check of the white allround plug in light and it was drawing a blank. Messed around trying a couple of different options for no reward. Did notice that the switch that runs it was in the 'on' position (I'm blaming my 2 year old son .....) so I wondered whether the battery was just drained. Hooked it up, upstairs for dinner with the plan to check it after dinner - did so and still no go so Plan B had begun whilst watching the Oz Open Women's final and the BBL Final. Having heard the spotties had gone quiet I couldn't make up my mind where to head in the morning - without the light working I wouldn't reach Mud or Green until around 5:30am and on not a great tide. So thought maybe the Measured Mile and hope the schoolies were there. Then popped on the Fishing Monthly site and literally minutes earlier Spero had advised there were schoolies and big grey mackerel down around the top of Peel.  You beauty, the plan is set.

Walking down the stairs at 3:30am still half asleep I wondered where the light was coming from ..... it was the plug in white light in the boat ....... must have left the switch on ...... (maybe it wasn't the 2yr old the first time .....). Oh well, good to know it still works!! 

Launched at Wello Pt, started heading across in great conditions and located some bait so put one paravane in the water and at 5:30am caught my first ever mackerel on a paravane - great start!!  60cm schoolie. Went up and back for a while, picking up a couple of baby schoolies (25-30cm) and then another decent one (probably just legal) but lost it as I went to lift it up into the boat (not sure if my technique needs refinement or whether I was just plain unlucky).

 

After a couple more fruitless passes I began to head south towards Peel and ran into Spero above Peel Island anchored up with a fair bit of bait in the area. Said g'day and trolled back and forth for a bit longer then anchored up and put two pillies on gangs out and started a burley trail.  Lots of pickers and occasionally something seemed to hit the bait but didn't connect. One of the rigs came back minus the ganged hooks so I knew something pretty toothy was in the area. Not long later pulled in a little shark (and had fun untangling it from the burley bag/rope .....). Kept it as I"m partial to a feed of flake - normally make fish tacos with it.  Spero upanchored and came past and gave me a tip for the grey mackerel so I fished for a bit longer whilst waiting and got a run on my heavier set up (30lb mono - rod used for the paravaning). Starts to rise in the water column as I up the drag then next thing a large-ish shark (2+m) launches out of the water, does a couple of twists and then CRASHES back into the water. I decide quickly that I don't really want this thing too near the boat but fight it for a few minutes in the hopes of gettng a photo. Then a yacht came towards me and went straight over where the shark was which I think freaked it out and one hard run and he straightened one of the ganged hooks (probably for the best ).

 

Started paravaning again and like clockwork landed a nice grey mackerel - was quite nervous hoisting it into the boat and contemplated netting it. Anyway, all ended well and boy was I happy!!!! Trolled back and forth hoping for another one but no such luck so headed home very happy with a productive session. Realised on the way back that this grey mack (by far my biggest Moreton Bay mack) was caught withing a few hundred metres of where I caught my only longtail tuna a few years ago so it might be my lucky pelagic territory  

Was popular with the boys when I got home (well, once they woke up). My almost 2yr old George had a great time hauling the different fish out of the esky - thankfully he didn't cop a stray tooth ....  Had some mackerel tonight and will probably give some of it to Dad to smoke. Hopefully next weekend will see some spotty mackerel fillets added to the freezer. Cheers for reading.

 

 

[kmcrosby78]

[jon]

Nice work mate

[Drop Bear]

11 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Hopefully next weekend will see some spotty mackerel fillets added to the freezer.

That's a great report thanks. Makes me really keen if I can get spotties off well! might try for a dawn session tomorrow

I would just troll diving lures behind the tinny. 

11 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Started paravaning again and like clockwork landed a nice grey mackerel

How does this work? do you troll baits?

[Tybo]

Well done! I went out early Saturday morning to the beacons, looking for schoolies, but couldn't tempt any with jigs or pillies. I had much more luck last year with paravanes, so might go back to that.

Cheers for the report.

[samsteele115]

Well done!! Gotta be pretty happy with that! How big did the grey mackerel go? Much harder fighters than the schools and spots I reckon. 

