queensland Brisbane River Sessions #129, #130, #131, #132, #133, #134, #135, #136, #137, #138, #139, #140, #141, #142, #143, (#144, #145), #146, #147, #148, #149, and #150

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

This is going to be a bit of a report marathon. I promise that now I am back in school I will only do one or two reports at a time, to save everyone having to read so many. It's tricky to find time to report and fish in the holidays... This first trip I am going to talk about happened all the way back in December. It was at a local jetty, and was a morning session. There had been a recent deluge but I still went out for a fish, and caught a couple. 

I woke up relatively early to try and get bait, but after no prawns for quite a while I called it quits and thanked myself for bringing deadbait. I flung some baits out and I had the jetty to myself, so I sat down and enjoyed the wait. The tide was trickling in, and I had rods baited with half and whole herring.

It was looking like a very quiet morning on the river for the first two and a bit hours, with no fish whatsoever. But at around 20 to nine, when the sun began pounding down on the jetty, my little Stradic 3000 starting singing. I picked it up, but because there was only 15 pound leader, the bully trimmed me in no time. Seeing as though no threadies were about, I quickly re rigged with an 80 pound mono leader and lobbed out another half herring. 

It didn't take long for my reel to begin moving along the jetty again, so I picked it up and tightened the drag. This fish was caught around some debris in the river, but I was disappointed to see a small catty after I had ever so precariously navigated my line around a lot of trees. I chucked my bait out yet again, though, and only had to wait about 5 minutes before my reel really started moving. 

Cat

After a couple quick runs, I had a small shark jettyside. He put up an alright fight on the 3000 reel, but, to be honest, I reckon my 1000 Sienna could've handled it. Lol. I was a bit out of practise with netting sharks solo, but eventually I managed to get it up on the jetty. I didn't mange to get the 4/o circle hook out of the corner of his jaw, but I did manage to get someone else's hook out of his mouth. I felt guilty but I didn't want the shark to die due to being out of the water for to long.

70's

I casted out yet again, and with all three lines out what happened next was inevitable. I was bait checking a rod with a slab of pike eel (must be the worst shark bait for Brisbane River bullies ever), and I caught my other line. Then that caught my third line, which ended up getting a good hit! I thought it was off but half way through untangling the mess I realised it was still on. To my disappointment the shark didn't stay on, but at least I knew they were on the chew.

I ended up casting out my last herring, a small one, with slits along the side of it's body. This proved to produce when I wound the line in and it had a 29CM bream attached, which was a nice surprise, as it was a dead weight the whole time. I decided to finish on a high and left it when I ran out of bait.

Bad Fighter

Stats of TRip:

Tide: 1:00AM, .5M, Low, 7:20, 1.9M, High, 1:20PM, .7M, Low

Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous (growing), 81%

Humidity: 52%

Air Pressure: 1012 mbar

Fish Caught: Shark x 1, Bream x 1, Catfish x 1

Bait Caught: -

Bait Used: Prawns, Herring

Tackle Used: 15, 20, 30 pound braided mainlines. 15, 30, 80 pound mono/fluorocarbon leaders. 4/o and 6/o circle hooks. Size 2 and 6 ball sinkers. Medium - Large barrel swivels. Shimano Stradic 3000 and Shimano Raider SNAPPER 4-7KG, Ugly Stik and Abu Garcia Ambassador 650, Penn Spinfisher 650 and Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod (5-8KG). 

Overall Success Rate: 60% - I did get a fish for SOO too. 

Report Title - TYPICAL

After that  session I shot off to Victoria to visit my grandparents for Christmas and New Years, so I didn't do any fishing in the river for about two weeks. I did however do some fishing on the Bellarine Peninsula, which wasn't to successful. I packed my 3 piece 6-8KG overhead (with my Abu Garcia Ambassador) and my Shimano Ripper Telescopic Rod. After we drove (from the airport) to the location we were staying, I rigged up in preparation for some trout fishing. It was good to be down in 25 degree weather in Summer. I hadn't been down there for a couple of years, so it took a bit to get used to the temp. Lol. The Victorian Government is great with stocking of residential lakes around Geelong and Melbourne (and many other places), and each holidays there is normally Rainbow Trout put in lakes around town. Although most around only 25-30cm, you are still allowed to keep 5, (from these stocked lakes).

The setup

Unlike last time where I had some success (mainly because some people gave me three trout, and I caught one), I couldn't manage any fish. I was using pink Powerbait, which is what the fish in these dams eat, as it is what they have been fed when raised (or so I was told). It may have been due to the reason the lake wasn't stocked recently, that I didn't get any. After this trip, my Dad and I weren't deterred. In the coming days, I fished for a couple hours at the mouth of the Barwon River and the boat ramp (despite a local telling me about a good trevally he caught there days ago, I couldn't catch anything). One session I fished with a 6 pound leader and used a 1/6th jighead on a 4 inch Baitjunkie, and the other I fished with a ten pound leader and pillies/squid as bait. We also tried at Point Arlington a couple of times, and despite witnessing 50cm+ salmon harassing bait and watching King George Whiting swim over my bait, I was unsuccessful. I did watch some fellas who were set up well berleying and fishing with about 15 foot surf rods pulling in many tiny trevally (silver) and salmon, which were all kept.

Casting - note how small this jetty is - it was terrible in very windy and choppy conditions. QLD-ers definitely build jetties better!

Anyways, Dad decided that, seeing as though he had always wanted to catch something on Port Phillip Bay, it would be a good idea to go on a charter. Unfortunately, the company we chose wasn't too amazing...

We awoke happily on one of our last days in Victoria, and began to head off to where the Queenscliff Fishing Charters +Scenic Tours (maybe the name should've been a hint, but they had good Google Reviews) company boat was moored. We got there a bit before the time we were told, and the boat arrived a few minutes late. I could see that there were some OK reels (Penn Spinfishers/Slammers), though some of them were quite rusty and all of them were spooled with about 50 pound mono (which seemed unusual for the fish we were chasing, flatties, salmon, and other miscellaneous reef fish - no big snapper like I was hoping ). After the skipper checked our vaccination status, gave the safety brief, and everyone briefly introduced themselves, we took a seat on the boat and motored out into the relatively calm waters of Port Phillip Bay. There was about a metre of chop/swell, but the 30 foot boat handled it fine. It was a comfy ride, and eventually, the skipper gave some people rods to troll for salmon. One had a blade, one had a hardbody, and the other had a lure that looked like a fly (the name escapes me, at this moment). There wasn't any action, so I was pleased when we got to the flathead spot. There wasn't anything on the sounder, and after we were given some frozen squid I wasn't too hopeful. My fears came true when, after about 1.5hrs, not one of the ten people onboard had wound in a fish. The skipper decided to go squid fishing then, and luckily we were given some lighter rods (5-8KG, which still seemed ridiculously heavy for squid) and after some clown tangled up with my line for the third time the skipper decided we would go back to flatty fishing. 

As far as I'm concerned, the skipper wasn't looking for too much on the sounder. All of our spots were on flat bottom. I guess this is why he wanted to go flatty fishing there. We dropped our baits down, anyways, and continued to fish. A fella on the boat brought up a tiny flatty (30cms) which, in Victoria, is somehow legal. Another women brought up a flatty and gurnard of some sort too, and then Dad hooked up...

After a short fight, a barely legal flatty came up. Dad was happy - we truly caught the most expensive fish ever. 200 bucks for two tiny (but tasty) fillets. After Dad landed his fish, we headed back to Queenscliff. Some people let us have their fish, which was kind, so at least we had three fillets. Personally, I found it a bit annoying the charter was keeping everything - based on some online reviews all they do sometimes is catch 'buckets' of those tiny flatties. On the walk back to the car I looked at the huge stingrays and, Dad and I both regretted not going out with the other charter company (though what's to say that would be any better, anyways).  It was a shame to leave Victoria but after a 41 degree day followed by a 23 degree day, I was somewhat pleased.

TYPICAL VICTORIA BAD WEATHER BAD FISHING!

(just joking )

Well after that trip, I was back in Brizzy. I only gave myself a day of rest before I tried for some fish, but my hopes weren't high due to the recent rainfall that was had. I checked the tides and decided that I would be best off going to a local spot that I would ride to. Anyways, I left home a bit after 5 in the morning and tried to get some livies. The water was a bit too fresh and I couldn't manage much, which was disappointing. I then rode to the jetty I was planning on fishing at and started trying to get something. I thought it was probably a bit too fresh for anything other than sharks, but my hopes weren't even high for them because it was quite chilly.

