Brisbane River Session #169

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

Today I couldn't find anyone to go fishing with (normal mates busy), so I decided to go to a spot I hadn't been to in a while to see how it was fishing. I also decided to only bring two rods, which I came to regret later in the day. I got the 7am train to Roma Street and was at Southbank to get my ferry a little while later. I eventually arrived after a walk from the ferry, and after deploying baits with some dead pike, I got to cast netting.

I had to cast net in a few different areas before I hit a couple of Christmas trees of small to medium herring, and also one or two winter whiting. After I more or less got 50, I started to fish with them. Seeing as though they were quite small, I bunched two up on a hook at a time but also put a winter whiting on one rod. It wasn't long before one of my lines was getting pestered by a catfish, which was promptly hooked and flicked away. I also dropped another shortly after. 

After observing the conditions for a while, I noticed there wasn't much tide and there was a dirty/clear water channel, where some scum mixed with cleaner water. This was evident when my lines became coated in mud after I wound them in from the clearer water, which was in casting distance, back to where I was. I decided to take advantage of the low tidal flow so I started casting in some deeper water, where I caught some scat, jumbo herring, and lost a big mullet. I also caught this, which looks like some sort of flounder. 

Fish ID please? 

After I watched the rods for a while and checked them a couple times, I did some more netting for a couple more big herring. There were a few big ones around today so I was hopeful a thready would come and eat one. Now that I started to sit down and wait, I was quite annoyed I didn't have a third rod to maximise my chances, as the jetty was completely empty and the tide wasn't that strong meaning it would be easy to manage them all. 

For about an hour, until 11:30AM, I was checking and replacing baits after they'd been pickered. Some walkers were on the jetty and my baitrunner bent over and line began peeling off the reel. It was a classic looking squire bite, and after some vicious head shakes and a short run I pulled up a 40CM odd model. Already having fish at home I threw this one back - lucky fish. 

Nice to catch

I got back to fishing after I released that, and did a bit more netting. I did my last throws of the day around mid day as there seemed to be no more herring about to be caught, and I had plenty of bait anyways. I kept re casting baits, and alternated between using a big herring or small one. The big herring seemed to be getting pickered a lot more then being eaten whole, so I was pleased when I hooked another squire after I caught a small river perch. This one didn't put up as much of a tussle but was still a bit of fun.  

This one would've been 37cm

I was happy enough with the session now, though more surprised as I was getting squire at this location. I was still hopeful for a bigger fish, although it seems the threadies still haven't started chewing in the reaches of the river upstream from the port (and even then not heaps around there going off Facebook/Instagram/Youtube posts). It was a nice temperature now, so I laid down for a while on the jetty waiting for a bite.

I continued to check baits but it went quiet for the next two hours. I made a pretty big dint in my herring, but annoyingly I lost two rigs in the space of two minutes, as one had been frayed and snapped on the cast (toadfish), and the other had strangely been snipped just below the leader (maybe a fish took the bait and rubbed me off without me knowing). Fortunately, as soon as I casted another rig in, the third squire of the day took the bait. It was on another tiny herring, which were proving to work - 

 

This one was about 41-43cm

After that, it was a bit past two, and my mum wanted to go shopping at a place nearby so she offered to pick me up instead of me getting the ferry then train home. I tried with a whole pike to try and entice a larger snap for the last half hour but the only thing I could manage was a toadie, on the other line. I left satisfied with the session despite the fact no larger fish were landed. A couple of other fisherman came down at the end who also hooked (but lost) a toadfish or two, but other than that, I had an enjoyable day out of the house with a couple of nice little squire.   

