Moreton Island 17.07.2022 - 26.07.2022

[benno573]

Hi all,

Decided to take the family over to Moreton for a bit of R&R.

 

Unfortunately, after booking everything and arranging the annual leave and all that... an East Coast Low popped up on the weather charts that looked determined to try and ruin our good time.  With this in the back of my mind, we jumped on the Micat and headed over.

 

After an easy run up the eastern beach and a challenging run up the hill behind cape cliff, we soon arrived at north point campground.  I was rather stoked to see my favourite and also the most sheltered spot in the whole campground was available.  To be fair, most sites were available, there was only 1 other camp set up.

 

After a speedy but thorough set up involving far more ropes, tarps and big sand pegs than usual, we headed off for a walk up the beach to north point for a look around.  I had a few flicks with a slug to see if I could find something for dinner, unfortunately no luck.

 

I was up early the next morning and up to the rocks where I found a very flat ocean with minimal wave action - not ideal conditions.  Had quite a few casts and managed to land a tailor at about 45cm and a gold spot trevally roughly the same size - not quite enough for the required 3 feeds of fish for the trip but certainly a good start.

 

Given the cracking weather, we decided to head over to what we call "secret beach".  It's not really a secret but it's not easy to get to and with a 2.5 yr old on your shoulders it makes it even more challenging.  It's a cracking little spot, quite sheltered, heaps of awesome rock pools and great rock fishing opportunities as well.  We were greeted by a pod of dolphins and a couple of whales all of 150m off the rocks which made the wee one rather excited.  I headed out to my favourite rock to try and grab a few more fillets for the fridge before the wind and swell meant I couldn't fish there for the remainder of the week.  I had the fish frames from the trevally and tailor to hack some baits off with plastics as a back up.  With minimal wave action, it was a bit like fishing in an aquarium, you could see large bream cruising around the rocks but they were too clever to take a bait.  After half an hour of no action, I finally got an enquiry and a spirited argument ensued with what turned out to be a 43cm white trevally.  he was despatched, and a new bait deployed.  within 2 minutes I was on again and the result was another white trevally, just slightly smaller.  Plenty of fish for 3 meals now, quick feed of oysters from the rocks and back to explore rock pools with the wee one.  We headed back towards the car and stopped on the headland to watch two whales travel past about 100m off the rocks.

 

tuesday morning the neighbours packed up leaving the campground all to us which was nice.  the wind was up a bit and we just played around on the beach in front of camp.  after lunch the wind really kicked up so we were a bit limited with where we could go but still managed to have a bit of fun on the beach.  I had a bit of a half-hearted flick in some gutters for one long tom and not a lot else.

 

wednesday the wind was up to about 30kn with some showers about so we went for a drive and took in the 5 hills lookout, and then went down to a nice sheltered corner of the beach and built some sandcastles and whatnot.  there was a heap of bait in around some coffee rocks but i couldn't get a touch so i didn't persist for very long.

 

Thursday was starting to get pretty ordinary, the swell was about 3m and 30kn+ SE with showers.  nothing else for it, had a very long, slow breakfast, added even more reinforcements to the structures, jumped in the car and headed over to bulwer for some hot chips and ice cream. We hung out on the western beach which was a bit more sheltered until a shower chased us back inside the car.  we checked the wind and saw it was gusting up to 48kn already and only set to get worse.  we had a break in the showers briefly on the way home so we stopped on the beach for a bit of a run around before the tide started pushing in and we had to head off.  we made it back to camp and i re-tensioned all ropes, hit the pegs a few more times with a bigger hammer and poured an extra strong drink to keep me warm.  a rather noisy and restless nights sleep was had by the big people in the tent, thankfully the wee one was tired out and slept through all the wind and showers.

 

Friday morning was still ef windy but not too bad on the rain front... until about 9:30.  We hopped back in the car and went for a drive down the eastern beach.  despite it being low tide, the huge swell was pushing the waves almost up to the dunes in places, leaving not a lot of space in places.  I drove past what I thought was a log - until it stuck its head up for a look.  I hit the anchors and backed up and we watched the australian fur seal go for a walk down the beach and back into the surf.  never seen one other than in WA/SA so that was pretty cool to see.  We went for a long, slow drive around and ended up back at camp where we shut ourselves into the tent and stayed there for the afternoon while the weather raged outside.  we had lightning and thunder, the whole works.  We got a brief reprieve in rain and managed to shower and cook dinner before it set in again.  another restless night followed.