Was out chasing longies yesterday; a few schools around but I lost my mojo and couldn't catch one to save myself! I'll blame it on the decky and his awful luck. 

[Old Scaley]

Nice session and report @kmcrosby78. Looks like the boys are keen to get the filleting knives out.

[Madmic]

Nice catch mate, looks like a great day out on the water in the end 

[kmcrosby78]

Thanks fellas, was an enjoyable day (although bl00dy hot - drawback of not much wind) and good for the confidence catching fish with a different technique.

@DropBear - a paravane is a trolling board that you connect to your main line with a snap swivel, then tie your leader (very long) to the other end and then attach a metal spoon lure (Makka spoons are the go). https://www.google.com.au/search?q=yamashita+paravane&safe=strict&biw=1536&bih=728&tbm=isch&imgil=dN9nbEN0rq3_aM%3A%3Bx17eJZw6Z8rjiM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.actionoutdoors.kiwi%252FYamashita-Trolling-Board-Paravane&source=iu&pf=m&fir=dN9nbEN0rq3_aM%3A%2Cx17eJZw6Z8rjiM%2C_&usg=__a0a0yQ2iXHDx1IkFd1hrkQ2AkAo%3D&ved=0ahUKEwjLpMbp4enRAhVIk5QKHZhjCbYQyjcIMw&ei=WiOPWMuPFsim0gSYx6WwCw#imgrc=dN9nbEN0rq3_aM%3A

There are different brands - mine is a Delta one which I got from Water Tower Bait & Tackle at Manly. They have the spoons there too - you want the 3 inch for in the bay. Let me know if you're getting into it and I'll put up more specific info on setting it up (couple of important parts to ensure it 'swims' properly).

@samsteele115 the grey was around 80cm (didn't measure it til I got it home and by then the head was almost falling off .....). Sounds like there are plenty of 90cm around so I must have got a runt .......

@Old Scaley - yes keeping George away from the knives was good fun!! He is also now climbing up onto the wheel mudgard on the boat trailer so won't long and I'll need to watch he doesn't climb in ......

 

[Doyley]

Nice catch there mate.  Makes all the effort worth while when u r bringing home a feed like that

[Mackhunter]

awesome report kelvin, good to see an experienced angler sharing your wealth of knowledge. I have been trying for a while to catch one could you pm me your rig setup and a starter mark as all i catch is grinners..

Cheers

Phil Lowdell

[Luvit]

Good to see quality reports coming in.

If you have the time to explain the trolling boards and what you have learnt on how to use them, I'm sure many would be interested on the site.  

How did the shark fight without its tail? hmmm flake.

 

 

[fifis101]

20 hours ago, samsteele115 said:

Well done!! Gotta be pretty happy with that! How big did the grey mackerel go? Much harder fighters than the schools and spots I reckon. 

Was out chasing longies yesterday; a few schools around but I lost my mojo and couldn't catch one to save myself! I'll blame it on the decky and his awful luck. 

This bloke is forever blaming me for our terrible days out. I'm starting to think all his photos holding tuna and all photoshopped! 

[Luvit]

[aussie123]

Makka paravanes are fantastic too for bay mackeral plus they are a lot easier to get to swim correctly.

[The Mad Hughesy]

i think your dog looks upset because he wasn't holding a fish in the family photo..

good day on the water mate

[Tybo]

16 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

 

@DropBear - a paravane is a trolling board that you connect to your main line with a snap swivel, then tie your leader (very long) to the other end and then attach a metal spoon lure (Makka spoons are the go). https://www.google.com.au/search?q=yamashita+paravane&safe=strict&biw=1536&bih=728&tbm=isch&imgil=dN9nbEN0rq3_aM%3A%3Bx17eJZw6Z8rjiM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.actionoutdoors.kiwi%252FYamashita-Trolling-Board-Paravane&source=iu&pf=m&fir=dN9nbEN0rq3_aM%3A%2Cx17eJZw6Z8rjiM%2C_&usg=__a0a0yQ2iXHDx1IkFd1hrkQ2AkAo%3D&ved=0ahUKEwjLpMbp4enRAhVIk5QKHZhjCbYQyjcIMw&ei=WiOPWMuPFsim0gSYx6WwCw#imgrc=dN9nbEN0rq3_aM%3A

There are different brands - mine is a Delta one which I got from Water Tower Bait & Tackle at Manly. They have the spoons there too - you want the 3 inch for in the bay. Let me know if you're getting into it and I'll put up more specific info on setting it up (couple of important parts to ensure it 'swims' properly).

