queensland Brisbane River Session #109 and #110

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

Well last week, the Winter Fishing Classic was wrapping up. I was aiming to get on the board for one other fish, which didn't end up happening. I managed to get my tennis lesson postponed until 10:00AM though, so that meant I had about a 4 hour window in the morning. I got Dad in on the plan, and some rods were rigged, and the yak was packed. We woke up at quarter to five, and began our trek to the local park to launch the yak. I made the fatal mistake of wearing nothing on my feet and hands, which would come back to bite me later.

We launched uneventfully and began our paddle, still in a misty abyss on top of the Brisbane River. The plan was to fish the area I had spied the flatty lie in really hard this morning, and hopefully entice a flathead to bite the lure. Our first stop was Three Pylon Creek, where we flicked lures for about 15 minutes. One rod had a little 70mm surface lure, and the other had a small plastic. Both of these were flicked around to no avail, but we decided to move on after having no success. 

The sun rose ever so slowly as we crept down the river, but this did not bring any extra heat. We sped down the river, and within about 10 minutes of scooting down the river we were at the spot. In this time, I had wrapped my feet in our dry bags, and blown so much on my hands to try and warm them up I was out of breath. This did not stop us from lining up drift number one, and getting fishing. The sun was well and truly up by now, so we discounted throwing the popper around and focused our efforts with some soft plastics. 

Early start on the Brown Snake

I had the 70mm plastic on, and seeing as though we were learning how the current worked here, Dad stayed at the back paddling. I casted around all the mangroves and pylons to try and snag a flatty, but nothing was working. The twitch twitch retrieve wasn't working, nor was a slow roll. After around 15 minutes here, my condition had gotten worse.

Now, I was so cold I could hardly move my fingers! We were definitely considering going back now. It was worth noting the current around here ebbed so much, that in some places, it was going the complete opposite direction to the tide the was running. Awesome! It did look like an ideal spot to fish, but unfortunately not today. It was a lot earlier than anticipated when we left this spot, mainly because of me, but I figured there's always next time. The only problem was that the tide was roaring out, and we needed to go upstream! Dad and I made a plan of sticking to the bank and travelling up like that. To our surprise, we found many pockets of water which were going to other way. We called these our turbo boosts, Lol. I'm pretty sure these would hold some big predators, so maybe on the change of tide I will have to fish them one day. 

Anyways, we managed to slog up to Three Pylon Creek in about 20 minutes, which was very hard work. We did a couple drifts here, and I flicked the lure all around. The rock bar, the mud bank, and right up the creek. Nothing! It was getting closer to my tennis lesson now, so Dad and I got paddling after about 15 minutes fishing here. We continued onwards until we approached a couple long rock bars, which I peppered with my lure in hope of a bream. I know I was on the bottom as I got a snag, which I retrieved luckily. We went to the next one, and sat in an eddy. I was casting towards some mangroves, and on my second cast, which was a bit deeper, I felt a tap on the lure. I lifted the rod tip quickly, but before I knew it I was snagged. Whether it was just a snag I was hooked on from the beginning, or whether it was actually a fish, is beknown to me. We kept going down these rocks, and something caught my eye. A small (20CM) Flat Salmon was dead on the rocks. It didn't have any signs of attack, so maybe it just died. There was a beer can at the top of those rocks too, so maybe someone had access and was using it live? Either way it would've been a good bait. 

We continued up, and now the jetty was in sight. It didn't take long to get there, and we left to get home to tennis. I was still freezing, so after getting home, I warmed up quick as. I went to tennis and had fun there, then spent the next few hours cleaning up my gear and washing the yak. 

Here are the stats of the trip - 

Stats of Trip - 

Tide: 4:00AM, 1.8M, High, 10:00AM, .5M, Low

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous, 51%

Bait Caught: Dead Flat Salmon. Did not keep though. 

Bait Used: -

Lures Used: Southern Edge Lures 70mm PT Shiner, and 70mm prawn popper.

Fish Caught: -

Tackle Used: 12Lb and 15LB Braided Mainlines, 10LB FC Rock Fluorocarbon Leader, Size 3000 and 2500 Shimano Stradic and Diawa Shinobi, Shimano Raider Snapper Rod 4-7KG, Abu Garcia Veritas 3-5KG. 