 

saturday morning we woke to a still howling wind and intermittent showers, however, there was certainly signs things were improving.  by about 9am, there was even big patches of funny looking blue stuff above us!  We wasted no time getting down to the beach, just on foot as the swell was still pushing in and HARD.  We sat up on top of north point and watched the spectacle of the swell and wind for a good hour.  We then had some fun on a makeshift slippery dip down one of the sand cliffs carved out by the swell.  after lunch and a bit of a nap, the weather was really starting to come good so we headed down the beach for a bit of soccer and climbed to the top of yellowpatch to watch the sun set.

 

Sunday morning was still a bit windy but bright and sunny so we headed up to the beach around tailor bight where there is generally a complete lack of people and some nice gutters for flatties.  unfortunately no-one had told the flatties that day and after a bite off from a long tom i gave up.  with the tide nearing dead low, we decided to drive up to the rocks around north point for a bit of a play there.  The swell was still around 2.5-3m, however, on the low tide there was one safe rock i could stand on.  i only had my light 2-4kg rod matched up with 8lb line so i threw a 20g slug out into the wash.  the tailor were there, hungry and not small!  i shortly had three fish landed which was a real challenge on the light gear with the big swell.  unfortunately when fighting the fourth, it was all too much for my reel that snapped.  i tried hard to land the fish which was a big tailor, unfortunately one jump right at the rocks threw the hook.  I jumped in the car and went back to camp quickly and grabbed by more serious rock spinning outfit and raced back up to the rock before the tide came in and chased me off.  i was able to throw a 40g slug on this outfit and get a bit more distance.  what followed was one of the most insane tailor sessions I have had.  literally a fish a cast, all big fish over 50cm long.  i even managed to land a large dart and a queenfish in amongst it all.  i released most of the fish, but kept a few for a family who i had promised a couple to if they were still biting.  after that, we went back to camp, had some lunch, did some filleting and bubs went for a sleep.  i went for a walk again, no chance of getting anywhere near the rocks on the higher tide, i had a flick off the beach to no avail, i couldn't quite get the lure out to the back edge of the gutter.  that afternoon we went down to the beach to feed the pelicans some tailor frames which was a big hit with the wee one.  she then got bored with it and started off climbing up yellowpatch again, this shortly turned into a piggy back and a lot of puffing on my behalf (not as much as @ellicat walking from the couch to the fridge though).

 

monday was an absolute cracker, we loaded up the toys and headed over to tangalooma for a kayak and SUP around the wrecks.  i had shot down the beach early and landed a tailor which was destined to be cut up to use as fish food.  I actually landed 9 in 12 casts but released the rest.  we had a great morning cruising around the wrecks looking at the fish, crabs, birds etc, followed by hot chippies at bulwer and the obligatory ice cream as well.  we headed back to camp, i went for one final flick while bub napped, i landed one first cast and released it.  a guy then came over and asked if he could have one for dinner, next cast that request was sorted, an older couple asked the same and they got one each in the following two casts.  i could have stayed there all afternoon but time and tide was catching up so i had to head back to camp.

 

that's pretty much it - packed up and headed off on the 11am micat on tuesday morning.  we did pass a dead whale on the beach on the way which was pretty sad to see, not sure what the issue was but kind of glad i had the windows up

 

cheers for reading - this might even rival some of @AUS-BNE-FISHO reports for length! 

 

benno <'><

 

[Angry51]

Great report Benno.

Shame about the weather but some quality family

time spent there.

[benno573]

1 hour ago, Angry51 said:

Great report Benno.

Shame about the weather but some quality family

time spent there.

Yeah, not ideal but made the best of what we had! 

[ellicat]

Nice write-up mate. Apart from a couple of wild weather days, that you made the most of, it sounded like a great trip. Quality thick tailor too.

[allgearnoidea]

Sounds like a wonderful trip with the family, hopefully the little one gets more into it from here on out. Thanks for the write-up

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Thanks for the good report Benno, good job on the fish too!

Cheers Hamish

[Kat]

Wow great report.  The photos don't do your description of the weather justice.  Looks fantastic.  Can't believe how many fish you caught - want an apprentice?

Hope @ellicat doesn't take offence to your comment about walking from couch to fridge - he shouldn't store chocolate cake in the fridge anyway it goes stale too quickly

Jokes aside I think your little one is one of the lucky ones to have a dad like you.

