queensland Brisbane River Session #155

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

On Sunday @TheCharliefisho and I decided to head out to a spot on the Brisbane River, soaking some livies. It was about 2/3 tide by the time we arrived at quarter to seven, and the tide was pumping. It was a little chilly but we got straight to cast netting. Off the jetty, bait was proving tricky to find, so we went for a quick walk to chuck the net in some shallower water. This wasn't very fruitful but we managed a few little herring, scat, and a strip bait sized mullet.

My dad soon headed off and left us to fishing. We had 4 lines out, and hopes of a fish were high. The weather certainly wasn't great, and after a couple hours of nothing at all (except some picker attacks and a snag or two), we were chattering in the rain and wind. Luckily for us the sun came out to shine a little while later, which made fishing much more pleasant. 

A boat was coming towards the jetty to moor up so we got our lines in. To our surprise, a mud crab had taken two lines and become entangled in them. On closer expectation, it was a Jenny. It wasn't huge but if it was male it probably would've been legal size to keep (maybe 16/17cm shell). I picked her up and dehooked it (as the hook was through the claw) and after a few minutes it was ready to be released. Charlie also picked it up quickly and got a pic with it - 

Crab

After that was released, we got back to fishing. I had been continuously casting the net throughout the day but annoyingly I had only managed small biddies, glassies, and ponyfish, so I resorted to chucking a strip of mullet out on a heavy rod (the crab ate mullet gut/live bait combos). I kept netting, and the bite had definitely gone quiet. There was still no one else on the jetty which was nice, because it does get crowded at this spot. Eventually, I managed a nice sized silver biddy. This was deployed but to my dismay, after about 45 minutes it was pickered to bits. I redeployed the remaining pieces and hoped for a bite.

There was some action on one of my rods, so Charlie got it and started fighting the fish. It was on for about ten seconds, but when it went for a quick run it snapped us off on some structure. This was on a mullet fillet so I reckon it might've been a squire. 

About an hour later, when more clouds were out, I noticed a couple nibbles on a rod I had out with a small strip of mullet. I dismissed it as a picker and got back to cast netting. When I went to bait check the rod I was pleased to find a 31CM bream on the end. It didn't fight at all, which has happened before with bream, so I guess it must have just been a lazy fish. Charlie wanted to keep it so I bled it and put it in the esky. 

Pickers

After that, it went a bit quiet again. The rain had all cleared up atleast, and it was just a bit cloudy. We continued checking and rebaiting fishing lines, and lots of our baits apart from live scat suffered from picker attacks. Eventually one of my rods went off - I was hoping it might be a better bream or squire but after Charlie fought the fish for a little while we were disappointed to see a catfish surface.

I continued netting and came across a few more little Ponyfish, as well as a decent size garfish and pike (random lol). I deployed the pike whole - annoyingly it had died in the net - but the pickers didn't seem to mind as it only lasted around 15 minutes. I was checking my lines, and I went to cast my Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod out. Unfortunately, the top guide flew off when the leader knot hit it - after 7 years of service I am quite satisfied... And it is still a pretty easy fix. 

The garfish was deployed and I got back to cast netting. I got a little silver biddy, so I figured there was at least some bait to use for the next cast. Another fella rocked up now, so I had a quick chat. At that time, the garfish line went off - it was a slow run, and I had already done a baitcheck and it looked quite lively. I figure it was just a small bream as it didn't end up hooking up anyways. 

I chucked the silver biddy out now, and about 1 minute later the overhead was going off. I decided to wind this one in, and another bream, with a slightly deformed tail, came up. Charlie wanted to keep this one too, so seeing as though it was 27CM it was bled and put in the esky. Someone I knew came down now as well, and another fella who I watch on Youtube also arrived. We had a quick chat but he didn't stay for long as it was quite crowded, but the other fella did. He hooked a nice fish on some live herring he got, and a little squire (40cm) surfaced. That was pretty cool!

