mangajack

Hey guys sorry that i do not upload my catches lots I have been moving into boarding for a while and have only been home for 3 weekends this month did not go for jacks but did explore the seaway more had a little session first weekend when i had my grandparents over and managed to get a big flatty in the arvo did not fish anymore that weekend then i went out and went for a flick landbased next weekend right on sunday night also did not fish much had to be home collecting extras but on the 3rd weekend we had a hour seaway session inside the walls and got tons of bigeyes pretty fun. Gonna have a jack session soon hoping for this one to be the one number 8 is a lucky number 🙂 I have a 200hg curado on a bass raider 3-6kg which i use for plastics and topwater and a 4000 with 30lb on it on a 5-10kg rod for livies like some smaller mullet and a big 5000 reel on a 10-15kg rod with 40lb for big mullet gonna just go landbased at a secret spot and see how it goes. Have not gotten into the hard body and jerkbait game yet lookin to get into it when i upgrade my boat gonna get a new minn kota riptide and a better, lighter casting deck for my tinny thinking about getting a dobyns fury 10-17lb rod with a bait caster on it Im looking for a reel around the under 400$ mark I know the curado just looking for a more optimal reel for fishing hard bodies in the canals

I've been lucky enough to be working at Amity Pt on North Stradbroke Island, and while the work bit means that fishing time for me is very limited, I have been able to assist my students and Max to catch some good fish. 
As well as the usual grassies, Moses Perch and squire there have been some trophy fish mixed in. First, one of my American students on his 4th cast in Australia got an 84 cm mulloway on a lightly weighted hardihead. I suspect he won't get a bigger fish in his remaining time in Australia. 
Then Max showed came over and showed everyone how it is done with a trio of Mangrove Jacks - 47, 55 and 57 cm on live yakkas. He did an excellent job landing those fish landbased in very rough ground. 
The squid have been present but not abundant, but there are enough to make it worthwhile. 
Remember you don't need a boat to catch good fish. 

It looks to be nearly double the weight of my PB @ 61cm.

Had an awesome arvo on the cod, I caught 3 in the 1st hour, then a large 8lb yellow belly and the later I got one more small cod and another small 4lb yellow belly. 
The cod went 53cm, 57cm,58cm and 48cm.

Got a call from a long time mate who i haven't seen for awhile, who only fishes with fly rod gear and catches all sorts on fly in the bay including snapper, jacks, jew, threadies and even a metre long barra!. Anyway the plan was to chase jewies on fly the other night in the southern bay. After being introduced to using fly gear with Uncle Tony catching Rainbow Trout awhile ago, i was keen to both catch up with him and also to maybe improve my fly casting abilities. To be honest i would have just been happy to be a passenger in his boat to watch and witness his skills. 
But being the mate he is, when we got to spot x, he proceeded to position his boat nicely with the minny and then handed me one of his fly rods and gave me instructions on when and where to cast the fly. He's the sort of fella who gets just as much of a thrill and satisfaction letting the deckie catch while he enjoys watching their excitement. 
It wasn't long before we could hear and see the jew busting the bait near and on the surface under the moonlight. 
It really is exciting to sight cast a fly to where the action is, slowly retrieve it and then watch a jew inhale the fly on the surface!  The visual anticipation is addictive for sure.
Once hooked i was advised to give them nothing, no line at all if possible, otherwise they would swim straight back into the structure and it would be game over. Well that would be easier said than done on a 25kg model - that i'd like to see lol. Definately different for me from being used to bait fishing and letting the drag scream.
Not monsters but all up we caught three jew and two big tailor, all released and i had a ball !. 
 
 

I had a good afternoon on the cod yesterday, within an hour I managed to pull not one but two cod out of the Murray. 
The 1st was just a little under sized at 50cm, but the 2nd was a, nice keeper at 62cm.
I also got 4 yellow belly, but they were only around the 35cm mark. 
All were caught on the McGrath lures vibes, which are fast becoming my favourite lures, equally good at catching red fin, trout, yellow belly and cod. 

Out from the leads into the pine, at night with a spotlight it is easy to find the schools in bramble bay.
 

Out from the leads into the pine, at night with a spotlight it is easy to find the schools in bramble bay.
 

I'd be very happy with your first efforts on the blue bones.
I used to chase the big blueys in Hervey Bay using purple rock crabs....they are pretty hard to find these days, I don't know why.

Out from the leads into the pine, at night with a spotlight it is easy to find the schools in bramble bay.
 

I'd be very happy with your first efforts on the blue bones.
I used to chase the big blueys in Hervey Bay using purple rock crabs....they are pretty hard to find these days, I don't know why.

Plenty of Moses Perch in the river....there are at least 3 subspecies in there.

Plenty of Moses Perch in the river....there are at least 3 subspecies in there.

I set myself a little goal for this summer, and that was to hopefully land a decent sized Tuskie, with my L plates on I started fishing the reef around the bay islands and was having some degree of success, it’s unforgiving territory and I’ve probably lost more fish than I’ve stopped.