To cut a long story short, I ended up getting a catfish on prawn, or something like that, which I chopped the head off and deployed. After about a half hour of waiting I had a decent run, which came back in with a bait a quarter of the size of what I deployed. Aaarrrghh! Feeling a bit more hopeful, I deployed the slither of bait that was left. I also chucked a lightly weighted herring cube down to try my luck, which only led to me hooking (yes, hooking) a big jenny. . After that, I gave it a bit longer but called it off about 11.

Missed hookup - this was three times bigger

Statistics of TRip:

Tide: 2:00AM 1.8M High, 7:50AM, .4M, Low, 2:20PM, 2.3M, High

Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent 33%

Bait Caught: -

Bait Used: Prawns, herring, catfish

Tackle Used: 15, 20, 30 pound braid mainlines. 15, 30, 80 pound fluoro/mono leaders. Size 0, 2, and 6 ball sinkers. Size 1/o suicide, size 2,4,6 o circle hooks. SHimano Stradic 3000 on Shimano Raider, Abu Garcia Barra King on Ugly Stik, Penn SSM 650 on Ugly Stik.

Fish Caught: Catfish

Air Pressure: 1012

HUmidity: 86%

Weather: Cloudy, windy, showers

Temperature: 25 degrees

Overall Success Rate: 45%

After that trip, it was organised that I would be going for a 'walk' tomorrow at a new spot, with my family. It happened that I hadn't fished before and one of my fishing buddies was going, so I convinced Dad to take me to Colmslie the same night of the prior report. It was completely packed on the ramp, surprisingly with fisherman, and after about 30 minutes we had about 30 greasys (no decent prawns ,though). We were actually wearing our masks the whole time, it was that crowded. Luckily, no one seemed to be leaving any rubbish, but I hope the jetty was left clean after we departed - we did bucket it off but other people were netting there too. I assume the reason the boat ramp jetty was packed because the fishing jetty was packed as well. To be honest, it's a bit sad to see how many people fish there (also sad to see how many people think a two hook paternoster rig on a size 1000 reel using cheap mono with a big snapper sinker and servo bait will catch anything other than catfish, lol). 

After getting everyone ready in the morning, I arrived at the spot shortly after ten. It was an overcast day, and the river was certainly still a murky brown colour. The tide was ripping in, and on arrival I was informed there was a fair bit of bait, as well as a 30cm grunter (released) caught in the nets, but no fish as of yet. It didn't take long before another fella on the jetty pulled in a small catfish, but at this point of the day there wasn't much attention being paid to the lines, as bait was still being gathered. One of the fellas fishing then told me my rod was going off, and he could just hear it from where we were netting. I jogged up, but after a short fight a small catty came up . 

There were plenty of prawns now, and because berley was being dispersed they were also quite sizeable. I was glad about this as the prawns I had caught at Colmslie the night before had become a bit... erm... orange. There was a large number of pickers, and for the first hour and a bit it was looking quiet. I tried a mixture of dead mullet, herring, and prawns, as well as the livies I was getting, for zilch. It was quite disappointing, but it was still early in the day.

I was going to drop some livies in the bucket when I heard the faint sound of drag going off. I focused, and then realised that Michael's rod on the other side of the jetty was going off. I yelled to him, and everyone was pleased when line started flying off his reel. I got the net ready, and after a couple of runs a nice 75cm odd thready was netted. We were all happy that this (relatively) new spot had some good fish to be caught. After a quick picture, he was released safely, and kicked off strongly.

Nice!

After that capture, lines were deployed yet again. We continued cast netting, and all three of us were getting regular catches of live prawns, with the odd herring and glassy thrown in the mix. The pickers were once again bad, ravaging through our live prawns like no tomorrow. I did find it interesting, that, as the tide began to slow, so did the pickers. The high tide proved to be a deadly time for livies though, and within no time I had netted a couple of very large herring. The overcast conditions continued throughout the day, and, apart from another catfish, there wasn't much happening.

We all decided to have a sit down now, and it was about 3PM. The time had certainly flew by, and between cast netting and checking baits there wasn't much time to have a rest. I had live herrings and prawns deployed, and I was hopeful of my big herring getting munched. As I was walking down the jetty, I saw two taps on one of the other fellas fishing rods, and then drag peeled off like no tomorrow! After the occy strap was undone, a long and speedy run commenced. I grabbed the net, and began observing the fight. Strangely, this fish did not stay out deep, but instead bolted under the jetty. Another long, screaming run was heard, as could the mono leader rubbing against something under the jetty. We were all nervous, and there were many tense moments in the fight. Everyone was watching with anticipation, and the fish continued to shoot off in all different directions. Eventually, a very nice sized Threadfin emerged from the depths. I slid the net under it, and with a hand to lift it up the fella's thready had been landed. It was an awesome fish, and he was very happy with it. 113CM. Nice!!!

Massive, the fella who caught it did a great job!

Surprisingly, this was taken on a small live prawn, a few cms long. It definitely proves that big fish don't always need big baits, that's for sure. The fella decided to keep it, and I am sure it would've tasted very nice. My hopes were high, and seeing though I was the only person who hadn't gotten a decent fish for the whole day I figured it was my turn next. Cast nets were moved up to the rest of the gear and we all sat down. As I was doing this I noticed a small amount of line clicking off my overhead. For about ten minutes-twelve minutes, a subtle 'click, click' could be heard. After this, I heard my reel screaming. This fish was fast, and was taking a huge run. I was waiting for it to slow down, but it wasn't happening. In hindsight, I should've waited for it to slow, but, at the time, not knowing what it was, I struck.

It was heartbreaking when the hook and bait pulled straight from the fishes mouth, but I was pleased to see my 15cm odd herring still kicking. The dead giveaway was the two teeth marks in the herring - something that a charter guide had told me a while back. With the 'toying' of the bait, the speedy run, and the taking of a live herring (and the jaw marks), I put it together that this was probably a big jewie... And I had lost it

I decided that it was time for my other rods to come in, and I redeployed my (still kicking) herring out into the depths. I figured my chances were low but I still had hopes, even though my ferry was in fifteen minutes. After about 5 minutes of having the bait in the water I heard my drag clicking off again. I left the rod and went back to continue chatting to everyone. It was a shame I had lost the jewie, and even more embarrassing that a huge crowd had come down. There was an uproar when the fish didn't hook up...

Just as I was about to wind in, the reel began to make the best noise in the world. It was faster than last time, and, knowing what to do, I gave the fish it's time. It would've taken at least 50 metres of line very quickly, and when it began to slow down and shake it's head I flicked the switch. To my joy, I was on to a very heavy fish. I was worried about my thirty pound leader, and after some very strong head shakes, I began to try and remove the fish from the depths. After about 30 seconds of fighting him, he took a small run. My Dad was rung, and he was notified I would probably be missing my ferry due to the hookup.

Just as he was about to hang up, there was heartbreak.

The fish had swum sideways, and managed to shake the hook in a fierce series of headshakes.

Nooooooooo!

Sorry

NOOOOOOOO!!!

Or at least that's what everyone cried when the fish dropped the bait. I was devastated, and with no bait left I didn't bother redeploying the line. I left after about ten more minutes, heartbroken. After saying bye to the fellas fishing, I also gave some bait to the big crowd, who had somehow produced a fishing rod and were ready to try their luck. An influx of people came to the jetty, and the other fellas left shortly after me. I thought to myself what I could've done better on the ferry trip home, and was disappointed and relieved at the same time when I was home in bed.

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 7:40AM, .9M, Low, 1:40PM, 2.0M, High, 7:45PM, .7M, Low. 

Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent 37%

Bait Caught: Heaps of prawns and a few herring

Fish Caught: Others caught a threadfin each, I lost a jewie and caught a few catties

Tackle Used: 15, 20, 30 pound braid mainlines. 30 and 50 pound fluoro leaders. Size 2/o, 4/o, 6/o circle hooks. Size 6 ball sinker and size 4 star sinkers. About 70cm traces. Large barrel swivel. Shimano Raider + Stradic 3000, Abu Garcia Barra KIng on Ugly Stik, Penn SSM 650 on Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod.

Air Pressure: 1011-1012

Humidity: 84-87%

Weather: Cloudy, Showers, Overcast

Temperature: Around 24 degrees

Overall Success Rate: 65% - fun day out

After that, I told my mate, @TheCharliefisho, about my success. We decided to go for a fish the next day. I went out on a dead low tide at the local park to try and net some livies, although my hopes were low due to the amount of rain we had in prior days. My fears came true when I could only manage a bait sized catfish. Ugh. 

