Brisbane River Sessions #178-#199

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

This report will be about the last few trips of mine in the Brisbane River. I've fished a heap recently for not much so hopefully I'll start catching a few again soon. The first session in this report was at the end of November 2022, and it was a wet, miserable day. I got to my spot after getting the ferry and train and it wasn't long before I was soaking wet and freezing. Herring were tough to find but I managed enough to start fishing. Things started off poorly with a seatoad and it wasn't long before I needed to catch more herring. After a couple hours of waiting, I eventually hooked something large on my overhead. It was very fast, and showed no signs of stopping after the 30-40 second run it took before I (somewhat accidentally) busted it off with my thumb because I wasn't paying attention to how much pressure I was putting on it. You never know, maybe it was just a stingray or maybe it was a 1.2M jewie . 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 8:30AM, .7M, Low, 3:20PM, 2.5M, High

Moon Phase: First quarter, not much run

Air Pressure: 1014 down to 1012

Fish Caught: A toady and a fat bust off

Humidity: 72%

Tackle Used: Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Barra King on Ugly Stik with 20 pound braid and 30 pound leader, Shimano Aero Baitrunner on 8 foot Kmart Rod with 30 pound braid and leader. Size 4 star sinker, large barrel swivels, 4/o and 6/o circle hooks, FG knots. 

Bait Caught and Used: Live herring

Notes: Wet, cold, pretty confident I was the only person fishing the river that day

Overall Success Rate: 20% - came home soaking and freezing cold!

The following session, which was on a Friday (can't remember where I went fishing that Thursday so won't include it) was with @TheCharliefisho at our bream spot at Northshore. We got a ferry there in the mid morning with plans to fish the rising tide, and found a spot that wasn't too wet. We were still getting pummeled by the wind though, and the gloomy weather showed no sign of letting up. We chucked a bit of berley in and got to fishing with our lightly weighted baits. I felt a couple of taps on my line but that was the extent of our success for the day. We tried for some livies as well but couldn't manage any before that, and we soaked a rather large piece of mullet for a cod for no luck either. Oh well, next time!

Quick stats:

Tide: We fished the rising tide and called it quits early in the arvo. 

Moon Phase: About 60% - the run wasn't that bad

Tackle Used: I fished with a 2500 Diawa Tierra spinning reel on a 2-4KG Abu Garcia Veritas with 8 pound braid, ten pound leader, a 00 ball sinker and small baitholder hook. For our cod line we used a baitrunner on a short Shimano 6-10KG rod with 30 pound braid and leader, a 6/o circle hook and teardrop sinker. 

Bait Used: Herring, bony bream, mullet

Overall Success Rate: 10% - crap trip 

The next day, I was up at Yeppoon for a family matter. I had a quick flick in the harbor with a few lures up here, but I only managed to have a couple tails bitten off by toadfish and miss a couple of hits. It was a nice day anyway, and was good to try somewhere different for a change. I was back in Brisbane at around midnight on Monday, so that Tuesday I went down to my local park to have a cast with my net for some bonies. Surprisingly, it was a complete donut, and I only managed some mud and sticks in the net. I gave it up after about 30 minutes, and even though it was low tide it seemed dead.

Quick Stats:

Tide: Low

Conditions: Sunny, hot, muddy

Net Used: 10 foot Wilson bottom pocket cast net

That Wednesday, I was back at it at one of my usual spots. I believe I managed to cast net a few herring, and it wasn't long before I had a bream of about 32cm on the jetty. I got a quick pic for the comp but let it go shortly after, hopeful that a bigger fish would come along. Despite having plenty of livebait, I don't think I managed anything else that whole day except vermin fish, and maybe a couple snip offs from toadies as well. It was a pretty hot day and despite my persistence, I packed it in sometime arvo mid-late arvo and got home by dinnertime. 

 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 9:20AM, 2.6M, High, 4:00PM, .7M, Low

Moon Phase: Just before full moon, lots of run

Bait Caught and Used: Herring, live and dead

Fish Caught: Bream x 1 and a couple of trash fish

Air Pressure: 1008

Humidity: 69%

Tackle Used: Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Barra King on Ugly Stik with 20 pound braid and 30 pound leader, Shimano Aero Baitrunner on 8 foot Kmart Rod with 30 pound braid and leader. Size 4 star sinker, large barrel swivels, 4/o and 6/o circle hooks, FG knots. 