Air Pressure: 76%

Humidity: 1021

Weather: Sunny

Wind: 11KM, SSW

Temperature: 8 degrees Celsius

Overall Success Rate: 30% - better than being at home in bed!

Alright, so the next report was more of an exploratory mission, and it was also a donut, but still fun. The plan was to go for a paddle at 4:00PM (yesterday), so when lockdown had ended. The only way my Dad and I would get out would be if we took my sister along, so we convinced her to come. Out came the old bommy white kayak, and the double kayak. The plan was for Dad to go alone and my sister and I to go in the double kayak. I also packed two rods, the same in the last report, except one with a hook and one with a lure. We towed the yak to the park, loaded up, and set out just after 4:00PM. 

The river was not in perfect conditions, but there was not a very heavy wind. It was fast running out, but towards the end of the low. We still decided to go upstream though, so the convoy of yaks crossed the river to get into some shade. It was far sunnier than predicted - we all got a bit burnt! Anyways, we decided to go upstream for about 5-10 minutes, to the nearby houseboat, and drift down from there. Apart from my sister annoying me then me splashing her with the paddle (sweet revenge) it was very quiet and uneventful. The tide was not particularly strong and we were both handling fine. We got to the houseboat, and I quickly beached the yak in the mud, so I could get the lines ready. I gave my Stradic to my sister with a half herring on it, and I took the lure rod.

After I shoved us out, we were drifting very, very fast. A bit too fast. It didn't take long to get to an eddy though, so after peppering the nearby mud bank with casts, I checked we still had some herring on the line, which we did, and we kept going with the drift. We eventually found an alright size eddy and tiny inlet, with some good mangrove coverage. I beached us, and we kept fishing. I covered the hole inlet type thing with at least 12 casts, and my sister didn't get any touches on the herring. Blast!

Scooting Along

We only had about five more minutes or so before we had to get back to the jetty, so we made the most of it. I launched us out and my sister got a bite! Or at least a sudden surge on the line which could have also been a snag. Unfortunately we missed it but that was some hope. Anyways, we had to call it quits now, so apart from flicking at a few likely looking snags on the way in the day's fishing was done.

Back at the jetty, where we launched, we retrieved quickly. I chucked the herring in while everything else was getting packed away. Eventually, we got everything away, and some people on the jetty had spied a big mullet eating some weed! He was at least 50CM, but when I tried to catch him I failed miserably and he spooked before I could even get my hands in the water. Maybe I will need to make a hand spear for these situations. We left soon after, and I spent today (my last day of school at home ) cleaning up all the gear. Overall, it was a fun day. I figure if my sister wants to go out more that means more fishing for me and Dad!

Here are the stats of the trip - 

Statistics of Trip - 

Tide: 10:32AM, 1.7M, High, 4:40PM, .2M, Low

Moon Phase: New Moon

Bait Caught: -

Bait Used: Half Herring

Tackle Used: 12LB, 15LB Braided Mainlines, 6LB, 10LB FC Rock Fluorocarbon Leaders, size 2 baitholder hook and about a size 1 ball sinker. Shimano Stradic 3000 on a Shimano Raider Snapper Rod, Diawa Shinobi 2500 on an Abu Garcia veritas Rod. 

Lures Used: 70mm Southern Edge Lures PT Shiner, 1/8th jighead

Fish Caught: -

Air Pressure: 1027

Humidity: 78%

Weather: Sunny, slight clouds

Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius 

Overall Success Rate: 50% - we found some good looking country to fish on low tide.   

Hope you enjoyed, 

Cheers Hamish

P.S. We are doing a new method with the sounder. This time trying with foam, water, and silastic on the top.

[Angry51]

And the moral of the story is,,,,

Always be nice to your sister,,,,

then she might go fishing with you.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

21 hours ago, Angry51 said:

And the moral of the story is,,,,

Always be nice to your sister,,,,

then she might go fishing with you.

Hi Angry

Haha, for sure! Hopefully I will have a new fishing buddy.

Cheers Hamish

[ellicat]

Sounds like a tough couple of sessions, Hamish. Maybe those spots will fire in Spring and Summer.

Good exercise though.