We rode our bikes to the spot, a rock wall which I had always meant to fish but never got around to. My buddy from the prior session reckons he caught a decent thready there, so when the river clears up from these floods I'll probably give it a crack with some livies. I clambered down the wall, and seeing as though someone else was fishing there, I only put one rod in. I was somewhat surprising, but it made sense to me when I saw the rest of their family having lunch - obviously an opportunistic angler! He didn't speak English to well though and didn't seem to want to chat though, so we let each other be. 

The live catty was out for about 40 minutes without a touch, when I went and baitchecked it. I recasted, and within 2 minutes of me clambering back up the rock wall the rod was buckling over. I ran down, and set the hook into what felt like a sizeable shark. Charlie grabbed the net and began coming down, though after one run the shark shredded my 80 pound leader - unusual!

Personally, I don't find it worth using wire for bullies in the river. Half the time you gut hook them, the other quarter you can't get the hook out, and when you can, it's easy enough to replace your mono leader if it is frayed. I guess if I start chasing bigger sharks, I will have to learn how to get better at dehooking them. Anyone got any tools, in particular that they use?

After the one take we didn't have any more luck, despite the fella giving us a catty, and then leaving, which meant we had a livie and a dead catfish slab out. We left a bit before 4:30PM as Charlie needed to get home, so all in all it was a fun arvo sesh. 

Stats of TRip: 

Tide: 9:15AM, .6M, Low, 3:30PM, 2.0M, High (I think Willy is wrong on this one - its about time I figure out what the tidal difference is every KM in the river to avoid inaccuracies). 

Moon phase: 47%, growing

Bait Caught: Catfish

Bait Used: Catfish

Fish Caught: -

Tackle Used: 20 and 30 pound braid mainlines with 80 pound leaders, 6/o ball sinkers and hooks. Abu Garcia Barra King and Penn SSM used. Ugly Stik and Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod Used.

Humidity: 1012

Air Pressure: 84%

Overall Success Rate: 40% - at least we hooked up

After that session, Charlie and I decided to try our luck with bream in the city the following day. We got the train to Milton, and then got the ferry to spots from there. It was a bit of an adventure. Except one thing was missing...

The fish!

The first spot we tried was a while away, and when we finally got there we realised it was low tide, the opposite of what we saw on the Youtube video of a fella fishing there (oh no, sorry, the opposite of what we thought would be good fishing there ). After I got snagged on one of the hardbodies Samsteele gave me, I was disappointed. I persisted, and even though I was managing 30-40 metre casts with the tailwind and my tiny hardbody, I could not entice a bite. We walked up to the opposite side of the ferry terminal and fished that for about an hour as well. Charlie reckons he got one hit, and I didn't manage anything. 

We decided to go upstream and stop at the next likely looking spot. We fished here a bit last time, and after peppering the rock wall (now, even lower tide) with casts, we came up empty handed. Despite the amount of snags here (I found out with my first cast of a soft plastic) I definitely want to try here again. The amount of mullet busting up in the middle of the day was incredible, and I am sure there'd be fish here.

We stopped at another spot, and fished there for about thirty five minutes. I had high hopes, but after casting my hardbody for yonks, with only one subtle tap, that may have been a snag, I decided to move on. Charlie wanted to grab lunch, so we stopped at Southbank and bought a burger. The ferry and train home was relaxing enough, and even though we didn't get any fish it was a fun day.

Statistics of TRip:

Tide: 9:30AM, 1.1M, Low, 3:00PM, 1.6M, High. It's worth noting that is a tiny tide. Maybe something to do with the fishing?

Moon Phase: 57%, growing

Lures Used: Small hardbodies and plastics

Tackle Used: I used a ten pound leader with small hardbodies that @samsteele115 gave me. They mostly dive a couple meters deep. Charlie used a 6 pound leader with plastics, I believe. I fished with an Abu Garcia Veritas and Diawa Shinobi, with ten pound braid. I think Charlie used an Exceler combo with similar braid.

Fish Caught: -

Air Pressure: 1017

Humidity: 65%

Weather: In prior days there had been substantial rainfall which may have altered water clarity. Was sunny and humid on the day though. 

Overall Success: 15% - 15 for the yummy burger

After that session, I decided I would rig up the gear and go for a fish the next morning, at the local park. I had enough prawn and herring to last me one more session, so I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a crack. I arrived shortly before 6, and dropped one lightly weighted rig down (0 ball sinker), and two heavier weighted rigs out into the deeper part of the river.

I tried throwing the net briefly, but I wasn't having much luck. I figured I'd give it a miss until a bit later and focus on the lightly weighted rod. I was trying to nail a bream or cod to enter in SOO, so I took some time to ensure my prawn cube would float directly under the jetty. After a couple pickers attacked my bait I nailed a better fish, coming in at 30CM. The fight was good on 6 pound fluoro, and the fish actually swam up under the pier, and was leaping out of the water, which was about 15CM deep. 

Breambo

After that, I redeployed baits, with one of the last prawn chunks. I wasn't to hopeful seeing as though the chunk was only small, but I decided to give the net another crack. I couldn't manage much - maybe I got a prawn or two and chucked it out on the heavy rod (can't remember ). When I walked back up to the jetty I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the rod going off. What wasn't pleasant was the fact it was a catfish. It was this guys unlucky day and he went out as a livie on the shark rod. 

Cat

Anyways, after that the bite began to go quiet. There wasn't much happening, apart from the odd passer by. I tried throwing the cast net for a bit longer to no avail. Fast forward three hours and I was finishing up. I wound in all lines and kept the untouched live catfish for bait. At least I got out and had some fun.

Stats of TRip:

Tide: 6:00AM, 1.8M, High, 12:15PM, .7M, Low

Moon Phase: 66% and growing

Bait Caught: Coupla Prawns

Bait Used: Prawns, Herring

Fish Caught: Catfish x 1, Bream x 1

Tackle Used: 15, 12, 30 pound braid mainlines. 6, 10, 80 pound fluoro/mono leaders. Size 0 ball sinkers, size 1/o suicide and size 3/o/6/o circle hooks. Size 2 and 6 ball sinkers. Abu Garcia Veritas on Diawa Shinobi, Shimano Stradic 3000 on Shimano Raider, Penn Spinfisher on Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod.

Air Pressure: 1018

Humidity: 73%

Weather: Sunny

Overall Success Rate: 70% - got my bream

Anyways, after that session I (think) I gave fishing a miss the next day. I'm not 100%, but pretty sure. I did get my gear ready to ride to a spot I hadn't been to in a while, mainly because I knew that this spot was always reliable to get bait on a high tide, and that day had a prime time high tide of around 7:30AM. I could be there a bit before 6 and fish till about 10 ish. I woke up in the morning and after I rode a fair few KMs, I arrived. I was pleased to see it was nice and clean, there was no one else fishing there, and there was bait skipping everywhere. I nailed in my two rod holder and got my rods ready.

On the first cast of the net I got a school of bait sized poddy mullet. I bunched two up on my 4/o Gamakatsu circle hook (brand new out of the box, Chrissy present) and resumed casting. A few more casts left my with a couple of prawns, some bony bream (tiny), as well as some more little mullet. A large mullet also got out a hole in my bottom pockets. My fault for being lazy and not stitching it up. This would've made a prime shark livie but oh well. If I am completely honest, I was quite surprised with the amount of bait around due to the amount of rain that was present in prior days. 

As I sat down to have a break from netting I was happy to see my Raider bending over. I ran up the path and set the hooks, but after a short fight I was disappointed to see a pike eel of about a metre. After I got it up I snipped it off. Down one Gamakatsu. I re-rigged and got a mullet and prawn out, and was in hope of a fish. Shortly after, a fella came down. He was catching bait for a fishing session, and apparently lived nearby. He told me that he'd caught a couple of threadies there (best 95cm or so) which is better than what I'd done at that park. 

IMG_5999.MOV

Argrgh

He was netting near my Stradic when he told me it was going off. I ran up and got the rod off him, and wound in a decent sized river perch. In hindsight, I should've made this into a shark bait, but I couldn't really be bothered and I thought I'd get a decent sized mullet. The rod was redeployed with a mullet and bony bream, and it was at that point I noticed my supposed 'abundant' bait supply was beginning to dwindle. I got back to netting, and to my annoyance I lost another sizeable mullet. Arrararagh!

I was rummaging through my cart looking for my drink bottle when the fella told me my rod was going off again, so I excitedly ran up, hoping it wouldn't be vermin. I was pleased when I was provided with some headshakes from a sizeable fish, then a short but speedy run. I had about three kilos of drag on so this was decent. I was keeping my rod tip high (an knowledgeable fisher I met at that spot told me there is a drop off/hole where I was casting, and it's easy for fish to rub you off on it). Unfortunately, my efforts weren't enough, and after a longer run this fish managed to reef me/shake the hooks into a snag. If that wasn't bad enough, it meant I lost another Gamakatsu! Araragahagag!