I took a photo of the squire, and then continued chatting to him. He is very keen on releasing fish, and kindly gave my a venting needle to help release threadies that I catch. He also showed me his method of casting the net, which was great. It was similar to the way I throw but it is always good to know a couple of different methods in my opinion. As I was talking to this fella, a guy on a bike with some gear rocked up. I was warned that he didn't let anything go at all, killed everything he caught regardless of size, and spoke no English at all so was impossible to speak to about the laws. I witnessed this furthermore when he somehow struck lucky and pulled up a 80cm thready, which he was throwing around on the jetty and scaling all alive. Not huge but still sad to see. To make it worse it was on a tiny bit of dead herring, . The fella who I was chatting to also informed me that threadies do not breed until 96CM, which is an interesting statistic. If it is true then the legal size limit is a little small.  At about 4:30PM Charlie and I left - yet another crappy session!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this report. Here are the trip stats for anyone interested:

Tide: 4am High, 2.4M, 11AM, .6M, Low, 5:45PM, 1.8M, High

Moon Phase: 45%, Waning Gibbous

Time Fished: 10.5hrs

Fish Caught: Bream x 2, Catfish x 1, Mud Crab x 1. Others got Squire x 1, Thready x 1, Catfish x 1. 

Bait Caught: Herring garfish, pike, silver biddies, ponyfish, scat, glassies

Tackle Used: I used 20 and 30 pound braided mainlines, 30 and 50 pound fluoro leaders, size 2/o, 4/o, 6/o circle hooks, size 3 and 4 star sinkers, large barrel swivels, Abu Garcia Barra King 650 on Ugly Stik, Abu Garcia Nexus on old Penn SSM, Shimano Baitrunner Aero on Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod. 

Bait Used: Live herring garfish, pike, silver biddies, ponyfish, scat, glassies

Air Pressure: 1017-1019

Humidity: 75%-87%

Overall Success Rate: 20% - crap fishing but fun with Charlie

Cheers Hamish

[kmcrosby78]

Despite your lack of success Hamish I'd be taking heart from the fact a 40cm squire and 80cm thready were caught - hopefully good signs for future sessions.

[Angry51]

Good on ya Charlie/Hamish that you stick to the rules,

no matter what others do, it will pay off in the long run.

Any day fishing is a good day out with your mates.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

32 minutes ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Despite your lack of success Hamish I'd be taking heart from the fact a 40cm squire and 80cm thready were caught - hopefully good signs for future sessions.

 

8 minutes ago, Angry51 said:

Good on ya Charlie/Hamish that you stick to the rules,

no matter what others do, it will pay off in the long run.

Any day fishing is a good day out with your mates.

Thanks Angry and KM. Hopefully next time we can catch something better.  

[ellicat]

Sounds like an enjoyable day despite only landing a few.

I don't think there's anything wrong with keeping legal fish, but scaling it alive...

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

2 hours ago, ellicat said:

Sounds like an enjoyable day despite only landing a few.

I don't think there's anything wrong with keeping legal fish, but scaling it alive...

Thanks Brian. Yep, I agree with you - I also think the fish should be treated decently as opposed to throwing around, etc. I didn't mean to sound against keeping fish in the report, just being excessively cruel to them. 

Cheers Hamish

[ellicat]

41 minutes ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

just being excessively cruel to them.

Agree, except for pike eels. haha

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

3 hours ago, ellicat said:

Agree, except for pike eels. haha

[charlie.hans.fishing]

On 25/04/2022 at 7:41 PM, Angry51 said:

Good on ya Charlie/Hamish that you stick to the rules,

no matter what others do, it will pay off in the long run.

Any day fishing is a good day out with your mates.

