queensland Brisbane River Session #153 and #154

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

This is just going to be a quick report, detailing the last two sessions I have had in the Brisbane River. The first session was on my holidays, but before my trip to Yeppoon. It was a crabbing mission, landbased...

I strapped my pots to my bike buggy late one arvo, and filled some bait bags up. I'm pretty sure I had some catfish, and a rather large pike eel I had bludgeoned to death in a prior session (oops). After a rather exhausting ride, I arrived at my first location. I slid down the bank and walked through some brush. To my disappointment a nearby homeowner had a pot there, but not in the water. I tied up, and after having spiders crawl on me, mozzies bite me everywhere, and sink into mud, I was pleased to be able to scamper to my next spot of choice. 

After weaving through a group of tradies finishing work, and passing a large pump of some sort, I was in position to chuck my pot in. I set it up and threw it in what I thought would be a prime spot for a mud crab. Now that I had my pots set it was time for me to get home, hose off before mum found out how muddy I was, and catch a muddie in the morning!  

Despite getting stuck in the mud a couple times, my best efforts to catch a crab failed. Although it was an overnight soak I still had some hope. I must admit, I was most angry when I saw the one of my bait bags had a giant hole in it from a crab (or eel, maybe). The next time I can I definitely reckon I will give a crack checking my pots in shorter time intervals. 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 6:50PM, .3M, Low, 1:00AM, 2.2M, High, 7:40AM, .6M, Low.

Moon Phase: 10%, growing

Bait Used: Pike eel and catfish

Gear Used: Pryml Crab Pots

Crab Caught: -

Overall Success Rate: 15%

The next session, which was my last session before the end of holidays, was with the @TheCharliefisho. We planned to send some livies out in hope of a fish in the river, at a spot I had some success the week before. My Dad and I picked Charlie up at about half past six, but too my dismay there were already some people at the prime part of the jetty. After a brief convo (one of them didn't really speak English, one did), it was revealed that they had only just gotten there. I told you we should've left earlier, Charlie!

Anyways, we got a couple rods out with deadbait (we had two each), but my dad voluntarily got to cast netting. He wasn't having much luck, and after 15 minutes he only had a coupla little prawns and a herring. I dispersed more berley into the water, and he soon left. Much to my annoyance, I released I had left my hat and sunnies at home! Lucky I had a backup in the car (hat).

I started to get a few decent prawns, and one or two casts I got an alright amount of better sized ones (8 or so, around the 10-15cm mark). I also got some good sized herring, which I was pleased with. Another fella, who had rocked up to the already crowded jetty, then started casting. He asked me to show him how to throw, so I gave him a quick lesson. He didn't get it immediately but throughout the day I was pleased to see him throw some pancakes with his 7 foot net. He also gave me a small mullet which was used for the last couple hours of the day for no luck . 

Seeing as though we had some good baits, we deployed them. I think we started off using a mix of our herring and prawns, although these were getting pickered very quickly. This continued for about an hour, and I continued getting more bait. High tide was nearing and I knew it was the prime time for us to nail a thready. On one of my last throws of the net, I felt some serious buzzing. I knew there was a big fish in there, and I was happy when two 20CM mullets came up. There was more in my net but I was a bit eager in retrieving it. We changed baits to live mullet, herring, prawn, and gudgeon in hopes of a fish. 

More time passed, and no one was catching anything. The tide began to run out, so I did a little bit more cast netting. At this location high tide is the best time for bait - as soon as it starts to run out you will be lucky to get much at all, and on low tide it's mostly small stuff. To my pleasure, I got another bait sized mullet and a few more prawns. I had a rest and Charlie and I resumed fishing. We had switched one of the baits to a mullet fillet in hope of a bream or squire, but this soon got pickered (as did the second fillet of mullet). 