After I re-rigged, I excitedly redeployed with two live mullet on the hook. I fired my bait out, after avoiding about 50 (stupid) rowers who were practically crashing into some mangrove trees that grew out in the water a bit. I continued netting and managed to get a couple of glassies, but no more of the desirable mullet. I guess this is a spot where the bait is around, mostly, on early mornings. That works well for me anyways because I like to fish early mornings.  

The fella told me I was on yet again, so I jogged to the rod. I kept my drag firm this time, and although the fight was much more short lived, I could tell it was something substantial. This fish had very feisty head shakes, and was pulling drag, before it managed to shake the hooks. I believe this one was a grunter, as opposed to a thready. After that, the bite began to slow down, so I kept cast netting in hope of a decent shark bait. About 30 minutes later, I finally managed to get one of the mullet to stay in the net. Yippee!

As well as a few live prawns on the other rod (which weren't getting much action), a 25CM mullet was deployed on the shark rig. The other fella went up the park a bit to a different fishing spot, but I chose to stay there. I had high hopes of a better shark for the SOO comp, seeing as mine had been beaten by a mile. After one bait check, my mullet was lobbed out. In about 20 minutes, I heard the sound of my reel screaming. I yanked up my net, and got over to the rod. Seeing as though it was a big bait, I gave the shark about 30 seconds to eat. I slowly began to tighten the drag, but unfortunately for me, he dropped it shortly after. I wound in to find my leader in tact and my mullet still alive, and fine bar a few teeth marks, so I fired him back out. Fifteen minutes later I saw a shark leap out, and realised my line was on. I gave it plenty of time this time, and after a fun ten minute fight/net job in metre deep water, I had a nice shark up on the bank. I couldn't get the hook out once again, so he was released with a K-mart hook in his jaw .

Toothman 

After that, I decided that because it was getting hot, I didn't have any water, and I was out of bait, it was time to finish up. The other fella hadn't gotten much, so maybe it went a bit quiet after that shark. 

Stats of TRip -

Tide: 1:15AM, .4M, Low, 8:00AM, 2.0M, High, 2:20PM, .7M, Low

Moon Phase: 83%, growing

Bait Caught: Mullet, prawns, glassies, ponyfish

Bait Used: Live mullet + prawns

Fish Caught: Pike Eel x 1, Shark x 1, Perch x 1

Tackle Used: 15 and 30 pound braid mainlines, 30 and 80 pound fluoro/mono leaders. 4/o and 6/o circle hooks, size 6 ball and 3 star sinkers. LArge barrel swivels. Shimano Stradic 3000 on Raider, Penn SSM 650 on Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod.

Air Pressure: 1012 mbar

Weather: Sunny, but a fair bit of rain the days before

Humidity: 68%

Overall Success Rate: 50% - fun morning 

The next time I went fishing was with ellicat on the Nerang, but the day after @TheCharliefisho convinced me (I was barely awake) to come down for a creek session. I figured I would try for a few catties for some crab bait. The bait of choice was servo pillies, and with our oversized sinkers we were bound to nail some.

I can't remember exactly what happen, but I do know we each got two catties, and also some sub 20cm bream in about 35cm of water (one or two each). I donged the catfish then cut them in halfs, and then froze them up in an icecream tub. Lesson learnt - it would've been far more sensible to freeze them in small bags so they could go straight into the crab pot, instead of needing to thaw for ages. 

Quick Stats:

Tide: Run Out

Moon Phase: 94%, growing - makes sense why the tide was so fast!

Fish Caught: a few catties and little bream

Bait Used: Servo Pillies

Overall Success Rate: 50% - fun arvo

The next day, I was off to a mate's house for a sleepover/fishing trip. The plan was to send some livies out at a nearby jetty, where we had some success in prior sessions. We arrived at the jetty a bit before six, and to my dismay it was very crowded. Apparently someone on a Facebook group had been telling everyone about this jetty, and seeing as though there were plenty of posts with people holding big fish there I guess it's not surprising. 

Anyways, we all managed to secure a spot. I got to netting livies, and on my first cast I managed an anchovy and prawn. These went straight out, and over time I managed a few more prawns. About 15 minutes after chucking my anchovy out I had a take. It was very slow and lethargic, which makes me believe it was probably a pike eel. I missed the hookup, anyways. 

After that, I managed a few more fish in the net. My mate and I started chatting to some other fella (who was friendly) who was fishing there. He had caught a couple of decent fish off the jetty, so him and I did a fair bit of casting together that night. He was kind enough and showed me some new places to cast, which was very kind of him. He was about my age, and is local to that jetty, which is lucky. 

Anyways, fast forward an hour, it was completely packed at the jetty, and we decided to call it. I said bye to the fella I had met, and we all waddled back to the car, overloaded with fishing gear.

Stats of TRip:

Tide: 5:20PM, Low, .5M, 11, High, 1.7M

Moon Phase: Full Moon

Bait Caught: Prawns, Yorkies

Bait Used: Livies

Fish Caught: - 

Tackle Used: I fished with 20 and 30 pound braid mainlines and leaders, size 4-6/o circle hooks, size 4 star sinkers, an Abu Garcia Overhead Reel with an Ugly Stik Rod and an Penn SSM 650 on a Rogue Firepoint. 

Air Pressure: 1009

Humidity: 78%

Overall Success Rate: 5%

After that, I gave fishing a day's rest to get my energy back. I rigged up my rods ready for an early morning session, in hope of some decent fish. I had stingray flaps, but not much else bait, meaning that I would have to rely on getting a livie or two. When I got to the jetty a bit before 6 (lazy starting time) I deployed the shark line with some stingray and got straight to netting, determined to get a livie. 

On about my 5th throw, I saw the rod bending over more that usual. I noticed some was distinctively nibbling my bait, and as I approached a bit of line was taken. I figured the stingray may have been some sort of magic bait, seeing as though it had a take that quickly! Upon my retrieval of the bait, I noticed a terrible stink. I had a sniff of the ray, and boy, that was DEEE-SGUSTING! I missed the fish too, so I guess I should've left it out for a bit longer. The stingray was redeployed, and I got back to netting. 

After about ten throws, I felt some very faint tugging in the net. I was pleased to see a bait sized river perch in the bottom pocket. Normally this would've been a livie, but in the desperate situation I was in, I knocked two fillets off of him, and chucked the head out on the shark line (I decided to switch the baits - I kept the stingray flap for later as nothing had happened for about 45 minutes on it).

The fresh river perch worked a charm, and within 15 minutes of myself deploying a strip bait my overhead was screaming. I had high hopes - a bream or salmon would be great. Unluckily for me, I realised I had a catty on after it did the tell tale dead weight and no runs fight. I got him up and released him, seeing as though I had no use for him. 

Catty

After that, a kayaker who I see regularly came by. He managed to catch my line as he paddled under the pier, but luckily he got it off no worries. I gave the river perch a couple of checks, and as the kayaker came back in, line began flying off my reel. I ran down, and the yakker yelled he was caught up on my line. I assured him that I knew, and I was on something OK. Based off the take, I was hoping for a thready, or large shark. Unfortunately, I saw something surface on the river about 30 metres away. I continued to skull drag the 60CM odd catfish in, which was hooked by it's tail. It must've charged the river perch bait and ended up getting hooked by the tail. Unlucky!

Loser

After that, I got a few nibbles on a lightly weighted strip of perch, but no hookups. The perch strip didn't get any more action, but the head began to get some bites. In about 20 minutes of having the line in the water, I saw the rod going off again. Unfortunately, it was on a catfish, of about 30CM. Surprisingly, the perch head was still in tact, so it was deployed yet again. I excitedly jogged down to the rod in hope that something decent had taken the bait, but I was sad to find it was a 40CM catfish. Seeing as though the perch head was a bit mauled up now, I decided I would keep this guy for shark bait. I donged him then chopped him up, and after about another hour of no fish I decided it was hometime. 

The two others

Statistics of Trip:

Tide: 4:00Am, .3M, Low, 10:40AM, 2.3M, High

Moon Phase: Full Moon, lots of run

Bait Caught: Perch

Fish Caught: Catfish x 4

Humidity: 64%

Air Pressure: 1010

Tackle Used: 15, 20, 30 pound braid mainlines. 10, 20, 30 pound fluoro leaders, Size 2 and 6 and 0 ball sinkers. 

