queensland brisbane river session #283-#288

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

This report will be about the last few sessions fishing in the Brisbane River, most of which has been quite slow. With all the rain I have found the fishing to be pretty bad in the middle reaches of the river lately. 

Two Sundays ago, I met a mate I hadn't seen in ages down at a local jetty to get him a bullshark. I arrived nice and early, but I struggled to catch any bait or get a bite. However, about 20 minutes before he arrived I deployed a stinky chunk of eel in hope a shark may be cruising around. Sure enough, two minutes after he arrived the rod was screaming. I set the hook, and it was a better sized shark than usual, so I passed him the rod. A few runs later we had a nice 1M bull shark on the jetty, the biggest I have caught at this spot. 

We continued fishing for a few more hours but I struggled to catch any bait and we only got some large catfish. Oh well, at least we got that shark. 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 6:30AM, .2M, Low, 12:45PM, 2.6M, High

Moon Phase: 10%

Bait Caught/Used: Bony bream, eel

Fish Caught: Shark x 1, several catties. 

Tackle Used: 15-30 pound braid, varying ball/star sinkers, 4/o and 6/o circle hooks, 80 pound mono trace, varying spinning rods and reels. 

Air Pressure: 1006

Humidity: 66%

Overall Success Rate: 70% - got the shark

The next day, I was fishing with @Thorbjorn Hale at a spot we hadn't been to for a while. Shortly after arriving and not being able to catch any good bait I cooked us up some bacon and egg rolls, which were nice until it started raining and the bread became soggy. I had caught a couple of pike eels and a 1.3M shovel by the time Thorb had arrived though. 

Eventually, I started getting a few herring in the net, and we each were getting plenty of bites. Between all the showers it was pretty cold though, and we landed several catfish, pike eels, as well as stingrays and shovelnose. By about 4:30PM, I headed off, a bit disappointed with the day. 

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 6:30AM, .4M, Low, 1PM, 2.8M, High, 7:50PM, .5M, Low. - tide was absolutely ripping. 

Moon Phase: 19%

Bait caught/Used: Live herring mainly

Fish Caught: Stingray, shovelnose, catfish, pike eel. 

Tackle Used: Shimano Sedona 6000 on Abu Garcia Nexus, Shimano Baitrunner on Kmart Rod, Penn Spinfisher Liveliner on Ugly Stik. 50 pound leader, 4/o and 6/o circle hooks, 6 ounce sinkers. 

Air Pressure: 1005

Humidity: 86%

Overall Success Rate: 40%

The day after that I had some chores to do so stayed home, but then on Wednesday I was fishing with Thorbjorn again at his local spot. I arrived a bit before seven and deployed a chunk of pike eel while I tried to catch some livies. Soon enough, the shark rod was screaming, and Thorbs rocked up just as I was mid way through the fight. Unfortunately the shark was no monster but a solid 1.1M model all the same - a new PB bully for me. Thorbs helped me land it and we released it. 

Later in the day I caught a nice size school of herring in my cast net, enough to keep us fishing for the day. This however didn't bring anything great, and I think we just caught several vermin fish. Soon enough, we were out of bait and I got home, ready to go for a fish the next day. 

Stats:

Tide: 7:20AM, .5M, Low, 1:40Pm, 2.6M, High

Moon Phase: 30%

Air Pressure: 1003

Humidity: 88%

Tackle Used: Shimano Sedona 6000 on a Abu Garcia Nexus, Penn Spinfisher Liveliner on Ugly Stik, Penn Spinfisher 8500 on Savage Gear Salt, 30 and 50 pound braid, 50 pound and 10 pound trace/leader, wire trace, size 4 star sinker or 6 ounce sinker. 

Bait Caught: Herring

Overall Success Rate: 60% - new PB bully

The next day I was back at the same spot with a mate from school. We arrived and shortly after setting up were onto plenty of herring, which we could use for both live and dead bait. It was the last of the run out tide first, so although optimal for sharking I said to my mate the bites would probably be slow for a while on the livie rods. Sure enough, we didn't get any bites until the tide switched, but once it started running in, we caught a nice mix of catfish, stingrays, and eels, and although not good in general, it was my mates first time fishing, so plenty of entertainment. 