Overall Success Rate: 30% - got something I could submit into the comp, but no real fish  

After that, I decided to have a bit of a rest and sleep in. I packed my gear into my cart and got ready for a session at the local park. I had a fair bit of bait in the freezer so I decided to target some bullies and whatever else I could catch. I arrived at about 2:30PM, and deployed a large herring on a circle hook for a shark. My first hookup of the arvo was in relative quick succession to deploying my bait, and I was hoping I was on a bully already. To my disgust, a catfish emerged from the murky water. They seemed to be very thick that arvo, especially the small ones, as a couple hours later and few more catfish I had one on an 8/o circle hook having a go at a herring no bigger than the fish itself. Lol. I gave it 'till a bit before sundown before deciding to pack it in. Oh well, not every sessions a good one!

Yuck

Quick Stats:

Tide: 11:00AM, 2.3M, High, 4:40Pm, .5M, Low - my favorite tides for this spot 

Moon Phase: Full moon, a fair bit of run. 

Bait Caught and Used: Dead herring, bony bream, and mullet

Gear/Tackle Used: Shimano Aero Baitrunner on 8 foot Kmart rod, Abu Garcia Veritas with Diawa Tierra 2500 with 8 pound braid and ten pound leader. Shark rod had 30 pound braid, 30 pound leader, and 80 pound mono trace. Small baitholder or 6/o circle hooks used with 2 and 6 ball sinkers. 

Overall Success Rate: 15% - pretty bad session

After that, Charlie and I decided to go bream fishing the next day. We got to our spot for high tide at about 10 if I remember correctly, and started casting our hardbody lures about off the rockwall. As we made our way into some deeper water, I eventually got a hit, but that was it for that retrieve as I missed the bite. Annoyingly, I got snagged shortly after, so had to go for a quick swim to about chest high water to get my lure back. Lucky it was a hot day. We continued making our way up the path, and it wasn't long before I was snagged again. This one needed another swim but I successfully retrieved my lure which was the main thing. We ended up fishing for about another 45 minutes but with the tide fast running out and no more bites we decided to call it quits, so we headed back home feeling a bit disheartened with our results. Lol. 

Quick Stats:

Tide: High tide, 10:30AM, 2.6M

Moon Phase: Just after full moon, so the tide was pumping. We primarily fished the slack period though. 

Tackle Used: I used an Abu Garcia Veritas 2-4KG rod with a Diawa Tierra 2500 spinning reel with 8 pound braid and ten pound FC Rock leader. I flicked a variety of small hardbodies around. Charlie tried a couple of plastics too. 

Overall Success Rate: 30% - quiet day

The next day was a Saturday, and I decided to have a fish with some livies at a spot which had been firing judging from recent Facebook reports (Dutton Park). I hadn't fished there in over a year, so it was nice to give it a go again. My Dad came down with me for the first while of the session, and managed a few good bonies, herring, and mullet in the net. These were a welcome catch as livies, and I deployed two salmon rods and one small rod with a cube of herring off the side of the jetty. Things were starting out quiet, and my Dad headed off shortly after. I kept persisting, and this resulted in my first hookup of the day - a fish on my 1000 Sienna. It was pretty large, and although the fight was only short lived before I was busted/rubbed off I could tell it wasn't a shark. With some higher hopes now, I deployed another herring out the side on my 1000 and it wasn't long before this screamed off. This time, it seemed I had a better hookset, and the fish was taking some long, powerful runs. I couldn't do much though, apart from attempt to maneuver whatever it was away from the pylons with my floppy 2-5KG Ugly Stik Gold. Unfortunately, things weren't meant to be and after another very fast run my ten pound was frayed around a snag or the fishes mouth. That experience reminded me how useless 1000 spinning reels can be, lol. I was hopeful I would get at least a bully but the bites were very few and far between, throughout the whole day. I think my only run was from a catfish on a singular live prawn I came across and apart from a few other nibbles I had no encounters with any large fish. I called it quits mid arvo, and I had certainly given it a good crack as I had been there since a little after five. 

Statistics of Trip:

Tide: 5:00AM, .3M, Low, 11:35AM, 2.3M, High, 6:15Pm, .6M, Low

Moon Phase: Around 97%, Full Moon decreasing to third quarter, so the tide was going at a decent rate

Air Pressure: 1015

Humidity: 67%

Bait Caught and Used: Herring, bony bream, prawns, live and dead

Fish Caught: -, though a couple of bust offs

Notes: Very quiet day on the bites, could hardly lose a bait. Caught plenty of bull shark baits though.

Overall Success Rate: 10% - very quiet, and got busted off. And saw lots of photos of people cleaning up the previous nights. 