Overall Success Rate: 40% - stingray and perch heads are decent baits!

The next session was the next day, and was just at the local park, yet again. It was an arvo session, and my hopes weren't high - by any means. I had some left over bait but it wasn't great quality - I figured I could still fluke something decent, though. 

The first hour or so was pretty slow. I wasn't getting any real bites, the heavy rod wasn't getting anything, and I was regretting heading out. It was then I realised my light rod was tangled up in something - I saw it get some nibbles about ten minutes prior to this but I thought they were just pickers. I was happy when I saw a 35CM odd eel, which was quickly dispatched into the esky. 

After this, I gave the cast net a crack. As the sun was beginning to set I caught a decent live bait, of some description. I lobbed it out on the overhead rod instead of the stingray, which had gotten a short run, but no hook up. It didn't take long for a bend to go in the rod, and I wound up a decent catfish. I have a theory about the stingray bait - because they are uncommon around my stretch of the river (or not necessarily uncommon, more so there's more abundant baits, like herring, mullet, etc), the sharks and fish turn their nose up at them. Obviously, this could be wrong, because it's not like I was catching any sharks, or decent fish, anyways. 

Catfish

I continued fishing, and after about an hour and a half, I hooked something on my heavy rod. It didn't take long to get in, and I was disappointed to see another catfish.

Yuck

It was on dark, so I stayed ten more minutes but got home for dinner.  There were mullet free swimming at the start of the session, and it is also worth noting on the Penn SSM, this DIY job held up for the session... just. 

Previously I used a piece of biro but that snapped as I was casting. I was actually replacing this after each cast, because it kept falling off (I had to break a new piece of twig every time)

Stats of TRip:

Tide: Midday High, 2.4M, 6:30PM, .5M, Low. 

Moon Phase: 98%, decreasing

Bait Caught: Not much

Bait Used: Prawn, herring, stingray

Fish Caught: Catfish x 2, Eel

Tackle Used: 15, 20, 30 pound braid mainlines. 10, 20, 80 pound mono/fluoro leaders. Size 2 and 6 ball sinkers. Size 2/o, 1/o, 6/o circle and suicide hooks. Large barrel swivels. Shimano Stradic + Raider combo. Abu Garcia + Ugly Stik. Penn SSM + Rogue Firepoint Rod.

Humidity: 66%

Air Pressure: 1010

Overall Success Rate: 50%

Anyways, after that, I decided to give fishing a crack at another spot the next morning. I got the bike buggy ready that night and got to bed as early as I could (sorry, as soon as the telly show I was watching finished) and set the clock for a bit after 5. I got to my jetty of choice to net livebait, and after the first ten casts began praying no grumpy old kayaker would come down and yell at me. Why? Because I was getting the most prawns I'd managed here in ages! (mind you, this still wasn't that much). 

After I got about 30 alright prawns in the bait bucket, I deployed a light rod. I had one run on this that felt decent (with my luck a catfish) but I decided to give the fishing a miss off this jetty as there were too many bloomin' rowers paddling by, which meant I had to keep winding in my bait. I decided to head off, but then disaster struck.

At the time, I didn't take too much notice. But due to my drowsiness, I managed to have my bike, which was leaning against the jetty railing, fall over. I didn't think much about it until I realised the axel my back wheel was sitting on had been loosened and my back wheel had come off, due to extensive riding with the cart on my bike. Ugh.

I called up my Dad and I was struggling to move my bike to where it needed to be, and he came to the jetty and managed to save the day's fishing, after about 15 minutes of hard yakka. In this time I set a line and caught a 40cm odd catty, which put up a decent fight. I find that the catfish at mouths of creeks put up excellent fights - maybe it's just been a fluke a few times but every creek mouth catty I have caught has fought hard. 

Good fighter

After Dad left, I got back to my task. I rode over to my chosen spot and had lines in by 8:00AM. I was pleasantly surprised that there was no one at my spot, which changed shortly. A fella came down, and he set up on the top end of the jetty. I said hi to him, but he didn't speak English that well so we went about with our own business. The first run I had was long and continues, and I didn't have an idea what it was until I started the fight. I realised I was on a decent muddy, so took it slow. He let go when he surfaced but, from what I saw, he had very large claws (which is why I think it was a he - the jennies I've caught have short/small claws), but he let go before I could land him.

The pickers were out in force, and I was fast loosing prawns. They eventually slowed, and I made an effort to keep some for future fishing sessions.  I had another crab on the stingray, this time a bit smaller, which also let go when it surfaced. At around 11-12, I called the session. The other fella had pulled in two catties in his time. Notes of this session was the overcast conditions and the very painful wasp/bee/march fly/bug sting I got on my wrist. It took about ten minutes to stop swelling then I could throw the cast net again. 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 6:00AM, .3M, Low, 12:30PM, 2.4M, High

Moon Phase: 94% decreasing

Bait Caught: Live Prawns

Bait Used: Live prawns, stingray

Fish Caught: Catfish x1

Tackle Used: 15, 30, 80 pound mono/fluoro leaders. 15, 20, 30 pound braid mainlines. Barrel Swivels. 2/o, 4/o, 6/o circle hooks. Size 2 and 6 ball sinkers. Shimano Stradic 3000 + Raider. Ugly Stik + Abu Garcia Barra King. Penn SSM + Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod

Air Pressure: 1016

Humidity: 91%

Overall Success Rate: 30% - saved by Dad

After that session, I did the exact same thing the day after. The prior night there had been a bit of rain, and I was nervous as to whether I would get a lot of bait. After riding to the spot my fears came true, when, I could hardly get anything after about 20 throws. I would've done about thirty more throws, so 50 all up, for no bait. I decided to move on to the next jetty now, in hope of a shark or something decent! In the cast netting session, it is worth noting I managed my first ever Brisbane River Grunter, and although it was tiny I was still happy about it. 

Woot

This session was VERY uneventful. So much so, I can remember pretty much nothing. As far as I am concerned, I tried to catch something on one of the eel chunks I had from a prior session, which, after a long run from a large crab, worked to no avail. I then switched to the last of the ray I had, and after soaking that for a while I came up empty handed as well. I do remember, however, getting one very strong bite on the eel slab after the crab took it, which shredded my 80 pound leader instantly. Bugger!

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 6:40AM, .3M, Low, 1:10PM, 2.3M, High

Moon Phase: 88%, decreasing

Bait Caught: -

Bait Used: Prawn, eel, stingray

Fish Caught: -

Tackle Used: 15, 20, 30 pound braid mainlines. 15, 30, 80 pound mono/fluoro leaders. Size 2/o, 4/o, 6/o circle hooks. Barrel swivels. About 70cm traces. Size 2 and 6 ball sinkers. Abu Garcia Barra King on Ugly Stik. Shimano Stradic 3000 on Raider. Penn SSM 650 on Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod. 

Air Pressure: 1020

Humidity: 62%

Overall Success Rate: 40%

On the same day of this session, I was feeling quite down due to not catching ANYTHING good for ages. I used this to my advantage when persuading dad to take me flicking lures around ferry terminals at night, in hope of a thready on lure. It was only going to be a short mission, at a few spots I had scouted out on Google Maps. My hopes were low, but overall I found it fun enough, especially considering I found some new things out about some spots I hadn't fished before.

The first spot we went to greeted us with a shower and chilly gust of wind. My Dad and I walked towards the lights, flickering onto the shallow pool of water. With the rain that had been around, we figured it would be unlikely there would be large amounts of bait about, which is what the threadies feed off/why they hang around the light pools.

The first spot we were at is a low tide only spot, as could be seen when we got there. At high tide the rocky platform we were standing on would've been flooded. We flicked our lures here for about 30 minutes, but with no luck, or bait sightings, we went on to the next spot. This was a long strip of land where you could fish off a rock wall. It would've been better for bream/cod on lures, but I wanted to suss it out as I saw a picture of someone with a jack there a few weeks prior (seeing as though they told the whole of the world about the spot, the jetty was packed, lol). 

The third spot my Dad and I tried is one we will probably never return to, mainly due to the terrible water access, low lighting, and lots of dodgy people about. It would probably be risky for me to be there in day, let alone night time. After that, we ended up going to the fourth and final spot of the night. This was another ferry terminal, and we were hopeful of pulling a fish. After changing lures numerous times, my Dad finally got a hit. Unfortunately, it didn't stick, and it was almost certainly a bream. It was on a decent sized deep diving hardbody, and the fish hit right as the lure was bouncing over some rocks.

Overall, it was a fun night trying some new spots!