 

Cheers for all the info @kmcrosby78. This Yamashita one looks pretty good. When I got mine, there really wasn't that much around and the only I could find this one, Sea Harvester Paravane. It's cheap and a little nasty, but at the end of the day it caught all my mackerel last year so can't really fault it. The trouble is I don't really know if I'm using it correctly, sometimes it swims sideways or just comes straight back to the surface. Oh, and grinners love it! On my first outing, I caught a buckey load of grinners and was barely in the water more than five minutes at a time. Would love be in on @DropBears message and get some useful tips on using it.

[kmcrosby78]

@Mackhunter I'm no guru, in fact I catch 'donuts' frequently, just had a rare good day out courtesy of Spero's advice (I strongly recommend following his updates if you fish central/eastern bay areas for whiting, squid, mackerel plus reefies). Around the Hope Banks (east of Green Island/Wello Pt) seems to hold schoolies reasonably often. I've only done this a few times but if you follow the channel south along the edge of the Maroom Banks there seems to regularly be decent amounts of bait. There are two green beacons at the southern end of these banks. Around the Lazaret Gutter at Peel also seems to hold them often (although I haven't caught any there yet). Over along the inside of Moreton also seems to be productive from what I hear - around Shark Spit/Sandhills area but realistically probably along any channels as long as there is bait around.

@christophagus and @Luvit - the dog was given the sharks tail a few minutes earlier (after being forced to pose for a photo or two ......) and he then disappeared so I'm assuming he's buried it .... this makes the wife VERY happy ...... NOT!!

@Tybo -  pretty sure I've read that if you are catching grinners you are in water too shallow so try going deeper. I think they generally dive to around about the 12-15ft mark so try not to go shallower than 5m as the board may hit the bottom and break off. On a high tide the schoolies will go shallower, around 18ft. Pretty sure @aussie123 (Lance) sells Makka spoons and trolling boards (sorry Lance, I was in a hurry for them when I grabbed mine) and knows his stuff.

As far as rigging one like shown in the link I posted (my Delta one looks identical, just a little cheaper), the advice I was given by Spero (sure he won't mind me sharing - he's a good natured bloke who likes helping people catch fish) is as follows:

Use 25-30lb main line and attach it to the top/eyelet of the paravine using a large BLACK ( mackerel will swipe at anything shiny ....) snap swivel. Then using 10ft of 40-50lb mono, poke it through the top of the centre hole at the bottom end of the paravane and tie a decent sized knot (on the bottom side of it) to secure the line to the paravane. You want the line/leader to run straight off the paravane - to help ensure this, use a sharp knife or hacksaw and CAREFULLY make a straight groove/notch from the centre hole to the bottom edge of the paravane so the line will sit in this groove, thus keeping it running straight. Tie this section of line to a large BLACK swivel (normal one). Then attach another 15ft of 40-0ft mono to this swivel, then tie on your trolling spoon. (An alternative to a silver spoon is a SMITH'S JIG which is based on lures from yesteryear that were made using whale bones. These days you can get them in different colours - the white ones seem popular. Google them to work out where to buy them from - when I tried the 3 inch ones were out of stock so I haven't got any yet.

I trolled around 6 knots which seemed to work. Have the drag set firm enough that the pressure of the board won't result in line coming off the spool (there is quite a bit of drag). Put it in a rod holder more vertical than horizontal and then keep a close eye on the rod. When you think you've had a hit you can either handline them in or wind them in until you get to the paravane and then handline the last bit and fluently swing them into the boat (try not to let the line go slack as they'll spit the lure out - can take some practice). If you are trolling two of them, have one at 20m and one at 30m. For me in a tiller steer one is enough.

