queensland Best Birthday Present Ever!

[Kat]

Hi All 

I asked the BF to take a day or two off work so we could go fishing for my birthday, thinking the Gold Coast or Moreton Bay, maybe an overnight trip.  He decided it would be a great birthday present if he could get me on to my first Barra.  So today we are heading to Rockhampton for 9 days hopefully most of which will be dedicated to fishing!  Whoo Hoo!! Best BF ever.

We will be fishing the Fitzroy and weather permitting the reefs off Yeppoon.  I know nothing about fishing the area except what I have learner over the last few days.  Expect we will be chasing Barra, Threadfin Salmon and Coral Trout.  

Any advice about fishing the area would be much appreciated.  

Also if anyone can direct me to a couple of Yabby banks that would be great .

I really hope to be posting some fishing reports soon.

Cheers Kat

 

 

 

[ellicat]

Good luck Kat. You are sooo excited, I hope you do well.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

I hope you catch some good fish Kat. Here are some very old reports from the area, but they may help with location if you plan to fish from Yeppoon -

Cheers Hamish

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

There are supposedly yabby banks on the ocean side of Causeway Lake in Yeppoon too, and herring/bony bream can be easily caught in the harbour if you throw off the wharfs (at Rosslyn Harbour). 

Happy birthday!  

[Angry51]

He's a keeper!!!

Hope you enjoy your trip Kat and catch heaps.

Cant help with locations as I haven't been there

for yonks,

Have fun.

[ellicat]

Also,  HAPPY BIRTHDAY. 

[Angry51]

Yes, the most important part, " HAPPY BIRTHDAY ".

[kmcrosby78]

Happy birthday @Kat - hope you have an awesome trip and catch a few fish as well .

[Ed.]

Happy Birthday Kat, Enjoy your trip and catch heaps .

[Gad]

Happy Birthday Kat, hope you have a great 9 days up there.

Please be aware that there are crocodiles up that way. The Fitzroy has a reasonably sized population of them and they are around the river's town reaches and some are often seen swimming near the main traffic bridge in Rocky itself.
Crocs have also been sighted at beaches in the Causeway Lake area.

 

[Kat]

On 27/05/2022 at 12:52 PM, Gad said:

Happy Birthday Kat, hope you have a great 9 days up there.

Please be aware that there are crocodiles up that way. The Fitzroy has a reasonably sized population of them and they are around the river's town reaches and some are often seen swimming near the main traffic bridge in Rocky itself.
Crocs have also been sighted at beaches in the Causeway Lake area.

 

Yes thanks for the warning - luckily I was aware because my BF's parents live in Rocky.  I have been anxious about a croc since the plan was made for the holidays.  Was wondering whether it was going to be safe to even pump yabbies if I found them.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

So any luck yet Kat?

[Gad]

12 hours ago, Kat said:

Yes thanks for the warning - luckily I was aware because my BF's parents live in Rocky.  I have been anxious about a croc since the plan was made for the holidays.  Was wondering whether it was going to be safe to even pump yabbies if I found them.

Cheers Kat. I have adult children and their partners living in Rocky and all are keen fisho's, so I'm often geting reports of sightings off them.
One just needs to be aware that they are part of the system, the out of the way creeks in the Fitzroy are the higher concern areas.... but in saying that any where there is still a concern area

 

[Kat]

Got it and understood!  Thanks for making me not feel so paranoid!

P.S. Hamish and everyone - fishing report (s) coming soon - just need to stop fishing and get my laptop out - hoping that is easier than trying to figure out how to organise the photos on my report on my phone.

Sneek preview lol:

 

[Hweebe]

Happy birthday @Kat I'm yet to get onto my first Barra, but have friends in Rocky that are adamant they could get me onto a Barra right in the city!

Hope you tick the 1m barra off your list for your Birthday!

[peterjones]

Hey , Happy Birthday in advance and post pictures from your trip sound awesome . Good luck and safe journey .