Stats of Trip:

Tide: Low, 6:43AM, .5M, High, 12:50AM, 1.8M

Moon Phase: 88%, decreasing

Bait Caught: - 

Bait Used: -

Fish Caught: -

Tackle Used: 15 pound braid mainlines, 30 pound leaders, Shimano Stradic 3000 + Shimano Raider, Diawa Magforce on Shimano Cranx. Used plastics, hardbodies, poppers, etc

Air Pressure: 1020

Humidity: 67%

Overall Success Rate: 50% - fun scouting mission

After this session, a mate who owns a tinny (same one who I went out with when I got that little thready in the last report) invited me out. I was very excited, and after a bit of planning it was decided we would launch mid arvo, chase livies for a few hours, then fish a spot my mate and his Dad knew, targeting bullies and threadies. We met at the decided boat ramp, and launched the tinny shortly after. I brought along my Shimano Stradic 3000 and Raider rod, which I knew would suffice as the water we were fishing isn't the deepest.

I was first up on my cast net, and my mate was piloting the tinny. We threw the net around many mud banks, sand banks, drains, creeks, and near a few jetties, but we could not manage a lot of bait. We eventually found a couple of prawns, which weren't sizeable, but still would make OK bait. We then went to the chosen spot and began netting in the area, and, despite our best efforts, could only manage a small bony bream and mullet. There was plenty of sizeable mullet free jumping, and as the sun set we set the spotlock on and began fishing.

We had a rod out with a servo pilly to catch a catfish for a shark, and this didn't take five minutes. That was chucked out on a Shimano Baitrunner, and hopes were high for a shark. The recent rain had definitely caused bait to be tricky to come by, and after the first half hour of not getting much it was looking like the fish would be hard to get too. 

As the night went on, and more huge mullet leapt from the waters around us, my mate's Dad flicked a surface lure for about 45 minutes to no avail. By then it was about 7pm, and despite many jokes being told to pass the time only one more catfish had been landed. We weren't out of hope yet, and after a slight change of spot to cater for the tide baits were redeployed. Live prawns, mullet, and bony bream were all swimming in various positions all around the boat, but nothing had shown itself. After one more catfish on a live prawn, the night was called. It was a fun night on the river, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. My Dad met us back at the ramp, and after a big thanks was said I left to get a good night's sleep. 

Stats of  Trip - 

Tide: 2:30PM, 2.2M, High, 9:00PM, .5M, Low

Moon Phase: 72%, decreasing

Bait Caught: Prawns, Mullet, Glassies, Bony Bream

Bait Used: Live Prawns, Mullet, Glassies, and Bony Bream, servo pillies, live catties

Fish Caught: Catfish x 4

Tackle Used: I used a 15 pound braid mainline with 30 pound leader, size 2 ball sinker, large barrel swivel, and 3/o circle hook, on a Stradic 3000 + Raider. My friend used baitrunners.

Air Pressure: 1012

Humidity: 77%

Overall Success Rate: 75% - fun night out

After that session, I had another resting day, before getting back into it. I was back on my bike for this one, and excited to try and nail a shark. I woke up early in the morning, and after a rather slow cast netting session, I had myself a couple live prawns. I rode from the cast netting jetty to the fishing jetty, and deployed my baits. 

For the first 45 minutes odd, it was looking very slow. In fact, I was on the phone complaining to Dad about the slow bite/checking in, when my rod with eel screamed off (well, it didn't scream - I was using a cheap Jarvis Walker reel instead of a Penn Spinfisher due to the bail arm issues). This shark was going for a long time, and it wasn't slowing down, it had probably stripped 50 metres of line by the time I was hooked up, and fighting it.

The fight was intense, with a couple scorching runs in between head shakes and a heavy weight. I would get it close and then the fish would fire off again, back into the depths. Adrenaline was pumping through my body as the shark was getting closer. I could just about make out the leader when disaster struck. The shark took one final run and got it's freedom, rubbing through my 80 pound mono. AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!

Chewed 

After that happened, the bite went quiet. I lobbed out another eel chunk and began the wait. My hopes were high when line began moving off the rod again, but it soon occurred to me this was no shark. "Darn Mud Crabs," I thought...

I didn't get a look at the crab, but after rebaiting there was only a few pulls on my line, from another presumed crab. The bite was looking very slow, and despite my best efforts slugging it out in the heat, I could not manage anything at all. I ended up calling the session earlier than usual to get home and recover from all the fishing I had been doing, in preparation for a crabbing trip that evening. A couple interesting notes about this report though - there were these weird catfish things slithering around on the bank, and is this a yabby hole?

Any Ideas?

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 3:40AM, 1.8M, High, 9:45AM, .6M, Low

Moon Phase: 51%, decreasing

Bait Caught: -

Bait Used: Eel, prawn

Fish Caught: - 

Tackle Used: 15, 20, 30 pound braid mainlines. 15, 30, 80 pound mono/fluoro leaders. Barrel Swivels. Circle Hooks. Ball Sinkers. Abu Garcia Barra King on Ugly Stik. Shimano Stradic 3000 on Raider. Penn SSM 650 on Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod. 

Humidity: 1011

Air Pressure: 66%

Overall Success Rate: 50% - bust off  

After that, the next two sessions are ones I've already done the reports on. 

After those two sessions, I was well and truly back at (online) school, which meant I wouldn't be out fishing much. Throughout my week of online school I had been riding around sussing out some new spots, mainly for crabbing but also for a fish. It was organised that on Saturday I would go for a fish with a mate at a spot I hadn't been to in ages, in hope of something decent. I arrived a bit after ten, as it was a long distance on the bike. I was eager to get some baits in the water, and then I got to cast netting. 

Bait wasn't very abundant, but after the first few throws there had been a few prawns and mullet caught. After baits were deployed, we sat down and began to wait. We checked our baits numerous times, and apart from one bite early on there was nothing happened. It was looking like a very slow day. 

After about an hour and a half of fishing in the very windy conditions, there still wasn't much caught. Michael decided to live bait a catfish, in hope of a bullshark. We continued netting, and about 30 minutes later Michael got a big bony bream. This was switched with the catfish and hopes were high, of a fish, at least. 

Little Bird

After many bait checks, running out of live bait, and a lot of wind, I finally hooked up to a catfish. He didn't put up much fight but at least neither of us donutted. I also had a run on my Stradic 3000, which I was floating a bait on with a small sinker, down under the jetty. I assume this was also just a small catty, as well. We gave it a little while longer but then called it quits, so I began to ride home. On the way back I stopped at all the parks I frequent, and someone was fishing at all of them. They were all friendly enough - one fella wasn't having much luck (wrong time of day for the spot anyways), one fella got a couple little bream and I chatted to him for a while about lure fishing, and at the spot which does fish well in the middle of the day, there was a surprise. First of all, I realised that the fella I was chatting to was actually mates with the fella I was fishing with, so it was good to meet him. As I was leaving, I heard their reel screaming. Obviously I came back down to spectate, and I grabbed my net too (as they didn't have one). To everyone's joy a 78cm thready was landed, on a small live prawn. I netted him, chatted for a bit longer, than headed off. Nice work to them!

Stats of Trip: 

Tide: 7:30AM, .4M, Low, 2:00PM, 2.3M, High

Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent

Bait Caught: Prawns and mullet

Fish Caught: Couple of catfish

Tackle Used: I fished with 20, 30, 15 pound braid mainlines, 15, 30, 80 pound fluoro/mono leaders, size 4 star sinkers, circle hooks, and Abu Garcia Barra King on Ugly Stik. Shimano Stradic 3000 on Raider. Penn SSM 650 on Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod. 

Bait Used: Live prawns, mullet, deadbaits

Air Pressure: 1010

Humidity: 60%

Overall Success Rate: 35%

After that trip, I went out with @TheCharliefisho yet again. This time, we were chasing landbased crabs, at some of the spots I had sussed out. Bait bags were jammed full, and pots were launched in four different locations. We were hopeful of something, but it didn't turn out that well.

I received word from a fella (very odd that there was someone fishing this jetty in the middle of the night, and even more odd he was just at the park for no apparent reason) that my pot had been raided. Unfortunately, despite the fact he had made them put the crab back in the pot, it had escaped. Maybe I should tighten the entrances to my pots a bit more. It was clear there was a crab in the pot due to the ripping of the bait bag. 

The next pot, which was up a creek at an access point, came back empty. I wasn't expecting much here, and my location of choice, the mouth of the creek, already had a pot in it. The next pot was at the mouth of a different creek, and sadly, this one had nothing except a dead water rat in it. Yuck!