When trolling around a bank (eg. Hope Banks) you want to troll on the 'lee' side (Google it, I had to ...... ). Sometimes when you get a fish on the paravane will come up to the surface (can happen with weed also).

That's all I can think of for now but happy to try to answer any other questions. I'm still a novice at it but it's something I want to do more of. It's not the most sporting technique, but hey, if it puts fillets in the esky I'm happy .... .

Hope it helps  

[samsteele115]

I'm amazed I've never even heard of this technique.... Very insightful, thanks for the info Kelvin. 

But I must ask.... Why not just troll a diving bibbed lure? Seems like a lot of extra work for ultimately the same principle i.e getting an offering down into the water column. Definitely not knocking the technique just curious! 

[fifis101]

3 minutes ago, samsteele115 said:

I'm amazed I've never even heard of this technique.... Very insightful, thanks for the info Kelvin. 

But I must ask.... Why not just troll a diving bibbed lure? Seems like a lot of extra work for ultimately the same principle i.e getting an offering down into the water column. Definitely not knocking the technique just curious! 

It's to help getting the depth. Not too many deep divers actually dive that deep.....

[Tybo]

1 hour ago, samsteele115 said:

I'm amazed I've never even heard of this technique.... Very insightful, thanks for the info Kelvin. 

But I must ask.... Why not just troll a diving bibbed lure? Seems like a lot of extra work for ultimately the same principle i.e getting an offering down into the water column. Definitely not knocking the technique just curious! 

You've probably never heard about @samsteele115 because it involves almost all trolling. I know how much of a fan you are of trolling. As @fifis101 said it's about getting 3 inch spoons down to 8m where the fish are. I'm sure you could troll big 20+ hardbodies, but it's just a different technique I suppose.
 

12 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

 

@Tybo -  pretty sure I've read that if you are catching grinners you are in water too shallow so try going deeper. I think they generally dive to around about the 12-15ft mark so try not to go shallower than 5m as the board may hit the bottom and break off. On a high tide the schoolies will go shallower, around 18ft. Pretty sure @aussie123 (Lance) sells Makka spoons and trolling boards (sorry Lance, I was in a hurry for them when I grabbed mine) and knows his stuff.

As far as rigging one like shown in the link I posted (my Delta one looks identical, just a little cheaper), the advice I was given by Spero (sure he won't mind me sharing - he's a good natured bloke who likes helping people catch fish) is as follows:

Use 25-30lb main line and attach it to the top/eyelet of the paravine using a large BLACK ( mackerel will swipe at anything shiny ....) snap swivel. Then using 10ft of 40-50lb mono, poke it through the top of the centre hole at the bottom end of the paravane and tie a decent sized knot (on the bottom side of it) to secure the line to the paravane. You want the line/leader to run straight off the paravane - to help ensure this, use a sharp knife or hacksaw and CAREFULLY make a straight groove/notch from the centre hole to the bottom edge of the paravane so the line will sit in this groove, thus keeping it running straight. Tie this section of line to a large BLACK swivel (normal one). Then attach another 15ft of 40-0ft mono to this swivel, then tie on your trolling spoon. (An alternative to a silver spoon is a SMITH'S JIG which is based on lures from yesteryear that were made using whale bones. These days you can get them in different colours - the white ones seem popular. Google them to work out where to buy them from - when I tried the 3 inch ones were out of stock so I haven't got any yet.

I trolled around 6 knots which seemed to work. Have the drag set firm enough that the pressure of the board won't result in line coming off the spool (there is quite a bit of drag). Put it in a rod holder more vertical than horizontal and then keep a close eye on the rod. When you think you've had a hit you can either handline them in or wind them in until you get to the paravane and then handline the last bit and fluently swing them into the boat (try not to let the line go slack as they'll spit the lure out - can take some practice). If you are trolling two of them, have one at 20m and one at 30m. For me in a tiller steer one is enough.

When trolling around a bank (eg. Hope Banks) you want to troll on the 'lee' side (Google it, I had to ...... ). Sometimes when you get a fish on the paravane will come up to the surface (can happen with weed also).