Sure is mate

[charlie.hans.fishing]

On 25/04/2022 at 6:41 PM, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Hi all

On Sunday @TheCharliefisho and I decided to head out to a spot on the Brisbane River, soaking some livies. It was about 2/3 tide by the time we arrived at quarter to seven, and the tide was pumping. It was a little chilly but we got straight to cast netting. Off the jetty, bait was proving tricky to find, so we went for a quick walk to chuck the net in some shallower water. This wasn't very fruitful but we managed a few little herring, scat, and a strip bait sized mullet.

My dad soon headed off and left us to fishing. We had 4 lines out, and hopes of a fish were high. The weather certainly wasn't great, and after a couple hours of nothing at all (except some picker attacks and a snag or two), we were chattering in the rain and wind. Luckily for us the sun came out to shine a little while later, which made fishing much more pleasant. 

A boat was coming towards the jetty to moor up so we got our lines in. To our surprise, a mud crab had taken two lines and become entangled in them. On closer expectation, it was a Jenny. It wasn't huge but if it was male it probably would've been legal size to keep (maybe 16/17cm shell). I picked her up and dehooked it (as the hook was through the claw) and after a few minutes it was ready to be released. Charlie also picked it up quickly and got a pic with it - 

Crab

After that was released, we got back to fishing. I had been continuously casting the net throughout the day but annoyingly I had only managed small biddies, glassies, and ponyfish, so I resorted to chucking a strip of mullet out on a heavy rod (the crab ate mullet gut/live bait combos). I kept netting, and the bite had definitely gone quiet. There was still no one else on the jetty which was nice, because it does get crowded at this spot. Eventually, I managed a nice sized silver biddy. This was deployed but to my dismay, after about 45 minutes it was pickered to bits. I redeployed the remaining pieces and hoped for a bite.

There was some action on one of my rods, so Charlie got it and started fighting the fish. It was on for about ten seconds, but when it went for a quick run it snapped us off on some structure. This was on a mullet fillet so I reckon it might've been a squire. 

About an hour later, when more clouds were out, I noticed a couple nibbles on a rod I had out with a small strip of mullet. I dismissed it as a picker and got back to cast netting. When I went to bait check the rod I was pleased to find a 31CM bream on the end. It didn't fight at all, which has happened before with bream, so I guess it must have just been a lazy fish. Charlie wanted to keep it so I bled it and put it in the esky. 

Pickers

After that, it went a bit quiet again. The rain had all cleared up atleast, and it was just a bit cloudy. We continued checking and rebaiting fishing lines, and lots of our baits apart from live scat suffered from picker attacks. Eventually one of my rods went off - I was hoping it might be a better bream or squire but after Charlie fought the fish for a little while we were disappointed to see a catfish surface.

I continued netting and came across a few more little Ponyfish, as well as a decent size garfish and pike (random lol). I deployed the pike whole - annoyingly it had died in the net - but the pickers didn't seem to mind as it only lasted around 15 minutes. I was checking my lines, and I went to cast my Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod out. Unfortunately, the top guide flew off when the leader knot hit it - after 7 years of service I am quite satisfied... And it is still a pretty easy fix. 

The garfish was deployed and I got back to cast netting. I got a little silver biddy, so I figured there was at least some bait to use for the next cast. Another fella rocked up now, so I had a quick chat. At that time, the garfish line went off - it was a slow run, and I had already done a baitcheck and it looked quite lively. I figure it was just a small bream as it didn't end up hooking up anyways. 

I chucked the silver biddy out now, and about 1 minute later the overhead was going off. I decided to wind this one in, and another bream, with a slightly deformed tail, came up. Charlie wanted to keep this one too, so seeing as though it was 27CM it was bled and put in the esky. Someone I knew came down now as well, and another fella who I watch on Youtube also arrived. We had a quick chat but he didn't stay for long as it was quite crowded, but the other fella did. He hooked a nice fish on some live herring he got, and a little squire (40cm) surfaced. That was pretty cool!