 

Oops

The fourth and final pot came back empty, and we all went home disappointed. Oh well, next time!

Stats of Trip:

Tide: Was in for two lows, and one high

Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent

Bait Used: OLd fish frames, chicken, old freezer bait

Crab Caught: -

Gear Used: 4 BCF Crab Pots, About 15-20 metres of rope (a long rope comes in handy when you need to throw the pot a long way out, and tie it to something a decent way up the bank)

Air Pressure: Ranged from 1010-1014

Humidity: 55%-78%

Overall Success Rate: 10% - crappy crabbing 

After the session, I was back at school. On the weekend, I checked the tides. The timing of the tides weren't really preferable for any location I like to fish, so I decided to try somewhere new. I was excited about this spot, and the arvo prior I put in a good three hours trying to net bait, and also setting one landbased pot (yes, I strapped it onto the back of my bike buggy). 

After my pot was set I rode to the live bait location, which was quite busy. I had high hopes when I managed a decent poddy mullet on my first cast, but it went downhill from there. I ended up resorting to keeping about three prawns, and a few small glassies and ponyfish as my bait. I was going to keep a Crazyfish but it seemed to have eggs, so despite catching the same one 3 times I let it go. 

I woke a bit later in the morning that I usually do for my bike sessions, and I rode with Dad to go and check the pot. It wasn't great to see a small jenny in the pot, but at least I know there are crabs there. I will definitely put another put there when the water levels recede enough. 

After carrying all my gear down the steep embankment, I reached the chosen spot. I deployed my overhead with a prawn, and the baitrunner which a larger bait (herring, I think). The tide was about 1.5hrs off being high, so my hopes were too. 

After about 20 minutes of soaking a bait, I heard the iconic sound of the drag clicking off my overhead. I eagerly picked up my rod, but I could tell that it was just a catfish seconds into the fight. After a couple of strong headshakes, I landed the catty, and flung him back into the drink. I baited my overhead up with the live mullet now, to try and avoid the pickers (I had gotten a few nibbles on my remaining prawns). In about 15 more minutes, the overhead was screaming off. I picked it up off the bricks I had propped it on, to keep it out of mud, and set the hooks. This fish had a lot of weight, but I was disappointed when yet another catfish surfaced. I got him off, and was now down to glassies and ponyfish. I threaded some of these on my hook, and caught another catty shortly after. It was then I decided to try and float my bait down next to the rocks, in hope of a bream or cod. 

One of the catties

It only took about 15 minutes before the fish began to bite. The tide was getting high now, so I wound in the other two rods to prevent water from slushing all over them, and I moved them away. I had plenty of prawns, or enough to last me the session, anyways. The first fish I landed was an undersize bream, and when I dropped down next my bait was hammered by something a bit better. The baitholder hook got the legal bream perfectly in the corner of the jaw, and I flicked him back soon after dehooking him.

After that, I continued to fish with lightly weighted prawn cubes. There was still a lot of run, which is why I didn't go fully unweighted. I was pulling in fish every 5-15 minutes - it just depended on how bad the pickers were. After about 5 more small bream, I hooked up again to something better. It pulled a bit of drag, and I landed another legal fish. He was released as well, and I tightened my drag to about 4KG to ensure I wouldn't loose any fish.

I was running critically low on prawns now, and I decided that I would give herring a go. I dropped an herring tail down, and within five seconds I hooked up to something big. This fish stripped drag like no tomorrow for about 3 seconds before it busted me off, which was very annoying!

I took the opportunity to downsize my sinker and hook, and the tide was slowing down. I continued to pull in more picker sized bream, but I seemingly could not entice any better fish to bite onto my line. I was almost out of bait now, but lucky for me the rest of my family was coming for a walk by the spot. I convinced Dad to take the remaining bait in my freezer along, and I was back in business.

The first drop I did with Dad watching, I pulled in a legal bream. The tide was beginning to speed up again, and I was almost out of bait, so I decided to land one more legal fish, which I did successfully, then pack up and leave them biting . I ended up with about 15 bream all up - maybe it is just a nursery for little ones but I'm bound to get some bigger ones there as it cools down.

Two of the three legals - no size, best maybe 28CM

Stats of Trip: 

Tide: 2:20AM, .5M, Low, 9:00AM, 2.2M, High, 3:40PM, .6M, Low - crab pot had two lows and a high as well

Moon Phase: 90%, rising

Bait Caught: The day prior, prawns, mullet, glassies, ponyfish

Bait Used: Prawn, herring, livies

Fish Caught: Bream x 15, One smoking

Tackle Used: 15 pound mainline (braid) and leader (mono). Quite heavy for bream but didn't know what to expect. Size 0 and 00 ball sinkers, tiny baitholder hooks. Shimano Stradic 3000 and Raider. Ugly Stik + Abu Garcia Barra King, )with 20 pound braid and leader). Shimano Baitrunner + Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod, 30 pound braid and leader. 

Crab Caught: 1 x jenny

Humidity: 1018

Air Pressure: 61%

Overall Success Rate: 80% - fun morning scouting a new spot

After that session, I decided that, because I had no homework, I would go for a flick with lures one arvo. I loaded up my bike and telescopic rod in a backpack, and rode to the first location of choice. It was low tide, and my hardbody diver spent the next 40 minutes getting bounced, rolled, twitched, and retrieved over many rocks and pylons, to no avail. It didn't look very fishy, but I hoped with the overcast conditions something would be enticed.

I switched to a spot a short ride away, which is fished quite often. I wasn't too hopeful here, but a fella I had been chatting with the arvo prior (a keen yakker, gave me some tips on getting bass in the Upper Brissy) said he had pulled a few on soft plastics and hardbodies. I flicked my hardbody around the rocks for about 15 minutes, before doing the same with a plastic. I could not raise a nibble, and got home in time for dinner, sad with my result. 

Quick Stats:

Tide: Low Tide

Moon Phase: Full Moon

Tackle Used: 10 pound braid mainline, 6 pound FC leader, hardbodies and soft plastics flicked around. Shimano Ripper telescopic rod combo. 

Overall Success Rate: 20%

After that session, I was keen to get out for another fish on the weekend. I decided to go to the same spot with Charlie, in hope of a few decent bream. The night before, Dad generously took me to Colmslie, so we could hopefully get some bait! After about 45 minutes of throwing, we had three or so prawns, a few greasys, and about 20 herring. Crap! It's time I find a new cast netting spot!

The haul

Anyways, I met Charlie sometime in the morning and we got to the spot of choice. It was a midday high tide, and I was using my rod with a 6 pound leader, and small baitholder hook. Charlie was planning on chasing a feed, so I packed the esky with some ice. I also had my Stradic and the baitrunner, to put out for a shark. When we got there a half yorky was deployed on the baitrunner, and lighter lines were then dropped down.

It was a very slow bite to begin with, and neither of us were getting much action. There were a few nibbles but nothing substantial, anyways. I landed the first fish, a perch of about 25CM, which Charlie decided he wanted to try. I scaled and gutted it, as there wouldn't of been much point in filleting it. He reports it tasted good, anyways. 

I was first on the board with a little bream, and I think I landed three (one of which had some stinky infection/parasite growing on it ) before Charlie got his first. Because the bite was slow, I switched to no sinker, and I used my 6 pound combo. It wasn't looking very good, and after about 3 hours spent at this spot we decided to call it quits, with that one perch and about 8 little bream between us. It is worth mentioning Charlie got a small catfish which was livebaited, but ended up costing me my rig as it snagged up.

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 12:40PM, 2.4M, High

Moon Phase: 92%, decreasing

Bait Caught: -

Bait Used: Prawns, Herring, Yorky, Live catfish

Fish Caught: A few bream, catty, and perch. I believe the rain that was had in the prior days did not help matters. 

Tackle Used: 6 pound FC leaders, Charlie had 12. 0 or no sinker, though Charlie was using a size 2 ball. I fished with tiny baitholder hooks, on my Abu Garcia Veritas + Diawa Shinobi Combo. The shark rig was 80 pound trace with a size 3 star sinker and 6/o circle hook, on a Shimano Aero Baitrunner with Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod.

Humidity: 68-75%

Air Pressure: 1013-1014

Overall Success Rate: 40% - Charlie got a keeper

Alright, so that is this report marathon done. You probably won't be hearing many fishing stories from me in a while, due to the floods in the river. Luckily none of the jetties I frequent are washed away, like many have been. This should keep everyone occupied for a while until the waters clean and the weather gets a bit better. I hope no one was affected to badly by the floods.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers Hamish

[charlie.hans.fishing]

Hey Hamish. 

What an awesome collation of sessions you've got here mate. 