[Drop Bear]

Happy Birthday Kat,

There are some great impoundments up that way if you are wanting a Barra and don't like crocs

 

[Kat]

Managed to score an extra day up here.  This is our last day on the water.  Started early - reports coming when I get back.  Too much fishing being done to get out the laptop.  Must get @ellicatto teach me how to post pics properly from phone.

This morning's sunrise:

 

[Angry51]

Kat, I think you're just teasing us, with a photo here and there.

When do we see the real thing?

[Kat]

Sort of teasing but not really.  Tried to post a report on the 3rd day but couldn't get pics to play ball.  Since then have almost been fishing every day, then cleaning eating sleeping and fishing again.  Got back last night and went fishing again this morning!  After filleting and cleaning boat tomorrow I will get out the laptop!

[Angry51]

What's for tea?

I suppose you're having fish.

[Kat]

Pea and ham soup

[rayke1938]

Thick pea and ham soup with chili chorizo floating in it

Edited June 5, 2022 by rayke1938

[ellicat]

On 05/06/2022 at 5:50 PM, Kat said:

Sort of teasing but not really.  Tried to post a report on the 3rd day but couldn't get pics to play ball.  Since then have almost been fishing every day, then cleaning eating sleeping and fishing again.  Got back last night and went fishing again this morning!  After filleting and cleaning boat tomorrow I will get out the laptop!

Come on, Kat. We're all waiting for you to relive the week with a report. Everyone I talk to has been following your fishing progress for 2 years.

[Kat]

Yeah I am slack.  BF keeps hassling me too!  I will get laptop out and do a report on the first couple of days.  Will have to be in installments

[Kat]

Day 1, 2 & 3 Rockhampton/Yeppoon Trip

My Birthday was basically spent packing and driving 8.5 hours to Rockhampton to stay with the BF's (Brett) parents for 9 nights.  Luckily they are well aware of his fishing habits so we weren't expected to spend a lot of time sight seeing etc.  We arrived late Thursday afternoon.  Discussions about plans for the next day saw us sourcing some good bait and a few other bits and pieces the next day.  Checking out the Fitzroy River and boat ramp, talk to tackle shops about local fishing, pump yabbies in the early afternoon at the causeway and then fish a local creek in the afternoon/early evening (early to bed due to the weather looking great for an offshore trip on Saturday and Sunday.

Day 1 (Friday)came and boat preparations were made and we set off to look at the Fitzroy River and boat ramp in Rockhampton.  Given the mission was to catch my first Barra or Threadfin I was sorely disappointed when we arrived at the boat ramp and it was closed and the river looked like it was running very very fresh with weed and what looked like lilies growing on the river surface.

 

 

We then headed to the first tackle shop - wasn't impressed with the assistance/service received but we grabbed a box of squid.  Pillies were Tweed Bait and didn't look great so gave them a miss, he confirmed that the river was running fresh but says he never gets any reports from his customers so didn't know what was being caught (very strange - but we didn't go back there during the trip so maybe that was why).  Headed to the next tackle shop - Barra Jacks Rockhampton.  Customer service there was much better there as were the pillies.  Advice was that the river was not fishing well and was indeed fresh.  As I found out the Fitzroy River has the second largest catchment in Australia, so while Rockhampton had not received as much rain as SE Queensland - the river had. 

A quick trip back to base to separate the bait into day trip size portions and we were off to pump yabbies, (thanks @AUS-BNE-FISHO!) and have a fish in a local creek called Coorooman Creek.  The drive from base is about 45 to 50 minutes to the causeway.  Not long before we arrived I had a sinking feeling - had I left the sounder on the outside dining table where we were preparing the fishing gear?  Or had Brett remembered to grab it and put it in the boat?  The answer was yes I had, and no he hadn't . 