Not getting deterred by the previous days fishing, I was back at it with some mates the next day. Michael and Andrew, as well as someone I hadn't met before called Mick, were down at the jetty, so after 45 minutes or so of riding my bike I arrived. I had some deadbait and a handline, as well as a bit of fishing gear. I was going to try for a fish on the handline, as it had been ages since I caught anything on one. Like the previous day, there seemed to be a fair bit of bait about, as the others had a few livies when I arrived. I caught a couple baitfish in one of their nets too, so after having no luck on the dead herring I put out a livie. The bite was very quiet again though, and we ended up giving it until about 11 if I remember correctly for nothing at all. Some other fishers came down and we gave them the livies and headed off, feeling pretty disappointed with our session. 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 5:30AM, .3M, Low, 12:10Pm, 2.3M, High

Moon Phase: About 94%, decreasing from full moon so there was plenty of run

Bait Caught and Used: Bony bream and mullet primarily

Fish Caught: None

Air Pressure: 1016

Humidity: 64%

Tackle Used: I used a handline with 30 pound mono, a 6/o circle hook, size 6 ball sinker on a paternoster rig. The others had more suitable spinning gear with similar rigs. 

Notes: Very quiet day - I think this spot is a nighttime spot

Overall Success Rate: 20% - nice to get out of the house

Anyways, the next two days I'm sure I went fishing (the 12th and 13th), but I can't remember where and what for, so I guess there's no point counting these days as a session. I was out on the bay on the 14th, but on the 15th I was back at it going for sharks at one of my normal spots. I was also going with one of my mates who hadn't gone fishing since Grade 6, so basically a first timer. I arrived at the jetty relatively late after a quick ride, and I was pleased to find it deserted. I got some baits in the water and got to cast netting, but to my disappointment there were absolutely no livies bouncing about. It's always tough here on a low tide, so I was glad I packed lots of dead bait. A little before eight, I had my first hook up of the day. This was on my overhead, and after feeding a bit of line out on free spool I set the hooks into something. A few headshakes and other telltale signs revealed a bully, and although it was only a little fella I was still glad there were a couple around for my mate. Over the next two hours I caught about 7 and lost that many too, and they were chewing so much I ran out of bait before my mate got there. A quick phone call had a heap more bait coming down, including herring, bonies, and pike (Thanks Mum).

Sharks

My mate Nicu eventually arrived, and I greeted him holding a shark. After showing him some basics, one of my combos was going off. He got the hang of fighting the fish in no time and a solid first bully showed itself jettyside after a few minutes. Annoyingly, it got the better of us and snipped us off. This happened again, and a couple more times to me when he didn't want to fight a fish, so we were both praying that he'd land one. To finish his day, my 3000 Stradic was hooked up without us knowing. He picked it up and pulled it in himself, and I managed to slip the net under a nice pup. It was good to get him on a solid bully, and by now Michael had come down too. Nicu decided to head off after that shark, and after saying bye Michael got some more livies as the tide was quite high now. Simon and Vish also came down, and I caught one more bully which almost bit me but that was the end of the bites for the day, as by four the fish were completely off. I rode home feeling pleased with my day, as we would've landed 8-10 bullies and lost that many too. Nice!

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 8:20AM, .6M, Low, 3:00PM, 2.0M, High - low tide change is ideal at this spot and that's what I fished

Moon Phase: 65%, not too much run. Decreasing to Third Quarter

Air Pressure: 1007

Humidity: 57%

Fish Caught: Heaps of sharks and that was it!

Tackle Used: The three combos I used were an Abu Garcia Amabassadeur Barra King on an Ugly Stik with 20 pound Braid, a Shimano Stradic 3000 on a Shimano Raider Snapper 4-7KG, and an Shimano Aero on a 8 foot 5-10KG Kmart rod. I used 15 and 30 pound leaders to start with and 4/o circle hooks with 2 and 6 ball sinkers but switched to 30 pound leaders and 80 pound traces when I realized it was going to be a bully session. 

Bait Caught and Used: Bony bream and mullet, though the standout bait was dead herring from a previous session. 

Notes: Sunny day, it was pretty warm on the jetty. The sharks were on heaps that day, I assume because of the optimal tide and bite period around the morning. 

Overall Success Rate: 75% - fun session with a mate

Once again, on the 16th and 17th I'm sure I went fishing but cannot remember where. Pretty sure I went in the river with livies but I won't count them as sessions because I can't remember. The next session was doing something different though, and it was with my Dad early in the morning. We took the 50 minute drive to our new bass spot in the freshwater reaches of the river, and arrived a bit after 6. Some kayakers were launching there, and we started off having a chat to them. They had apparently caught bass and yellas around the part of the river we were in. It really is a completely different world in the freshwater reaches, as it is quite narrow, peaceful, and bushy. We started off coming into close contact with a big roo (about 6 feet tall) - it was a big black one and it wasn't too shy. We watched one of the kayakers in the distance pull in a large catty, and we were hopeful we may catch something. My Dad was flicking around a gold TT spinnerbait, and I had a lipless crankbait on (sinking) which I was hoping off the bottom. We tried a couple different vantage points, but ended up at the main spot a bit before 7. The fishing was so far quiet, and after I spotted a huge carp (70cm) swimming right near the bank and failing to hook it, my Dad said,

"Let the pro have a go".