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 6:30AM, .4M, Low, 1:00PM, 2.3M, High, 7:15PM, .7M, Low

Moon Phase: About 20%, increasing

Bait Caught: Heaps of herring, a glassy, some winter whiting

Bait Used: Live herring and whiting, dead pike

Fish Caught: Squire x 3, Catfish x 1, Toadfish x 1

Tackle Used: 30 pound braid mainlines and fluoro leaders, FG, dropper loops, blood, and Alberto knots, size 6/o and 4/o circle hooks, large barrel swivels, about a meter trace and 1.5m leader, Shimano Sedona 6000 on Abu Garcia Nanotech Nexus, Kmart rod on Shimano Aero Baitrunner

Air Pressure: 1008-1010, pretty low barometer but still some bites

Humidity: 47-59%

Weather: Sunny, 27 degree high

Notes: Squire were being caught on in the clean water, not the dirty channel, only catfish and toadfish in the dirty channel. Pretty low tide due to the near 30% moon phase. Plenty of bait about in the morning but would've been tough if I got there in the arvo. Water very turbid due to regular boats and seemed to stir up the bite if it was off or turn it off if it was on. Still no prawns about either. 

Overall Success Rate: Fun session nailing a few squire - 60%

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed,

Cheers Hamish

[Old Scaley]

Things have changed for you in the past couple of years, hey Hamish. If someone told you a couple of years ago that you would be throwing back multiple legal snapper, I bet you wouldn’t have believed them.

[kmcrosby78]

22 minutes ago, Old Scaley said:

Things have changed for you in the past couple of years, hey Hamish. If someone told you a couple of years ago that you would be throwing back multiple legal snapper, I bet you wouldn’t have believed them.

Agreed Steve - and he only rated it at 60%. Kids these days, so hard to please …. .   Great session Hamish, almost bagged out on squire, great work

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

40 minutes ago, Old Scaley said:

Things have changed for you in the past couple of years, hey Hamish. If someone told you a couple of years ago that you would be throwing back multiple legal snapper, I bet you wouldn’t have believed them.

Thanks Steve, there's no way I would've. I guess it's just spending more time at newer spots paying off. 

17 minutes ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Agreed Steve - and he only rated it at 60%. Kids these days, so hard to please …. .   Great session Hamish, almost bagged out on squire, great work

Cheers KM - hopefully a thready next time to get the success rate to 100%  

Hamish

[ellicat]

Nice way to tail off the holidays, Hamish. Good work on the snapper ! Who needs trips in the Bay...

[Rick Ludd]

Great report Hamish and we need more people like yourself mate knowing when enough is enough and fishing for just the enjoyment and adventure.

Oh and that mystery fish/Sole could be a Narrowbanded Sole ... but I'm no expert.

If you want I can send that photo over to people that may know if no one has no further ideas.

 

[ellicat]

45 minutes ago, Rick Ludd said:

Oh and that mystery fish/Sole could be a Narrowbanded Sole ... but I'm no expert.

I suspect you are on the money @Rick Ludd. It's definitely a sole.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

11 hours ago, ellicat said:

Nice way to tail off the holidays, Hamish. Good work on the snapper ! Who needs trips in the Bay...

Thanks Brian, hopefully I'll have one more successful session in my last days before school. 

53 minutes ago, Rick Ludd said:

Great report Hamish and we need more people like yourself mate knowing when enough is enough and fishing for just the enjoyment and adventure.

Oh and that mystery fish/Sole could be a Narrowbanded Sole ... but I'm no expert.

If you want I can send that photo over to people that may know if no one has no further ideas.

 

Thanks Rick, I think you're correct with the ID too - they sure look very similar. 

[jdollazz]

good stuff Hamish, looks like a good day out and the snapper looked quality! 

appreciate the in-depth reports as always 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

2 hours ago, jdollazz said:

good stuff Hamish, looks like a good day out and the snapper looked quality! 

appreciate the in-depth reports as always 

Thanks @jdollazz, glad you enjoyed. It was nice catching some snapper at this spot too!

[jon]

 nice session there Hamish well done. I also refer to those fish as sole. We used to catch them as kids as far up the river as colleges crossing during times of severe drought I even had a few in my native fish tank for a while when I was a kid 

Edited October 1, 2022 by jon