That's all I can think of for now but happy to try to answer any other questions. I'm still a novice at it but it's something I want to do more of. It's not the most sporting technique, but hey, if it puts fillets in the esky I'm happy .... .

Hope it helps  

Awesome! Thanks. Yeah, I though afterwards that if I was continually catching grinners I must've been on the bottom. The old lizard fish aren't known for their pelagic abilities. The bait I found was hugging close to the bottom, so I wanted to be near it. Trial and error I guess, in future I'll use them in water over 8m.

I'm keen to try this more over the coming month, so will keep at it. If SPB looks dicey around the Blakesley's weekend at the end of the month, I think I'll be doing this.

[fifis101]

1 hour ago, Tybo said:

You've probably never heard about @samsteele115 because it involves almost all trolling. I know how much of a fan you are of trolling.  

It's funny because we were actually considering doing some trolling on Sunday due to how finicky the tuna were being. 

[Tybo]

20 minutes ago, fifis101 said:

It's funny because we were actually considering doing some trolling on Sunday due to how finicky the tuna were being. 

 Amazing how appealing trolling can be when you spend hours casting for nothing.

[aussie123]

11 minutes ago, Tybo said:

 Amazing how appealing trolling can be when you spend hours casting for nothing.

That's why a smart fisherman will often troll first to find the fish and then throw lures or bait at them. 

[fifis101]

58 minutes ago, aussie123 said:

That's why a smart fisherman will often troll first to find the fish and then throw lures or bait at them. 

The annoying thing is that we knew where they were, they just weren't interested in what we were offering. We just thought trolling a lure might be something different to try. Never got that desperate though haha! 

[kmcrosby78]

Found a great link to an article that was written by Spero in Fishing Monthly (I'd meant to buy that month's edition but didn't get round to it - good read). Contains all the info required to get set up and out there trolling for mackerel in the Bay.

http://wp.fishingmonthly.com.au/2018/02/02/school-mackerel-on-spoons/

[Guest]

Great report KMC , always enjoy reading them

MSB

[Old Scaley]

12 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Found a great link to an article that was written by Spero in Fishing Monthly (I'd meant to buy that month's edition but didn't get round to it - good read). Contains all the info required to get set up and out there trolling for mackerel in the Bay.

http://wp.fishingmonthly.com.au/2018/02/02/school-mackerel-on-spoons/

Thanks for that @kmcrosby78 that is gold.

[Old Scaley]

What size spoons are you using @kmcrosby78?  I have a few old 3 and 4 inch models. Found these on Lance’s site http://www.reeltackle.com.au/index.php?option=com_ixxocart&Itemid=115&p=product&id=19006&parent=341&vendorid=2 and since I know that there is a direct correlation between spending money unnecessarily And catching more fish, I will order a few as well as the paravane he stocks. Getting ready for that tag along soon.

[kmcrosby78]

You want 3 inch for in the bay Steve. Makka spoons are meant to be the best metal ones - you can also buy white or pink (plus other colours, but these two seem the most popular) Smiths jigs (same basic shape but coloured and not made of metal) which seem to work well too. Watertower Bait & Tackle normally sell them. I bought a couple of white ones but haven't used them yet - being in a tiller steer I just troll the one line so have just stuck with the makka spoons.

Yeah will have to arrange a tag along - my week of work was that hectic that I'd totally forgot about it until you mentioned it .....   Hoping to get that under control soon  Shoulder is slowly getting better so will keep an eye on the weather and tides (you want smaller tides for in the bay) and we'll work something out.

[kmcrosby78]

A long way out but looks like the winds may ease late next week so I'll keep an eye on that and also check whether Spero gets out and reports back as may be able to get out at gentleman's hours next Sat morning to fish the outgoing. Low tide is about midday. Will keep you in the loop - if you haven't heard from me by Thurs night remind me as it probably means work has kept me (too) busy again .....  

[Drop Bear]

13 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Found a great link to an article that was written by Spero in Fishing Monthly

its a great article. Really enjoyed reading. Thanks for posting