Still keen to tangle with the larger models I sucked it up and went fishing on the weekend, it felt naughty and wrong as I have become spoilt doing week day trips lately, anyway the plan was to launch around 4:30 and be back no later than 11 to avoid a chaotic boat ramp, first up I was going to see if I could locate some Jew before targeting the Tuskies, after sounding around for half an hour or more to no avail I gave up and set off.
Upon arriving at the spot I did a few drifts flicking a plastic for 2 small squire and a small Maori Cod, with that out of my system I began focusing on the Tuskies, not long after the first drop I hooked up to a nice fish that went 4.5kg

The second drop saw me peak a touch too early, big swing no ding, I think I might have ripped it back out of his mouth, 3rd drop saw me connected to this one

slightly smaller but still great fun, the fourth drop had me hooked onto a much larger specimen which buckled me over and proceed to return to his home oblivious of my locked drag, it’s definitely true, these things pull like freight trains!, happy with the 2 in the box I made my way back in before 10am only stopping for a quick flick here and there for no result.

As far as Tuskies go these are really only pups, but I feel I’m on my P plates now, fingers crossed one day I might get my opens.
 
 

Niiiiccce, gotta love that early time of day when the skys red and wind is low that most people, who don't fish😜, miss.
If you have too many prawns I can take some off your hands if you like......just cause I'm a nice guy........you know....and like to help others out.......😜

So last century's menu did not sit well with you.
I used to butcher my own mutton back then too, how well you treated it is how well it ended up on the plate.

To be honest mutton is my favorite flavoured meat, preferred above beef or lamb.
Just cook it slower and it isn't tough and has a full flavour and self bastes with any cut.
The big problem is finding a butcher that does mutton these days.

I went down to the river today to give it another shot. I've tried soft plastics, lead fish, jelly vibes and hard bodies. I've finished in the current, along the bank, in the calm water ect and nothing was working and nobody else, was, catching either. 
I had good luck yesterday arvo and decided to work on what was doing it yesterday.
But after an hour trying different approaches I had no luck, but then using a combination of what worked yesterday and tweeked to what's worked in other parts of the river, although in those situations I'm only casting 5m-10m, here I had to cast 30m-35m.
But working the current and the eddies I hit pay dirt, and in an hour and a half more or less I pulled in 5 yellow belly and a cod. 
The real key was the pause on the retrieve, I see so many people fishing lures ect and it's just a strait retrieve every time. I got one little 2lb yellow during the retrieve, but I got the other 4 and the cod on the pause. That pause is a deadly weapon in bringing on a strike, the other big key is always point the rod tip at the lure, when you get a hit it's pulling against the drag rather the rod which has flex and you get more hookups instead of strikes. 
Anyway here are the biggest. 

That's got to be the most expensive piece of plastic i have ever seen.....try somewhere like Dotmar Plastics that specialise in plastics for industry.....
 

I had a bit of a flick today at one of my GOTO spots that's been dead for weeks on my way back from trying some new spots out. 
I got quite a surprise when what I thought was a half decent redfin suddenly put on some speed and power as it got close to the bank and turned I to a nice 4lb brown trout. 
I didn't even have a net with me as I honestly didn't expect to get anything, so I had to beach it I to some rocks and lip it. 
But it was a pleasant surprise and might might bode well for giving it a proper run. But I've only heard about 1 trout getting caught there in the last 6 weeks. (other then this one) 

Launched at 3am this morning at Dohles Rocks and went to my spot to get some live prawns....6 casts and over a hundred prawns between 4" and 5 1/2" and i kept 4 poddy mullet and 3 winter whiting for fish livies as well.
Raced out to Queens Beach off Redcliffe and got a berley trail going then started with the live prawns and whiting.
About 6am a 60cm grunter jumped into the esky....
After 7am I moved to a couple of more spots and caught lots of large moses and 1 small venus tusk fish and a few bream.
Winds started about 9am so i shot back into the Pine and drifted about with liver prawns and whiting for flathead...got me stuffed why they didn't take a bait....
Just the grunter kept me company on the trip home.
You have all seen photos of a grunter before....

Launched at 3am this morning at Dohles Rocks and went to my spot to get some live prawns....6 casts and over a hundred prawns between 4" and 5 1/2" and i kept 4 poddy mullet and 3 winter whiting for fish livies as well.
Raced out to Queens Beach off Redcliffe and got a berley trail going then started with the live prawns and whiting.
About 6am a 60cm grunter jumped into the esky....
After 7am I moved to a couple of more spots and caught lots of large moses and 1 small venus tusk fish and a few bream.
Winds started about 9am so i shot back into the Pine and drifted about with liver prawns and whiting for flathead...got me stuffed why they didn't take a bait....
Just the grunter kept me company on the trip home.
You have all seen photos of a grunter before....

Grunter is not to be scoffed at. Great feed👍

Launched at 3am this morning at Dohles Rocks and went to my spot to get some live prawns....6 casts and over a hundred prawns between 4" and 5 1/2" and i kept 4 poddy mullet and 3 winter whiting for fish livies as well.
Raced out to Queens Beach off Redcliffe and got a berley trail going then started with the live prawns and whiting.
About 6am a 60cm grunter jumped into the esky....
After 7am I moved to a couple of more spots and caught lots of large moses and 1 small venus tusk fish and a few bream.
Winds started about 9am so i shot back into the Pine and drifted about with liver prawns and whiting for flathead...got me stuffed why they didn't take a bait....
Just the grunter kept me company on the trip home.
You have all seen photos of a grunter before....

Full story was he was on the foredeck being unhooked and the fish locker door was open....jumped there landed in the locker then i had him cornered to get the hook out.
I need to find a better way of holding those grunter without either being spiked or cut by the serrated gill covers....this one got me both ways.....once whilst alive and once at the filleting station.