Thanks for including me in some of the sessions, they were for a sure a lot of fun!

To start, that bream session on lures was good fun; unfortunate we didn't hook anything. I chucked a little berkley grub out at one spot and the remaining spots I had thrown a 30mm medium/deep diving berkley chubby thing. Sad thing was, on the last spot we were at the wash of an incoming wave of a nearby boat smashed my lure up against the rocks. It was too muddy for me to clamber down there and unsnag it.

I mucked around trying to gently detach the trebles from the edge of the rock; nothing worked.

My 6lb leader was frayed by that point and the last time I flicked my skinny little 2-4kg daiwa exceler to try unsnag it the line broke and i lost the $16 lure - https://www.fishingtackleshop.com.au/berkley-pro-tech-brimz-lure/?sku=1546353  

 

About those crabs- 

It was good fun getting out late at night to set the pots and I was eager to reap the well earned rewards. However no crabs were to be found. I think it's safe to say we are both annoyed those buggers tampered with your pot.

I'm still curious as to what old mate was doing just standing on the jetty with his bike at 6 in the morning. LOL. 

 

The bream we caught at new spot were good fun and I'm glad they got on the chew towards the end of the session. I'm surprised we used as much bait as we did! 

The little perch was okay for a 1 person feed and surprisingly tasted almost like a whiting or something you'd get from the fish and chips store. 

 

Doesn't look the most appetizing but the skin was actually quite tasty. 

 Hopefully we can head out again particularly for bait in the coming weeks for your Dad's bday 

Cheers, Charlie. 

 

[Old Scaley]

Holy catfish, @AUS-BNE-FISHO, how long did it take to write that report? I got halfway through and decided that I need to put together a reading plan to get through the other half over the next week or so.

So good to see you boys out there doing what you love and doing it so well. You really have the river nailed now Hamish!

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

It's a shame we didn't get anything good when we went fishing Charlie. Next time. Glad you had fun.

18 minutes ago, Old Scaley said:

Holy catfish, @AUS-BNE-FISHO, how long did it take to write that report? I got halfway through and decided that I need to put together a reading plan to get through the other half over the next week or so.

So good to see you boys out there doing what you love and doing it so well. You really have the river nailed now Hamish!

Thanks Steve, this took a couple/few hours. I racked my brain trying to remember every session. haha. 

I still need to learn a lot about lure fishing in the river, I've only caught a couple flatties so far so there's a long way to go. I plan to suss out a lot of new spots this holidays to find somewhere to put crab pots and also find a location to target jewies and squire in Winter. Hopefully I can hook up to something decent soon.

Cheers Hamish

[GregOug]

I must admit I didn’t read it all Hamish. I got tired just looking at the photos and needed a good lie down.

[Jono4500]

47 minutes ago, GregOug said:

I must admit I didn’t read it all Hamish. I got tired just looking at the photos and needed a good lie down.

Ha yeh same, I stopped reading halfway through. Good pics though n good to see your catching a few! 

[ellicat]

Well, I finished it all (in 3 sittings lol). You've gotta be in it to win it, Hamish.

No idea what that hole is but there looks to be a few holes, so you never know. I couldn't make out that 3rd pic in that series - could it be a mud skipper ?

Some fun sessions and a lot of recon missions will see you being a river master in the coming years.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

1 hour ago, GregOug said:

I must admit I didn’t read it all Hamish. I got tired just looking at the photos and needed a good lie down.

 

42 minutes ago, Jono4500 said:

Ha yeh same, I stopped reading halfway through. Good pics though n good to see your catching a few! 

Thanks guys, yes, I know it was way to long. I hope you enjoyed the sections you read/looked at.

2 minutes ago, ellicat said:

Well, I finished it all (in 3 sittings lol). You've gotta be in it to win it, Hamish.

No idea what that hole is but there looks to be a few holes, so you never know. I couldn't make out that 3rd pic in that series - could it be a mud skipper ?

Some fun sessions and a lot of recon missions will see you being a river master in the coming years.

Thanks Brian, it would’ve taken a while. I may have to come down there with the yabby pump and some gum boots one day. And try and not get to muddy.

I googled mud skippers and that’s what they are. Good to see them in the river I guess. Do you know if they can be used for bait? 

Hopefully I can start catching some more in the river too. This arvo Dad and I nailed/liquid nailed a box together which fits into the back of my bike buggy. I am going to insulate it so it will be an esky.

Cheers Hamish 

[ellicat]

I've never considered using them for bait, they're too cute. haha

You'll end up needing two carts ! You'll be like a B double. haha

[kmcrosby78]

Have only skim-read a bit and looked at the photos but good to see you out there learning heaps Hamish. I'd suggest deleting the photo of the crab pot with the dead rat OR blurring out your address/phone number - better safe than sorry when it comes to thieves, etc. Keep up the great work .

[benno573]

hey hamish,

fun way to spend the school holidays.

mate they won't be yabby holes.  yabbys can't live in pure mud, they need sand.  as much as it would amuse me watching you sink up to your armpits in the mud trying for non-existent yabbies - i would strongly suggest not bothering.  they will likely be a fiddler crab hole or one of the many other small mangrove crabs.

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

19 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Have only skim-read a bit and looked at the photos but good to see you out there learning heaps Hamish. I'd suggest deleting the photo of the crab pot with the dead rat OR blurring out your address/phone number - better safe than sorry when it comes to thieves, etc. Keep up the great work .

Thanks KM, I didn't even realise that photo had the crab pot tag in it.

7 hours ago, benno573 said:

hey hamish,

fun way to spend the school holidays.

mate they won't be yabby holes.  yabbys can't live in pure mud, they need sand.  as much as it would amuse me watching you sink up to your armpits in the mud trying for non-existent yabbies - i would strongly suggest not bothering.  they will likely be a fiddler crab hole or one of the many other small mangrove crabs.

 

Thanks Benno. That makes sense. There's always plenty of little crabs scurrying around this jetty.

Cheers Hamish 

[jon]

We’ll done Hamish and Charlie. Your youthful enthusiasm and dedication to fishing never cease to amaze.  Reminds of my times growing up on the Brisbane and Bremer river. I get stoked every time I see one of your reports and that golden threads colour pops up well done!!

[charlie.hans.fishing]

19 hours ago, jon said:

We’ll done Hamish and Charlie. Your youthful enthusiasm and dedication to fishing never cease to amaze.  Reminds of my times growing up on the Brisbane and Bremer river. I get stoked every time I see one of your reports and that golden threads colour pops up well done!!

Cheers Jon. It really is fun just to get out on the water with some friends and cast a line. 

[Cavvy]

Well isn't that a summer full of fishing!!!  @Old Scaley I can tell you it took a long time to write.  It seemed he was on this report for days banging away on the laptop.  We told him it would conquer most readers!  Anyway great stories for the 2021/22 summer holidays.  Given the number of bust offs and misses on the real fish I'm certainly feeling guilty about the poor netting attempt that would have at least seen another threadfin officially caught (although as I say to Hamish at least he has video footage and the fish was good as caught..)  Hopefully next summer there will be a higher conversion rate on the good ones.  On the plus side all the riding towing a buggy has done marvels for his fitness level......

[Drop Bear]

So good mate well done. 

Do you sink pots at the pontoon? I reckon you could regularly get a feed of muddies if you can manage taking a couple along.

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

1 hour ago, Drop Bear said:

So good mate well done. 

Do you sink pots at the pontoon? I reckon you could regularly get a feed of muddies if you can manage taking a couple along.

 

I don’t normally put pots in when I’m fishing, but it would be a good idea. I plan to try a lot more for landbased and kayak based crabs this school holidays though.

[ubnt]

7 hours ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

I don’t normally put pots in when I’m fishing, but it would be a good idea. I plan to try a lot more for landbased and kayak based crabs this school holidays though.

I saw more and more fisho are becoming crabbie these days as you can get all kinds of creatures in the pot. A friend of mine got a thready one day and stopped fishing ever since.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

27 minutes ago, ubnt said:

I saw more and more fisho are becoming crabbie these days as you can get all kinds of creatures in the pot. A friend of mine got a thready one day and stopped fishing ever since.

Haha, that’s funny. I just do crabbing for a bit of fun to be honest, I don’t even particularly like eating them - thready or squire is much better . 

[Drop Bear]

On 12/03/2022 at 5:19 PM, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

I don’t even particularly like eating them

Reported!   This is a family forum. No swearing will be tolerated!!!!

 

[fishingnut]

Geez to be young again and have a decent memory ! I can’t remember what I did 5min ago let alone all those reports , well done mate.