He proceeded to cast out his spinnerbait around a snag and hookup, yanking a little bass out of the river. Although it was only about 25cm, we were still happy as it was the first one we had caught out of the river. My Dad then missed a decent bite, but lucky for me I got off the donut with a bass as well. It flicked off at the bank before we could get a photo, but it was only a baby as well. We walked off to some rocks after this, and my Dad tried a diving hardbody. He snagged this though, and went swimming to get it which was a funny sight. After having no luck at the rocks we had another flick at the main spot where I hooked up but dropped the fish, before we headed off to have a look at the Lowood bend. It was pretty quiet here, and although there would be fish it was a pretty accessible spot so lots of other anglers could go here. We found a dead yella on the bank and a forky too, and cleaned up a mangled cast net off a tree. It was a pretty successful mission for us, and even though we only got two tiny fish each it was good to get our first bass from the river on lure. 

Roo and bass

Quick Stats:

Lures Used: Dark gold TT Spinnerbait, lipless crankbait, deep divers, chatterbaits

Conditions: Sunny, not too hot in the morning, foggy when we got there, nice water, a few bust ups - pleasant day overall. 

Tackle Used: My Dad used my Stradic 3000 on a Shimano Raider 4-7KG with 15 pound braid, I used a Abu Garcia Veritas 2-4KG on a Diawa Tierra 2500 reel with 8 pound braid. We used 15 and 10 pound leader. 

Fish Caught: Two bass, dropped two, almost hooked 70cm carp. 

Overall Success Rate: 70% - first bass!

Once again, I'm pretty sure I went fishing the next day but can't remember where. I did go livebaiting in the river on the 20th, where a guy named John was down fishing with me too. I was at the jetty alone until about midday though, and in this time I got a few herring for livebait, but didn't manage too hook anything too big. That was until my cod line, which I was dropping straight under the jetty for a change, got smacked. Annoyingly, my drag was a bit too loose and the fish got into a snag before I could get it into the safe zone. I do know it was alright size because it smacked a 6/o hook with three herring before reefing me. When John came down, we continued to fish. Two others guys came down who weren't from the area, and after flicking plastics around and then switching back to bait they caught a just legal bream which came home for dinner. John and I fished into the arvo, but after having nothing to show for our efforts we decided to call it quits.

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 7:20AM, 2.3M, High, 1:40Pm, .8M, Low

Moon Phase: 16%, nearing New Moon. There was a fair bit of run. 

Air Pressure: 1017 dropping to 1015

Humidity: 52%

Fish Caught: -, maybe a couple vermin fish

Bait Used and Caught: Herring, live and dead

Tackle Used: Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Barra King on Ugly Stik with 20 pound braid and 30 pound leader, Shimano Aero Baitrunner on 8 foot Kmart Rod with 30 pound braid and leader. Size 4 star sinker, large barrel swivels, 4/o and 6/o circle hooks, FG knots. 

Overall Success Rate: 30%, quiet day

The day after this, I was feeling a little crook, so decided to go for a bait collecting session at a spot I don't bother fishing too much. There were a couple other kids there who had been having some success for threadies, although they were paddling their baits out to the drop off which is out at the mouth of this creek. I cast netted a few livies, and a few baits to take home as well. I deployed my Stradic 3000 with a live mullet and got to waiting, but it was quiet. Very quiet. After about 2 hours for no bites and a few more bonies I eventually got my first little run. This happened about 3 more times and each time the culprit was clear - a big fat slimeball catty. I gave it up a bit before 6 after the other guys left - some other kids came down but didn't catch anything either. 

Quick stats:

Tide: 8:40AM, 2.2M, High, 3:10Pm, .5M, Low

Moon Phase: 8%, basically New Moon. There was a fair bit of run. 

Bait Caught and Used: Bonies and mullet. 

Tackle Used: Shimano Stradic 3000 on Shimano Raider Snapper 4-7Kg with 15 pound braid and 20 pound leader, 4/o circle hook and 6 ball sinker. Large barrel swivel. 

