queensland Silver on the Nerang!

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited aboard Ellicatch  with Brian ( @ellicat ) for an afternoon and night mission chasing Nerang River whiting. I met Brian at about 1:30PM at his, and we drove to the ramp of choice. On the way there we picked up some live sand worms, as well as a few snacks for the trip. We launched the boat a tiny bit after 3:00PM and were on our way to the first spot. We slowly motored through the somewhat dirty waters of the Nerang River into a crowded Broadwater, to suss out a spot that had been recommended to us. The boat glided over the sandy bottom, and it seemed that it was imperative to keep an eye out for the everlasting trails of wake from larger boats. Bright white dots littered the sides of the river - though it was speculated that there wouldn't be too many crabs in them!

After cutting over a sand bar through some shallow water, and piloting the boat to avoid becoming beached, Brian had gotten us to our first spot. We anchored up in a couple meters of water and deployed the baits, in hope of some sand whiting. Soon after casting in, there was some action. After a short fight, Brian brought up a rather uncommon fish to be caught in the Broadwater. The only problem was, we needed it to be 15x bigger!

Snapper...no... Squire...no... Pinky?

After that capture, the decision was made to head off to a new spot. It was good to scout out a new location, but this spot seemed like a high tide only spot. The sun was ever so slowly creeping down, and we were happy to set anchor after the rather long boat trip back from the new spot. There were some people fishing landbased nearby who were using lures, but they didn't appear to catch any until they left. I cast my lines towards the bank, and Brian cast his out towards the middle of the river. Our hopes were high, but after 15 minutes here it was looking a bit quiet. I noticed a bit of commotion on the tip of my rod and it turned out to be a small tarwhine, which was good (because it meant we were both off the donut). We gave it a little while longer at this spot, but as the sun sunk beneath the horizon, the decision was made to pull the anchor and try a spot further upstream. 

 

Off the donut

Once we got to the spot, there was a plentiful amount of bait busting up around the boat. I assumed it was herring, and I imagine that something would've been chasing it I also saw a couple of larger mullet leaping out. Maybe a bull shark was in the area. At this spot, it was quiet for around the first fifteen minutes, and then the boat slowly began to turn with the tide. Brian was telling me that the run out is prime time for Nerang River whiting at night time, so it was only fitting for him to hook the first keeper of the night, which came in at around 27CM. It put up a decent fight, and we were both happy to see some silver in the esky. After that one, Brian landed another keeper of similar size! I was getting flogged! 3-1!

Elbow Slapper

After we were both pickered one or two times, I checked a rod I had casted directly upstream. Surprisingly, this line had a whiting of about 30CM sitting on the end, not doing anything! It wasn't until he got right under the boat he pulled a little bit of drag, and even then the fight was lousy! With three fish in the esky, hopes were high for a couple more good ones to come along! It was getting a little later now, and the whiting had become extra finicky. They were often nibbling the baits straight off the hooks, and I dropped a decent one which spat the hook beneath the boat. Around this time, Brian hooked up to something which was pulling a bit harder, but unfortunately, only a small stingray was revealed. He got away on the gunnel of the boat, which was lucky for him as I was going to keep him for bait. Around this time Brian also caught an undersize whiting. 

 

My first whiting of the night

After that, we cut up another sand worm or two, and got them back out on our lines. Brian hooked another alright whiting, which was quickly released into the esky, but also another small ray, which was dispatched quickly for some shark bait. At this point, it was a little past 9:00PM, and the esky had a healthy population of whiting. I chose to fish with two rods, and just after Brian had finished giving a speech on how you end up having bites on both then loosing both fish, it happened! But of course, Brian set the hooks into a fish, whereas I missed mine. Lol. The fight was on, and the 8 foot Ugly Stik was getting a workout. Brian was generous enough to let me fight the fish for the final moments, and we were all happy when a respectable 36CM whiting was swung in and out and in to the boat!

Technically Brian's fish!

After that, we were both stoked, but the bite went a bit quiet. We were going to give it about 20 more minutes, and we decided that we may go for a drift for the last part of the trip. We ditched this plan when Brian hooked a respectable low 30's whiting as the last fish of the trip. With no more bites we decided to motor back to the ramp, where someone took about 15 minutes (no clue what they were doing though, lol). Anyway, despite the fact Brian flogged me (four or five whiting (though one was undersize), two stingrays, one little pinky) 8-3, I still had an awesome night on the water. I went to bed a bit past midnight and cleaned the fish this morning, which I think I did alright at . Thanks for taking me out Brian, I hope you didn't mind having me along!

The final haul, which was delicious!

25cm fish vs 36cm fish

Here are the stats of the trip for anyone interested - 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 8:30AM, 1.2M, High, 3:50PM, .4M, Low, 8:00PM, .7M, High, 2:30AM, .1M, Low

Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous. It was supposed to be 83% although looked less. 