[GregOug]

On 09/08/2021 at 7:15 PM, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Hi all

Well last week, the Winter Fishing Classic was wrapping up. I was aiming to get on the board for one other fish, which didn't end up happening. I managed to get my tennis lesson postponed until 10:00AM though, so that meant I had about a 4 hour window in the morning. I got Dad in on the plan, and some rods were rigged, and the yak was packed. We woke up at quarter to five, and began our trek to the local park to launch the yak. I made the fatal mistake of wearing nothing on my feet and hands, which would come back to bite me later.

We launched uneventfully and began our paddle, still in a misty abyss on top of the Brisbane River. The plan was to fish the area I had spied the flatty lie in really hard this morning, and hopefully entice a flathead to bite the lure. Our first stop was Three Pylon Creek, where we flicked lures for about 15 minutes. One rod had a little 70mm surface lure, and the other had a small plastic. Both of these were flicked around to no avail, but we decided to move on after having no success. 

The sun rose ever so slowly as we crept down the river, but this did not bring any extra heat. We sped down the river, and within about 10 minutes of scooting down the river we were at the spot. In this time, I had wrapped my feet in our dry bags, and blown so much on my hands to try and warm them up I was out of breath. This did not stop us from lining up drift number one, and getting fishing. The sun was well and truly up by now, so we discounted throwing the popper around and focused our efforts with some soft plastics. 

Early start on the Brown Snake

I had the 70mm plastic on, and seeing as though we were learning how the current worked here, Dad stayed at the back paddling. I casted around all the mangroves and pylons to try and snag a flatty, but nothing was working. The twitch twitch retrieve wasn't working, nor was a slow roll. After around 15 minutes here, my condition had gotten worse.

Now, I was so cold I could hardly move my fingers! We were definitely considering going back now. It was worth noting the current around here ebbed so much, that in some places, it was going the complete opposite direction to the tide the was running. Awesome! It did look like an ideal spot to fish, but unfortunately not today. It was a lot earlier than anticipated when we left this spot, mainly because of me, but I figured there's always next time. The only problem was that the tide was roaring out, and we needed to go upstream! Dad and I made a plan of sticking to the bank and travelling up like that. To our surprise, we found many pockets of water which were going to other way. We called these our turbo boosts, Lol. I'm pretty sure these would hold some big predators, so maybe on the change of tide I will have to fish them one day. 

Anyways, we managed to slog up to Three Pylon Creek in about 20 minutes, which was very hard work. We did a couple drifts here, and I flicked the lure all around. The rock bar, the mud bank, and right up the creek. Nothing! It was getting closer to my tennis lesson now, so Dad and I got paddling after about 15 minutes fishing here. We continued onwards until we approached a couple long rock bars, which I peppered with my lure in hope of a bream. I know I was on the bottom as I got a snag, which I retrieved luckily. We went to the next one, and sat in an eddy. I was casting towards some mangroves, and on my second cast, which was a bit deeper, I felt a tap on the lure. I lifted the rod tip quickly, but before I knew it I was snagged. Whether it was just a snag I was hooked on from the beginning, or whether it was actually a fish, is beknown to me. We kept going down these rocks, and something caught my eye. A small (20CM) Flat Salmon was dead on the rocks. It didn't have any signs of attack, so maybe it just died. There was a beer can at the top of those rocks too, so maybe someone had access and was using it live? Either way it would've been a good bait. 

We continued up, and now the jetty was in sight. It didn't take long to get there, and we left to get home to tennis. I was still freezing, so after getting home, I warmed up quick as. I went to tennis and had fun there, then spent the next few hours cleaning up my gear and washing the yak. 

Here are the stats of the trip - 

Stats of Trip - 

Tide: 4:00AM, 1.8M, High, 10:00AM, .5M, Low

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous, 51%

Bait Caught: Dead Flat Salmon. Did not keep though. 

Bait Used: -

Lures Used: Southern Edge Lures 70mm PT Shiner, and 70mm prawn popper.

Fish Caught: -

Tackle Used: 12Lb and 15LB Braided Mainlines, 10LB FC Rock Fluorocarbon Leader, Size 3000 and 2500 Shimano Stradic and Diawa Shinobi, Shimano Raider Snapper Rod 4-7KG, Abu Garcia Veritas 3-5KG. 