Time had flown by and it was about midday - we had still caught nothing. One of the other blokes had caught a little River Perch, which was his dinner. Around now, some clown came down to the jetty. He had a nice 'gravel' bike (mix between road and mountain bike), and a Saragosa reel on a great looking rod. He was flicking a huge deep diver around, and firing it out at all angles of the jetty. He looked like he had just come off Big Cat Reality charters though - because I think that's the only place he might've had a chance of landing something in the middle of the day on a lure that size! Lol. After 4 casts he gave up, told me and Charlie some rubbish about our lines getting tangled (because apparently two each is too many), and then started flying an exxy looking drone around! He soon rode off, and wasn't missed by anyone on the jetty. 

After untangling my line numerous times from someone using a sinker that was too light (the people who had been at the jetty first), I was pleased to see the new space made when they headed off. I casted out my line with the big livie, and it didn't take long before there was some action. I set the hook, and I could tell it was a big fish. Unfortunately, it was only around 10 seconds before it rubbed/bit me off (I'm not sure which, though I don't think it was a shark, and my line was wrapped around a pylon). The trace had only been frayed a little and cut in half though. I think it was a jewie, but I guess I will never know...

We continued fishing with rekindled hope, but unfortunately no fish were encountered for the rest of the day. We tried dead baits, live baits, big prawns, small prawns, and Charlie even flicked a piece of prawn about in hope of a bream to get off the donut. The jetty was becoming more crowded as the day went on, and only one more River Perch was landed by another fella. As we were departing a lady with 4 rods and 2 crab pots rocked up. She also had enough deadbait for years, and a pot full of River Perch. Obviously a Brisbane River Perch Fisho. Lol. 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 3:45AM, .4M, Low, 9:40AM, 2.2M, High, 4:20PM, .3M, Low. Fished for nine hours (7-4)

Moon Phase: 98%, growing

Bait Caught: Prawns, mullet, herring, gudgeons

Bait Used: Live mullet, prawn, herring, gudgeons, deadbait

Fish Caught: - 

Tackle Used: I used a Shimano Aero Baitrunner + Rogue Firepoint Boat Rdd (5-8KG, 30 pound braid, 50 pound leader), Abu Garcia Amabassadeur on Ugly Stik (20 pound braid, 30 pound leader), and Abu Garcia Nanotech Nexus on a cheapy reel, Charlie used a 4000 size spinning reel on a Shimano rod.

Air Pressure: 1018-1020

Humidity: 59%-69%

Overall Success Rate: 20% - a fun 9hrs

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Sorry for yet another boring report. 

Cheers Hamish

[kmcrosby78]

Crikey, that's a long session Hamish. Hope you had sunscreen on your feet ........ .

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

18 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Crikey, that's a long session Hamish. Hope you had sunscreen on your feet ........ .

Yep. Somehow I didn't get burnt at all. Hopefully next time the long hours will lead to something decent. 

[charlie.hans.fishing]

Thanks for including me in this report Hamish. 

Although the fishing was dismal, it was great to spend a day out on the water with you like always. 

Really quite disappointing though as we had good livies, had a decent position on the jetty, good tides, etc. 

I should've started flicking a little piece of prawn into the rock wall earlier. This is because we had very little bait by the end of the day. A did get some nibbles, but they were probably toadfish or 10cm bream, just picking my bait of the hook.

If you want my rod and reel stats for future reports when we go out again soon; Reel: Shimano AX4000FB. Rod: Shimano Sonic Pro 732 6-8kg. 

 

Cheers, Charlie 

 

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

17 hours ago, TheCharliefisho said:

Thanks for including me in this report Hamish. 

Although the fishing was dismal, it was great to spend a day out on the water with you like always. 

Really quite disappointing though as we had good livies, had a decent position on the jetty, good tides, etc. 

I should've started flicking a little piece of prawn into the rock wall earlier. This is because we had very little bait by the end of the day. A did get some nibbles, but they were probably toadfish or 10cm bream, just picking my bait of the hook.

If you want my rod and reel stats for future reports when we go out again soon; Reel: Shimano AX4000FB. Rod: Shimano Sonic Pro 732 6-8kg. 

 

Cheers, Charlie 

 

 

No worries Charlie. It's like that sometimes. Hopefully the next time we fish you will have better luck.