Overall Success Rate: 15% - got some bait

The next day, I was completely exhausted and feeling a bit sick so decided to give fishing a miss. With my luck, a couple of the guys I fish with went out and got a thready and multiple jew, all in the space of an hour long bite period. I should've gone fishing then, lol! The next day (23rd), my Dad offered to give me a lift to this spot, so I got there a bit after five and started fishing. I found a few herring and deployed these, and it wasn't long before my baitrunner was buckled over. I set the hook, and the fish took a couple of fast runs to begin with getting my hope up. Sadly for me, the fish started displaying more and more symptoms of being a shovelnose or ray, and it was just that - a dirty common shovel at about 1.2M. It was a decent tussle around the pylons, but I could tell it wasn't a good fish when I was struggling to pull it from the bottom. The other fella I was fishing with, Bernado, had been there most of the night into the morning, and hadn't caught much although he was going for sharks. It wasn't long before he left the jetty to go home, and then John came down for a fish as well. Herring were proving a bit tough to find but eventually I got a couple Christmas trees - plenty for our fishing. Unfortunately, the days fishing was proving very tough. I got pickered several times on my overhead by small bream, which kept picking up the bait and dropping it, and I also lost something decent due to a tangle on my overhead, although I think it might've been a ray. John and I persisted the entire day for a toady and catty, and the fishing was seriously bad. Another fella named Zeke eventually came down as well, who I had seen once or twice before, and was hopeful of some action that night. John and I headed off at similar times disappointed with our days fishing. Next time, we thought!

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 3:50AM, .1M, low, 10:20AM, 2.5M, High, 5:00Pm, .4M, Low

Moon Phase: New Moon, there was a fair bit of run

Air Pressure: 1015

Humidity: 60%

Bait Caught and Used: Live herring, dead herring

Fish Caught: Toady and catty

Notes: Caught a moses perch and a 50cm mullet in the cast net

Tackle Used: Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Barra King on Ugly Stik with 20 pound braid and 30 pound leader, Shimano Aero Baitrunner on 8 foot Kmart Rod with 30 pound braid and leader. Size 4 star sinker, large barrel swivels, 4/o and 6/o circle hooks, FG knots.  

Overall Success Rate: 20% - very poor session

The next day was Christmas Eve, so I had to stay home to help out around the house. On Christmas, I managed to sneak out for a quick arvo flick at a spot I don't frequent too much, but decided to try as one of my Dad's work colleague's father had caught a couple good threadies there in recent times. I was the only person there, and fished for about two hours in the arvo. It was a good choice for me to bring a pack of herring down, because I couldn't net a single live bait the entire time. Each herring got pickered or scavenged from my hook in quick succession from casting, and I had a brief hookup to finish the session before dropping it - probably just a baby catfish anyways. Oh well, no better way to spend Christmas Day than going for a fish!

Quick stats:

Tide: Midday High, 7:10PM, .3M, Low

Moon Phase: 5%, still a fair bit of run

Tackle Used: 30 pound mainline and leader, size 6 ball sinker, 6/o circle hook, barrel swivel, about 70cm of 30 pound trace, Shimano Aero baitrunner on 8 foot Kmart rod. 

Bait Caught and Used: Dead herring

Overall Success Rate: 10% - Good Christmas Present from the river

The day after that, I was up on the Sunnycoast for three days with Charlie, then following that I was in Yeppoon for a week. I arrived back in Brisbane on the 6th and had a rest day on the 7th, but on the 8th of January I was back at a spot I hadn't been to for a while with Michael and Andrew. We got there at about 7, and started off going for some herring. I found a few in one of the normal spots, and we all deployed them in the rippy current hoping for a salmon. Andrew was first on the board with a tailor, which was a bit of a surprise for this spot and time of year. It gave a decent account of itself with some headshakes, and it was kept for eating. We got our baits back out hopeful of some more action, but it went really quiet after this capture. The tide was still coming in fast though, so we were hopeful there would be some action on the slack high tide. Despite, in my experience, this being the best time to fish this spot, we were rewarded with nothing except pickers for our efforts. Michael eventually had a hookup, but we figured out it was a seatoad after he got the tip of his hook bitten clean off (through the metal) - only a toady could do that with it's beak. We persisted into the day and despite our best efforts we could not get the fish to chew. We had multiple baits out as well, including large mullet, which only resulted in a messy tangle between three lines.  We ended the day by cooking the tailor on a nearby barbeque, which was very nice, and definitely made the session a bit more worthwhile. I got the ferry back to Guyatt Park where I got picked up and headed home. 