A decision was made to make the most of my error, pump yabbies and then check out the Rossyln Bay Marina boat ramp and then go and check out the boat ramp at Coorooman Creek.  We arrived at the Causeway for my favourite activity - there was nowhere to safely park the boat so Brett stayed at the car while I followed some fellow yabby pumpers down a track to the waters edge.  I am not ashamed to say that I was very very nervous about approaching the water to fill the bucket.  There were yabby holes at the waters edge which looked productive but I just could not get the picture of a crocodile dragging me in out of my head!  So anxiety getting the better of me I pumped where everyone else was about 10 to 15 metres above the waterline.  I was very disappointed at the size of the yabbies - babies compared to what I usually pump.

We were taking these "offshore" in the morning.  The causeway was beautiful:

We then made the reasonably short trip to Rossyln Bay Marina boat ramp - well equipped with plenty of parking.  Two separate pontoons with three ramps in total.  We then made our way to Coorooman Creek Boat ramp which I think is about a 20 minute drive - first time in Croc Country so had to take these photos:

These boys didn't appear worried  

After talking to locals at the ramp and picking brains we were off to base for an early night and very very early morning.  Weather still looked fanastic and I had high hopes for my first Coral Trout.

Day 2 Saturday morning:

So one of the things I found out when we did our first offshore mission on the Gold Coast in my boat was that I find it very difficult to get my anxiety levels down when travelling somewhere unknown, particularly offshore, in the dark.  The trip from Rossyln Bay Marina was no exception but thankfully there is no bar to cross and the swell is not the same as it isn't really offshore until you get the other side of the Keppel Islands.  Before I left I had downloaded some online GPS marks and we headed to the first one.  We barely had a touch for hours except for landings some small reef sharks and being snipped off by other sharks.  We headed to another spot and still nothing - except sharks and pickers.  The day went very slowly.  We headed back into fish closer to the shoreline and I caught yet another reef shark.  I had been keeping an eye on the sounder all day (recently did half of a Ryan Moody sounder course) and was keen to see if I could learn more.  Most of the larger fish I was seeing were well off the bottom and I was assuming these were the sharks. 

We decided to try out one more of the publicly available GPS marks and as we approached there were three other boats right on the mark - a little annoying but given the weather window not surprising.  We pulled up not too close to the other boats but a little off the actual mark and just as the boat was slowing down I looked at the sounder and saw a reasonably large school of what looked like reasonably large fish on the sounder.  I basically said lets anchor right here right now as it is the best show I had seen all day.  Luckily we could see which way the other boats were sitting making the job of anchoring in the right spot a little quicker.  We shortly had our lines in the water.  Squid.  Two dropper hooks - 4/0's I think.  Brett had his Live Fibre Rod I bought from Greg for his Birthday and a new 4000 Daiwa reel.  I was using my usual Shimano Snapper Rod and a 5000 vanford.  Within a minute or two my drag started making that sound that we all dream about day and night.  I landed my first Barred Grunter measuring 51cm!  I was very happy.  About a minute later Brett landed another 51cm.  We dealt with the fish took a quick snap on the brag mat and then lines back in the water - at this point Brett was almost yelling at me to get the lines in the water quick smart.  He has fished for Grunter for a very long time - I have not.  Brett's drag quickly went again and I asked if he needed the net - he said yes.  I netted his second grunter this one measuring 62cm!   I was impressed with this fish so had to get a snap or two:

 

I think it was at this point that I got a hit and was bitten off (can't actually recall but while Brett had his line back in the water I was retying something) - a minute or so later Brett's drag was making that delicious noise again and I asked if he needed me to net it - pointing out I was desperately trying to retie my rig.  He said no and grabbed the net himself.  After a fight that went a little longer than the first two he landed another Grunter this one was a beast and measured 71cm:

I was very excited to catch another grunter and with my rig back in the water was disappointed to spend the rest of the time at the spot getting snipped off by sharks.  I thought I had learned my lesson after the last trip with Brian but I was not organised enough - should have had two outfits so I could have had my line back in the water while the school was still there!