Air Pressure: 76%

Humidity: 1021

Weather: Sunny

Wind: 11KM, SSW

Temperature: 8 degrees Celsius

Overall Success Rate: 30% - better than being at home in bed!

Alright, so the next report was more of an exploratory mission, and it was also a donut, but still fun. The plan was to go for a paddle at 4:00PM (yesterday), so when lockdown had ended. The only way my Dad and I would get out would be if we took my sister along, so we convinced her to come. Out came the old bommy white kayak, and the double kayak. The plan was for Dad to go alone and my sister and I to go in the double kayak. I also packed two rods, the same in the last report, except one with a hook and one with a lure. We towed the yak to the park, loaded up, and set out just after 4:00PM. 

The river was not in perfect conditions, but there was not a very heavy wind. It was fast running out, but towards the end of the low. We still decided to go upstream though, so the convoy of yaks crossed the river to get into some shade. It was far sunnier than predicted - we all got a bit burnt! Anyways, we decided to go upstream for about 5-10 minutes, to the nearby houseboat, and drift down from there. Apart from my sister annoying me then me splashing her with the paddle (sweet revenge) it was very quiet and uneventful. The tide was not particularly strong and we were both handling fine. We got to the houseboat, and I quickly beached the yak in the mud, so I could get the lines ready. I gave my Stradic to my sister with a half herring on it, and I took the lure rod.

After I shoved us out, we were drifting very, very fast. A bit too fast. It didn't take long to get to an eddy though, so after peppering the nearby mud bank with casts, I checked we still had some herring on the line, which we did, and we kept going with the drift. We eventually found an alright size eddy and tiny inlet, with some good mangrove coverage. I beached us, and we kept fishing. I covered the hole inlet type thing with at least 12 casts, and my sister didn't get any touches on the herring. Blast!

Scooting Along

We only had about five more minutes or so before we had to get back to the jetty, so we made the most of it. I launched us out and my sister got a bite! Or at least a sudden surge on the line which could have also been a snag. Unfortunately we missed it but that was some hope. Anyways, we had to call it quits now, so apart from flicking at a few likely looking snags on the way in the day's fishing was done.

Back at the jetty, where we launched, we retrieved quickly. I chucked the herring in while everything else was getting packed away. Eventually, we got everything away, and some people on the jetty had spied a big mullet eating some weed! He was at least 50CM, but when I tried to catch him I failed miserably and he spooked before I could even get my hands in the water. Maybe I will need to make a hand spear for these situations. We left soon after, and I spent today (my last day of school at home ) cleaning up all the gear. Overall, it was a fun day. I figure if my sister wants to go out more that means more fishing for me and Dad!

Here are the stats of the trip - 

Statistics of Trip - 

Tide: 10:32AM, 1.7M, High, 4:40PM, .2M, Low

Moon Phase: New Moon

Bait Caught: -

Bait Used: Half Herring

Tackle Used: 12LB, 15LB Braided Mainlines, 6LB, 10LB FC Rock Fluorocarbon Leaders, size 2 baitholder hook and about a size 1 ball sinker. Shimano Stradic 3000 on a Shimano Raider Snapper Rod, Diawa Shinobi 2500 on an Abu Garcia veritas Rod. 

Lures Used: 70mm Southern Edge Lures PT Shiner, 1/8th jighead

Fish Caught: -

Air Pressure: 1027

Humidity: 78%

Weather: Sunny, slight clouds

Temperature: 18 degrees Celsius 

Overall Success Rate: 50% - we found some good looking country to fish on low tide.   

Hope you enjoyed, 

Cheers Hamish

P.S. We are doing a new method with the sounder. This time trying with foam, water, and silastic on the top.

What about those holders for sounders on kayaks I posted about Hamish? Did you ever check them out?

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

On 11/08/2021 at 7:36 AM, ellicat said:

Sounds like a tough couple of sessions, Hamish. Maybe those spots will fire in Spring and Summer.

Good exercise though.

Hi Brian

Yes, it was. Hopefully I will get something there eventually. I caught my first thready on the yak there back in the day. Lol.

14 hours ago, GregOug said:

What about those holders for sounders on kayaks I posted about Hamish? Did you ever check them out?

Hey Greg

We did. Dad and I figured we'd give this one a go before we went and bought it though.

Cheers Hamish