I took a photo of the squire, and then continued chatting to him. He is very keen on releasing fish, and kindly gave my a venting needle to help release threadies that I catch. He also showed me his method of casting the net, which was great. It was similar to the way I throw but it is always good to know a couple of different methods in my opinion. As I was talking to this fella, a guy on a bike with some gear rocked up. I was warned that he didn't let anything go at all, killed everything he caught regardless of size, and spoke no English at all so was impossible to speak to about the laws. I witnessed this furthermore when he somehow struck lucky and pulled up a 80cm thready, which he was throwing around on the jetty and scaling all alive. Not huge but still sad to see. To make it worse it was on a tiny bit of dead herring, . The fella who I was chatting to also informed me that threadies do not breed until 96CM, which is an interesting statistic. If it is true then the legal size limit is a little small.  At about 4:30PM Charlie and I left - yet another crappy session!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this report. Here are the trip stats for anyone interested:

Tide: 4am High, 2.4M, 11AM, .6M, Low, 5:45PM, 1.8M, High

Moon Phase: 45%, Waning Gibbous

Time Fished: 10.5hrs

Fish Caught: Bream x 2, Catfish x 1, Mud Crab x 1. Others got Squire x 1, Thready x 1, Catfish x 1. 

Bait Caught: Herring garfish, pike, silver biddies, ponyfish, scat, glassies

Tackle Used: I used 20 and 30 pound braided mainlines, 30 and 50 pound fluoro leaders, size 2/o, 4/o, 6/o circle hooks, size 3 and 4 star sinkers, large barrel swivels, Abu Garcia Barra King 650 on Ugly Stik, Abu Garcia Nexus on old Penn SSM, Shimano Baitrunner Aero on Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod. 

Bait Used: Live herring garfish, pike, silver biddies, ponyfish, scat, glassies

Air Pressure: 1017-1019

Humidity: 75%-87%

Overall Success Rate: 20% - crap fishing but fun with Charlie

Cheers Hamish

Thanks for the report Hamish. 

Was a good read. 

That muddy was a fun little by-catch. It was safe to say we both caught considering it took the hooks from either of our rods! lol.

Regardless of the weather and fishing being a little crappy it was nice to take home a couple legal bream. If we had caught anymore that were legal I wouldn't have kept them. 2 is certainly enough for a little feed. I can't believe that 31cm breambo just pickered the bait and didn't fight a bit! Imagine the fight that thing might have put up on light gear! 

It was real nice to see a youtuber: Nigies Squidgies https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsAGvnk36Eo1GsHbzYu-AUw

He's a nice fella and I hope to run into him again in the future for a chat. 

Your mate who caught the 40cm squire was pretty cool, and so was the catch!

Even the other dude with his girlfriend caught one of those grudgeon things on a jig off the side of the place we were fishing. 

The dude who caught the thready and treated that nice fish like trash really annoyed me. I couldn't say I wasn't jealous but i find it ridiculous that people like that somehow catch nice fish and guys like us who spent the whole day out on the water caught basically jack-all. Props to him for catching it though. Proves that sometimes you don't always need the best gear and livies to catch something nice. I would personally say he caught it out of pure luck though 

- Charlie 

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

No worries Charlie, hopefully next time you will catch some better fish. I hope you enjoyed the bream. 

[Sunny boy]

On 27/04/2022 at 2:44 PM, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

No worries Charlie, hopefully next time you will catch some better fish. I hope you enjoyed the bream. 

Hi Hamish, it's a good report with lot of details. Just a question about the bream you caught with deformed tail. I caught one with deformed tail too from the river. Do you know anything about what caused the deformed tail? Cheers

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

3 minutes ago, Sunny boy said:

Hi Hamish, it's a good report with lot of details. Just a question about the bream you caught with deformed tail. I caught one with deformed tail too from the river. Do you know anything about what caused the deformed tail? Cheers

Hi  Sunny

It could have been bitten off by something when the bream was smaller, or it might’ve been a deformity at birth. Either way the fish was still healthy.

Hamish