I think we tried one more spot for nothing then headed back for another trip "offshore" the next day.  While we were at the spot catching grunter it was clear to us that we had been very very lucky to come across that school as we did - the rest of the boats were catching sharks, being sharked, or catching nothing. It was just on dark by the time we got the boat out of the water. 

Day 3 Sunday - Offshore from Rossyln Bay again - planning on heading straight to the "Grunter" spot.  We launched much later today about 10/11am when some of the other boats were returning.  That was the plan as neither of us could face another 2am wake up after the mammoth effort the day before.  I was correct a number of boats were returning but the parking was still pretty much full.  Brett was lucky to get a park closer than the day before.

So the weather was better than Saturday but the fishing was about the same - minus the Grunter.  We pulled up at the spot we were successful the day before hoping for further luck.  I got a small mackerel and the rest of the time it was sharks either small reefies being landed and discarded.  Brett was lucky enough to have a shark sharked:

 

We tried a few other spots into the evening to no avail - except for a multitude of undersized honeycomb cod? No pics and then I caught this which Brian identified as a Gold Spot Sweetlips (thanks @ellicat) - it was about 41 to 42cm.  It was released to the esky.

 

Next instalment shouldn't be too far away as I have now managed to figure out how to insert pictures correctly.  I think.

[Angry51]

Off to a good start Kat/Brett. I always found it hard going in unfamiliar surroundings,

takes awhile to settle in. Photo's look good.

Bring on the next episode.

That weed is not good to get tangled in.

[ellicat]

Mammoth grunters !  You two must have been stoked. What bait ?

Great to see a shark getting sharked...should be more of it I reckon. Would not like to have met the one that attacked though.

Did you see any crocs ?

I actually checked with @benno573 on the Gold spot sweetlips as I haven't caught one for about 20 years, so didn't trust myself.

[Kat]

Yes it was good to see a shark getting sharked.  Shortly after that he got another shark that was almost sharked as well. Brett was bringing it up and it started doing another mad dash and he saw a bigger shadow chasing it.  I tried to get film but missed the bigger one

[Kat]

Oh and no I didn't end up seeing any Crocs.  It would have been exciting but sort of glad I didn't

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Great work Kat, those are some huge grunter ! 

[Kat]

Just now, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Great work Kat, those are some huge grunter ! 

Unfortunately the big ones aren't mine .  But I keep telling myself that Brett has probably 36 years more fishing experience than me - just so I don't get too depressed.  But yes it was a thrill to see him bring up the big ones.  A fillet from the biggest wouldn't even fit into the largest pan we have.  

[ellicat]

I'd be over the moon with a 51.

[Kat]

6 minutes ago, ellicat said:

I'd be over the moon with a 51.

Ha ha.  Yeah I was until the larger models came up on Brett's line - have to work on my gratefulness I suppose

[Kat]

Forgot to add photos of the two 51cm models

[Drop Bear]

NICE!!!

yum. I bet you ate well. 

The shark that sharked the shark was quite a shark.

I wonder if the shark that sharked the shark got sharked while sharking the shark?

[Kat]

1 minute ago, Drop Bear said:

NICE!!!

yum. I bet you ate well.

Actually only had one small feed of Grunter while we were there.  Barely at base for meals fishing way too much to eat anything other than Sandwhiches on board the boat.  Took vac sealer and portable freezer so fish is fresh frozen ready to eat a meal at a time.  I know what I plan on eating next - never tried it or caught it before.  But that will be in the next instalment.

[Angry51]

27 minutes ago, Kat said:

 I know what I plan on eating next - never tried it or caught it before.  But that will be in the next instalment.

Probably bloody FISH.

[ellicat]

30 minutes ago, Angry51 said:

Probably bloody FISH.

or crocodile.

[Drop Bear]

17 hours ago, ellicat said:

or crocodile.

Delicious. @Angus pop corn croc?