Andrew's tailor

Statistics of Trip:

Tide: 4:20AM, .5M, Low, 11:00AM, 2.6M, High, 5:40Pm, .7M, Low

Moon Phase: Full moon - the tide was pumping. 

Bait Used and Caught: Herring and mullet, live

Fish Caught: I donutted. 

Tackle Used: I used a Shimano Aero on A 8 foot Kmart rod with 30 pound braid and leader, and an Abu Garcia Ambassadeur on an Ugly Stik with 20 pound braid and 30 pound leader. Size 4 star sinkers, 6/o circle hooks, barrel swivels. 

Air Pressure: 1010

Humidity: 64%

Overall Success Rate: 40% - fun day out, quiet fishing

The next session was at my local park fishing for bullies, with a couple of mates I hadn't seen in a while. There were two other people fishing there, but they didn't have much clue as to what they were doing so after having a bit of a chat they ended up heading off because they had already been there for a while. I deployed some baits and it wasn't long before the first rod went off. Annoyingly, a fat catty came up, which had engulfed my herring. The catfish were definitely thick that day, and I had about five bites and missed hookups as my baitholder hook was a bit small on my light rod for the size of bait I was using. We ended up fishing until about 5:30PM, but the bite was uncharacteristically dead, so we made the call to head home and call it quits for the day. Bugger!

Quick Stats: 

Tide: 12:20PM, 2.3M, High, 7:00PM, .2M, Low - ideal time to be fishing this spot - last half of the run out, shame we didn't get any

Moon Phase: Decreasing from full moon to third quarter, a fair bit of run

Bait Caught and Used: Not much caught, used dead herring

Tackle Used: For sharks, a Shimano Aero on an 8 foot Kmart rod with 30 pound braid, leader, and 80 pound trace. For the light stuff, an Abu Garcia Veritas on a Diawa Tierra 2500 with 8 pound braid and ten pound leader. Circle hooks and ball sinkers used. 

Overall Success Rate: 40% - good to catch up with some mates

The following day, I had the bike buggy up and running again after a flat tire on my Dads bike. I started nice and early and arrived at the chosen jetty a bit before six, which is pretty good going on the bike. I had four rods as I had two mates coming down, Charlie and another fella called Sam. I was hopeful the sharks would be on the chew like last time, and although it started off very quiet I eventually hooked my first shark for the day on my overhead before my mates were there - it would've been about 80cm. 

Shark

Charlie eventually arrived and some other kids from a previous session came down, also fishing for bullies. The bite went very quiet though, and apart from an explosive run on my Stradic 3000 leading to a bust off just as Charlie was setting up we had hardly heard the drag click. Luckily, it didn't stay that way for too long. Charlie hooked a bully on my baitrunner, but annoyingly it snipped him off after only a couple of seconds of fighting. This was uncommon, as I don't normally get snipped when fishing 80 pound for the sharks. We rerigged and got another bait out there. Things were looking quiet and the other fellas eventually decided to call it quits - they did spot us a couple of livies though, which Charlie rocketed out on the baitrunner. It wasn't long before this screamed off, and Charlie set the hooks into a decent shark. It was playing up, and taking a couple of strong runs. Annoyingly, it managed to snip the leader just as we were about to get a look at it. Noo! That was about all the action we had for the day, and we headed off shortly after that bust off. 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 6:20AM, .3M, Low, 1:00PM, 2.3M, High

Moon Phase: 94%, fair bit of run still

Humidity: 64%

Air Pressure: 1011

Bait Caught and Used: Bony bream, herring, mullet

Tackle Used: Shimano Aero on 8 foot Kmart Rod, Shimano Stradic 3000 on Shimano Raider Snapper 4-7KG, Abu Garcia Veritas 2-4KG on Diawa Tierra 2500, Abu Garcia Ambassadeur on Ugly Stik, 8-30 pound mainlines, 10-30 pound leaders, 80 pound traces, 6/o circle hooks, 6 ball sinkers, barrel swivels. 

Fish Caught: 1 x bully and a catty

Overall Success Rate: 30% - disappointing bust offs

The next session I decided to try something different and go and chase bream with a new mate I made at the jetty the day before. We met up and eventually found our way to the City Botanic Gardens, where we flicked along the rockwall for about 40 minutes. We gave the rec hub a brief crack too, but after no luck there tried at Southbank. The fishing was quiet and despite the fact it was high tide we were having no luck at all. Bugger, sometimes it's like that though!

Quick Stats:

Tide: High tide

Lures Used:  Diving Hardbodies and small plastics

Tackle Used: I used an Abu Garcia Veritas 2-4KG with a Diawa Tierra 2500, 8 pound braid and 10 pound leader. 