Cheers Kat

[benno573]

Thanks for that @Kat, that’s about the nicest thing anyone has said about me on this site ever. hopefully she thinks so too for a lot longer.
 

right place, right time on the tailor… if they are there they aren’t a difficult fish to catch. Not a lot of skill required.
 

Thinking we should put together an AFO Moreton fishing trip sometime soon…

[benno573]

@Kat - here’s the not so good weather…

you can’t see the 40kn plus winds in the photo… it peaked at 58kn at cape moreton on Friday arvo. 

[Drop Bear]

Nice one mate. Great report thanks. I love it when the Tailor come to play. 

Im keen for an AFO trip. Sounds like a lot of fun. 

 

[Hweebe]

Great write-up sounded like some crazy weather conditions but glad you pushed through and had some epic tailor sessions. A fish a cast!.

How good is it have a campsite all to yourselves as well! That guarantees your fav spot too

[jon]

Great report mate some awesome photos too! 

[Hweebe]

I'll have to try Northpoint camp ground next. Have only stayed on the eastern beaches.

What's the walking distance from camp site to nearest rock fishing?

On 01/08/2022 at 4:01 PM, benno573 said:

quick feed of oysters from the rocks and back to explore rock pools with the wee one

I've never tried gathering oysters for rocks but would like to try some time, what do you look for? Tools?

On 01/08/2022 at 4:01 PM, benno573 said:

a guy then came over and asked if he could have one for dinner, next cast that request was sorted, an older couple asked the same and they got one each in the following two casts.  i could have stayed there all afternoon but time and tide was catching up so i had to head back to camp.

Even doing your thing for the community  

[benno573]

2 hours ago, Hweebe said:

I'll have to try Northpoint camp ground next. Have only stayed on the eastern beaches.

What's the walking distance from camp site to nearest rock fishing?

I've never tried gathering oysters for rocks but would like to try some time, what do you look for? Tools?

Even doing your thing for the community  

Walking distance - 500m-ish to where the tailor were.  it's not the best platform on the island, about a 4km drive and then a 15 minute walk to the best spots.

Gathering oysters - what to look for - oysters?  Tools - large flat screwdriver and a rock to tap it with is about as technical as i get.  You have to eat them while you are there, you are not allowed to gather them and take them away.  what to watch out for - waves and @Drop Bear trying to guard the oysters and make them spawn more

Happy to help out those who ask nicely mate.  especially when there is plenty to go around!

[Hweebe]

20 hours ago, benno573 said:

Walking distance - 500m-ish to where the tailor were.  it's not the best platform on the island, about a 4km drive and then a 15 minute walk to the best spots.

Gathering oysters - what to look for - oysters?  Tools - large flat screwdriver and a rock to tap it with is about as technical as i get.  You have to eat them while you are there, you are not allowed to gather them and take them away.  what to watch out for - waves and @Drop Bear trying to guard the oysters and make them spawn more

Happy to help out those who ask nicely mate.  especially when there is plenty to go around!

Simple as  ...will carry a lemon / lime with me and watch out for @Drop Bear and the Ozfish cap.

I'm a bit risk averse with no experience rock fishing so this makes me a bit nervous from stories / tales of rock fishing misadventures. I'm clumsy prone to trips and falls at the best of times.

Sounds like getting your tide times right is the first thing to safely move around?

[Drop Bear]

23 hours ago, benno573 said:

@Drop Bear trying to guard the oysters and make them spawn more

haha I eat them too. Especially the milkies that you get off the rocks...

[Drop Bear]

2 hours ago, Hweebe said:

I'm a bit risk averse with no experience rock fishing so this makes me a bit nervous from stories / tales of rock fishing misadventures. I'm clumsy prone to trips and falls at the best of times.

Pretty smart. Rocks are not soft... 

Most of the time is is safe but there is that one time... 

[benno573]

On 04/08/2022 at 8:15 AM, Hweebe said:

I'm a bit risk averse with no experience rock fishing so this makes me a bit nervous from stories / tales of rock fishing misadventures. I'm clumsy prone to trips and falls at the best of times.

Sounds like getting your tide times right is the first thing to safely move around?

You certainly need to be cautious.  Tides do make a difference at some places for sure - but swell and wind are i think the most critical factors.  would definitely suggest standing well back and watching the waves for at least 5 minutes before approaching a rock to fish on.  one other trick i like to use is to stand on a dry rock.  if it was in the splash/wash zone, it wouldn't be dry.  Also worth remembering there is a huge difference between getting the occasional splash vs the risk of being washed away/knocked over.