Location: Nerang River, Gold Coast 

Tackle Used: I was using a 6 foot 6 and 8 foot Ugly Stik Gold rod, both in the 2-5KG size. One had a Diawa Shinobi 2500 and the other had a Shimano Sienna 1000. Brian was using similoar, although his rods were around 6 foot 6. I was fishing with 6 and 10 pound leaders, as was Brian. We both used around a size 4 ball sinker, with a medium sized barrel swivel, and small long shank hooks. I conducted an experiment to see if red tubing would make a difference - the 36cm model was on red tubing. 

Bait Used: Live Sand Worms

Bait Caught: -

Fish Caught: Whiting x 7 (one undersize), Stingray x 2, Tarwhine x 1, Pinky x 1

Air Pressure: 1011

Humidity: 62-68%

Weather: Slightly windy, sunny with a few ominous clouds nearby

Temperature: 24-28 degrees Celcius

Overall Success Rate: 80% - a great day/night on the water

Thanks for reading!

Cheers Hamish

[ellicat]

Fun night, mate. You are good company. Your 36 looked 46 when it first surfaced...I was excited. We'll brain them next session.

Also, next time I will remember to pack the food   and the headlamps .

Thanks to Kat for sharing a spot X, although we needed a little bit more water to get to.

[Another Wazza]

Nice work boys, will you be keeping those whiting heads for bait?

[Kat]

2 minutes ago, Another Wazza said:

Nice work boys, will you be keeping those whiting heads for bait?

Yes you should, I hear they are the gun bait for snapper in Moreton Bay - but what would I know.  Good work guys. 36.5 is my PB so far.

Apparently there is a way into and out of spot x even when the tide is low.  I am yet to figure it out

Jealous and wish I was able to join you like planned.  Another worm vs yabbie comp can't be too far away

[Kat]

Oh and Brian - forgot food - really? I think @Old Scaleywas right - Hamish's parent should have checked for a Blue Card

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

12 minutes ago, ellicat said:

Fun night, mate. You are good company. Your 36 looked 46 when it first surfaced...I was excited. We'll brain them next session.

Also, next time I will remember to pack the food   and the headlamps .

Thanks to Kat for sharing a spot X, although we needed a little bit more water to get to.

Thanks Brian. There were a few tense moments when he swung out of the boat, haha. 

Hopefully next time the tides make it easier to access the spot. It would be good for a kayak. 

8 minutes ago, Another Wazza said:

Nice work boys, will you be keeping those whiting heads for bait?

Thanks Wazza. I was planning on turning them into a couple of muddies. 

3 minutes ago, Kat said:

Yes you should, I hear they are the gun bait for snapper in Moreton Bay - but what would I know.  Good work guys. 36.5 is my PB so far.

Apparently there is a way into and out of spot x even when the tide is low.  I am yet to figure it out

Jealous and wish I was able to join you like planned.  Another worm vs yabbie comp can't be too far away

Thanks Kat! Hopefully you can figure out the way into that spot soon. It looked very fishy. Hopefully you'll be able to be back out fishing on your boat soon. 

Cheers Hamish

[ellicat]

1 minute ago, Kat said:

Oh and Brian - forgot food - really? I think @Old Scaleywas right - Hamish's parent should have checked for a Blue Card

We did stock up with chocolate and chips from the bait shop when we stopped in. haha Plus we had my emergency supply of chocolate biscuits, muesli bars and Pizza Shapes. Also Hamish brought a sanga and Muesli bars too. I admit I was a little peckish at midnight.

[Kat]

Oh yeah maybe I should sell the boat and buy a yak!?

[ellicat]

No petrol required - tick
No car required, can tow with a bike - tick

...

[Another Wazza]

I forgot to mention earlier, surely the catch of the day was that Kramer shirt Brian was sporting, classic

[kmcrosby78]

Nice session Hamish and Brian - nice time of the water to be fishing in the arvo/evening .

[ellicat]

Yeah, it was very nice on the water...especially after we got out of the chaotic Broadwater. Even better after dark when the ski lice went home.

[Kat]

59 minutes ago, Another Wazza said:

I forgot to mention earlier, surely the catch of the day was that Kramer shirt Brian was sporting, classic

Ha ha.  Thought it meant he was wearing a "Kramer like shirt" until I went back and looked at the Pics.  You meant an ACTUAL Kramer shirt!  Lol.  Brian definitely needs a Blue Card!!!!

 

[Drop Bear]

Nice one mate. Enjoy a feed of the best.

 

[Drop Bear]

On 15/01/2022 at 10:35 PM, Kat said:

Brian definitely needs a Blue Card!!!!

Do you think they would give him one? 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

On 15/01/2022 at 9:41 PM, kmcrosby78 said:

Nice session Hamish and Brian - nice time of the water to be fishing in the arvo/evening .

Thanks KM, it was great with no sun.

On 17/01/2022 at 9:42 AM, Drop Bear said:

Nice one mate. Enjoy a feed of the best.

 

Cheers Drop Bear

[Hweebe]

How did you find the current fishing on the Nerang River? Or were you off to a canal where the run isnt so much an issue?

[ellicat]

We fished the river proper. Current runs a bit but not as much as the Bay (say the Rous). The bite is better when it is running.