The next day, I went up to Coolum/Peregian for a few nights. We were back by the 17th though, and then on the 18th I went out to try and collect some livies for fishing at the port the next day. This wasn't too successful, as I only managed some herring which I couldn't keep alive and about 6 other livies. I had a quick fish with some of the herring at two of my usual spots though, and they came back both times untouched. The 19th was when I went fishing at the port with Steve and Brian, and the 20th I had a rest day. I figured out a new spot for some bream fishing though, because coincidentally as I was coming home at one of the ferry terminals I spotted a big school of bream feeding off the side of it, and I reckon I could easily catch a few with bread or small plastics!

Quick stats:

Bait Caught: Herring, mullet, bony bream, silver biddies

Gear Used: I used a Shimano Aero baitrunner with 30 pound braid and leader with a paternoster rig, 6/o circle hook, and size 4 star sinker

Conditions: Sunny, quite hot, a few clouds, lots of wind

Tide: Run out

The 21st, which was a Saturday, saw me waking up early to get to a spot I hadn't been to for ages to have a fish. Michael and Andrew were also going, and we were hopeful that we would get something good. We started off by throwing our nets for some herring, which were quite plentiful that day. I had some herring I had brought along for deadbait incase we couldn't manage any livies, so I was glad to just use these as berley and hopefully attract something decent. It wasn't long before Andrew was on a fish, and a chunky 34cm bream emerged from the depths. We decided to cook this one up for lunch, which went well with some bacon and eggs later in the day. Andrew also pulled in a couple of large catfish shortly after, leaving Michael and I on the donut. We continued to persist as it got sunnier and warmed up, but luckily this spot has very good shade. The bite was definitely quiet though, and we were going through our live herring at a pretty slow pace. Eventually, I had some inquiries that weren't nibbles. Instead, they were surging bites. Unfortunately, I got snipped off, so I think it was probably just a sea toad. That was about as much action as I got for the day, and we all decided to call it quits a bit before three after we couldn't catch much more than what we got in the morning. 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 3:00AM, .2M, Low, 10:00AM, 2.5M, High, 4:40Pm, .3M

Moon Phase: New Moon, lots of run.. and it was fast!

Air Pressure: 1013

Humidity: 60%

Tackle Used: I used a Shimano Stradic 3000 with a running ball sinker rig on a Shimano Raider for cod, and a Shimano Aero baitrunner on 8 foot Kmart rod for livebaiting. 

Bait Caught and Used: Live herring, dead herring

Fish Caught: I got nothing, Andrew got a good bream and some catties

Overall Success Rate: 50% - good to check up on a spot I haven't been to in a while

The next day I gave fishing a miss as I needed to get ready to go back to school, and I didn't go on Monday either as I was completely exhausted from fishing so much. Luckily, we had Australia Day this Thursday, and seeing as though it was looking like a nice day I decided to go fishing. I arrived at my chosen location a bit before six, and a couple people who had been fishing late night/early morning for nothing were just finishing up. It took me a while before I found the herring, and even after this I still didn't have many at all. While I was cast netting on dead low tide (not optimal for this spot), one of my rods with a livie got pickered a few times. This was happening almost immediately in relation to when it hit the bottom, so I watched it for a couple of casts. Eventually, it hooked up, and a short but enthusiastic fight revealed a half-decent 36cm breambo on the end of my line. I lifted it up and grabbed a quick pic, and managed to get the hook out despite it being quite deep. 

Bream

After that, I was hopeful of a larger fish  to come by and eat one of my baits. I kept cast netting though, because I wasn't going to catch anything without bait. I managed a pike, silver biddy, and a few scattered herring, all of which were deployed and pickered in a short period of time. I eventually caught the larger fish I'd been looking for, although it was in the cast net and in frame form - 

What the!

After seeing this I was more hopeful I would bump into a thready. I deployed my herring and watched my rods, eager for any bites to occur. Sometime in the mid morning, Andrew and Michael came down, which was good. We got a few more livies and deployed a few rods, hopeful of any big fish. About an hour after he arrived, Andrew hooked up to something big. It took a good starting run, but then became somewhat slow like a ray or shovelnose shark. It was providing a bit of a battle though, and running around and into all the pylons around the jetty. After another run, the fish was getting closer and closer - and it sure was a good fish. A huge thready revealed itself from the depths, and we were all shocked but happy to see the thready based on how it fought. After walking it down to a good position to land it Andrew lifted it up onto a wet brag mat. It came in at 119CM, and was Andrew's PB thready. We vented the fish, and after a couple photos, let it go back to the river where it kicked away strongly. Nice! (sorry I don't have any photos). 