As we were about to head off, the big shark rod screamed. I set the drag and line kept peeling off. Eventually, after 60 or so meters were taken, the shark stopped, and this is when I realized the line was caught in something underwater, making it difficult to fight the fish. I was just about to hand the rod to my mate to have a go when the shark shot off again and then busted the line off after taking a fair few more meters. I would estimate it to be in excess of 1.5M, maybe 2M+. Hopefully I can catch it next time!

Stats of Trip:

Tide: 9:00AM, .8M, Low

Moon Phase: 52%

Bait Caught: Herring

Fish Caught: Stingray, catfish, eel

Tackle Used: Shimano Sedona 6000 on a Abu Garcia Nexus, Penn Spinfisher Liveliner on Ugly Stik, Penn Spinfisher 8500 on Savage Gear Salt, 30 and 50 pound braid, 50 pound and 10 pound trace/leader, wire trace, size 4 star sinker or 6 ounce sinker. 

Air Pressure: 1000

Humidity: 90%

Overall Success Rate: 60% - a few fish for my mate

On Friday, I was fishing on the bay, and then on Saturday, I think I had a rest. On Sunday, I tried a local spot that a mate had caught a thready at two days prior, so I also invited a mate from a previous session. This proved to be a waste of our day though, as I could only catch one bony bream, and we didn't end up catching a single fish. That was alright though, it was still a bit of a fun day. 

Stats:

Tide: 6:45AM, 2.5M, High

Moon Phase: 80%

Air Pressure: 1003

Humidity: 86%

Fish Caught: -

Overall Success Rate: 30% - better than staying at home

Anyway, I slept for 15 hours that night, so didn't get around to fishing, and then I was back at school, but I did go out this morning in the river for a flick. My Dad and I launched the yak after the last ferry shot by, but to our disappointment Spot X was still a bit busy so we hit a fishy looking very terminal for no luck. It was still mid run out though, and the tide was pumping being a full moon, so it was tricky to fish here. We shot up to a different terminal, but the tide was ripping twice as hard here, making fishing near impossible. We had a look at one more terminal on the way back but with minimum lights and no surface activity we gave it a miss.

Fortunately, Spot X had cleared out by now, and first cast into the light pool my Zerek Pyra lure got smacked. A couple of casts later I hooked a nice tailor which fought well. We got a quick pic then released this one, but as the tide was still pumping we went to the ferry terminal where we started. We were now hearing some tailor splashes and I heard one distinct boof (like a bass one but louder), so we had a few casts here. I picked up another tailor here, but the lights around the terminal turned off for some reason so we went back to the other spot. 

This brought no more fish, and although it would've been good to stay until tide change at four my Dad wanted to get home, so we were off the water by 3. Anyway, I guess I should name it Spot T for tailor, hopefully next time when we try a new area we will catch a thready!

Stats:

Tide: 10:18PM, 1.7M, High, 4:13AM, .3M, Low 

Moon Phase: Full Moon

Air Pressure: 1004

Humidity: 89%

Gear Used: Spinning and Baitcast setups, 15/20lb braid, 30 pound leader, soft vibes, Zerek Pyra, Megabass Oneten. 

Fish Caught: Tailor x 2

Overall Success Rate: 50% - some tailor

Photos: Brisbane River Session #283-#288 - Lensdump

Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. 

Cheers Hamish

[fatboy]

ABF, your attention to detail in these reports is remarkable and I enjoy reading them, keep it going

Hope you catch plenty

fatboy

[ellicat]

Some Tailor in your fresh dead-bait supplies would be good for snapper and sharks - lots of blood an oil.

[fatboy]

Freshly caught and well bled tailor on toast for breakfast with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt, when camping, cannot beat it

[mzaakir]

yew not bad im going with a mate from school on friday hopefully get bait, been no bait around lately at all. I feel like i know who you are lol

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

On 27/01/2024 at 12:56 PM, fatboy said:

ABF, your attention to detail in these reports is remarkable and I enjoy reading them, keep it going

Hope you catch plenty

fatboy

Thanks fatboy, I hope that too. 

On 28/01/2024 at 8:47 AM, ellicat said:

Some Tailor in your fresh dead-bait supplies would be good for snapper and sharks - lots of blood an oil.

Good idea, I'll definitely keep a few when I catch them again. 

22 minutes ago, mzaakir said:

yew not bad im going with a mate from school on friday hopefully get bait, been no bait around lately at all. I feel like i know who you are lol

Thanks @mzaakir, there's been a lot of herring at some spots in the lower reaches, but middle reaches have been quiet for bait with the rain.