I deployed a live herring shortly after this and hooked up as well. It was pretty heavy, and was shaking it's head alright. After pulling the fish out of the pylons, I was very disappointed to see a bullshark pup. I think I've caught enough around the 80CM mark for Summer, that's for sure. After that, the bite slowed down, and we got back to cast netting. Bait was definitely pretty scarce, so we decided to use what we had until we needed to catch more. Some large anchovies were also caught on the bait jig, and I got one in the net as well. The bites had definitely slowed, and Charlie also came down now for a quick flick. After about an hour of him getting there, my baitrunner went off. After a short fight, he pulled in a fat catfish, which wasn't too welcome. We kept persisting throughout the day, but despite tangles, lots of throws with the cast net, and plenty of casts we could not manage any fish. Charlie eventually headed off around 3, and the rest of us decided to give it until we ran out of bait. I got about 15 more herring in the cast net, so we deployed these. The pickers were out and about though, but it wasn't long before Michael hooked a tailor. A few aerobatics in the fight gave us a bit of excitement, and it was about 45CM so solid for the river off the land. He hooked another one but it shook the hook before we could land it, and after we finished with all our bait we called it quits. I got the ferry and train home and got ready for school the next day. Even though it was a quiet session for me, it was good to see a big thready caught as well as a couple of tailor. 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 7:00AM, .5M, Low, 1:30Pm, 2.6M, High, 8:10Pm, .5M, Low

Moon Phase: 25%, there wasn't a heap of run but it was still pretty strong

Bait Caught and Used: Herring, pike, silver biddies, mullet

Tackle Used: Abu Garcia Ambassadeur Barra King on Ugly Stik with 20 pound braid and 30 pound leader, Shimano Aero Baitrunner on 8 foot Kmart Rod with 30 pound braid and leader. Size 4 star sinker, large barrel swivels, 4/o and 6/o circle hooks, FG knots.

Fish Caught: I got a couple vermin fish and a decent bream, Andrew got a big thready and Michael got some tailor

Air Pressure: 1014

Humidity: 78%

Notes: Very hot, bite was quiet for the majority of the day. Threadfin looked a bit like a typical port fishing being silver in color with some slight fin rot. 

Overall Success Rate: 60% - good to see some nice fish come from the river 

Anyways, sorry this report has been so long but I figured I may as well do it now. Hopefully next holidays I'll be able to fit in a few more sessions to catch a good fish. I won't get out over this weekend but hopefully next weekend school won't be too busy and I'll be able to catch myself a nice threadfin or jew. Thanks for reading if you got this far, I hope you enjoyed. I know my fishing hasn't been the best lately but it can only improve from here, haha!

Cheers Hamish

[Bretto77]

Some quiet times but a bit of action amongst it all. You are getting out fishing more than me. Good on you

[Angry51]

Good report/s Hamish, the fish will be glad schools back in so

they don't get annoyed by you young fella's

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

3 hours ago, Bretto77 said:

Some quiet times but a bit of action amongst it all. You are getting out fishing more than me. Good on you

Thanks Brett, at least I got a couple.

1 minute ago, Angry51 said:

Good report/s Hamish, the fish will be glad schools back in so

they don't get annoyed by you young fella's

Still got mornings, afternoons, weekends, nights…  

[Old Scaley]

Monster report Hamish. Lucky you finished it before school starts in earnest. I don’t think you are the only one struggling to find the fish over the holiday period. It always seems to be a tough time for fishing. 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

25 minutes ago, Old Scaley said:

Monster report Hamish. Lucky you finished it before school starts in earnest. I don’t think you are the only one struggling to find the fish over the holiday period. It always seems to be a tough time for fishing. 

Thanks Steve, I think it might’ve had something to do with the low air pressures, most of my salmon have been caught at around 1020 but a lot of these sessions were at 1015 or below. 

[charlie.hans.fishing]

Thanks for such a detailed and good report Hamish. 

It's a bugger the fishing has been quiet lately.

Thanks for the mentions and all the times we went out together; no fish doesn't mean it's not a good time especially when you're with your mate.

I enjoyed the read. 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

3 hours ago, TheCharliefisho said:

Thanks for such a detailed and good report Hamish. 

It's a bugger the fishing has been quiet lately.

Thanks for the mentions and all the times we went out together; no fish doesn't mean it's not a good time especially when you're with your mate.

I enjoyed the read. 

Thanks Charlie, hopefully we will get you a shark or thready soon. 

[ellicat]

Sounds like you were a bit unlucky...like a lot of us over the holiday period. At least you got some sharks to test the drag and 36 is a good bream.

Good luck this weekend.