Old Scaley

Hey Robbie, this month’s Qld Fishing Monthly (September edition) has a feature article on trolling for inshore pelagics in the Whitsundays. Might have some useful info for you. I hope you have better luck than one of my brothers who recently had a week in a hire yacht up there. Winds were 25 to 30 knots all week until the day they left. He could hardly get a lure in the water. But, that’s fishing. Enjoy your time up there mate, it is a beautiful part of the world.

The brand I use is called Invisible Zinc Sheer Defence. It is SPF 50+ and easy to use. As always, you need to reapply regularly which is where I sometimes fall down.

Great reminder @Dinodadog. And as someone in a similar situation, can I also seriously suggest a regular full skin check (one that includes all the places you wouldn’t normally look). I had my first basal cell carcinoma cut out when I was in my early thirties and have been going for a full check every 3 months since so we are staying on top of things a bit these days. I can also recommend the invisible zinc type potions as a more effective sun block for your face than regular sunscreens. Stay safe everyone.

Who said the Bay is fished out? Obviously lots of time on the water and lots of trial and error has gone into your well deserved success @jon. Congrats. Quick question - I don’t see the bluey in the catch photos, so does that mean it was released? Do they eat well at that size? Sure is a great fish.

Good one @Drop Bear, going on your past form I think you may have sealed their fate with your kiss of death.. This is the first year that I have completely tipped with my heart rather than my head (always tip the Qld teams, never tip a team that has Paul Gallen in it) and it has made my footy watching more enjoyable. It avoids the inevitable guilt of not tipping the team you support and you can barrack for the team you want to win rather than the team you tipped. I guessing tipping is not the right game for me then? But I still enjoy it so will be back next year when the Qld teams will be soaring again. Still tipping the mighty Broncos to flog Melbourne in the GF .......

Did you have the residual on the Eels tonight @ellicat? Never mind, you can always chase your losses on the Dapto dogs.........

Sounds like an awesome trip @tugger. Shame about dropping the reds but you can’t be too disappointed with an ice box like that!

A lot of chasing for not much chewing to begin with and then the one that did get eaten didn’t look like it had the strength or energy to get away. I guess that reinforces the role of the sharks in cleaning up the injured and sick fish to keep the gene pool strong and help clean up the oceans. I have seen big schools of black tips on sand flats in the Whitsundays but they were all around that 1.2 metre mark which just goes to show that things really are bigger and better in the USA.

Just had a look @ellicat. Says it is 27” and for 4 to 8 pound line with a medium action. We should catch up for a fish soon and you can have a crack with it.

Regulars on here will remember a @kjohnson posting on here that he would be visiting Brissie from Canada and was looking for some information about fishing in this area. I am always keen to meet new people from other countries and learn a bit about how things are done there and to show a little hospitality to visitors because I have had that opportunity given to me in the past. Anyway, we had a loose arrangement to catch up while he was in town. Unfortunately the timing wasn’t great as the weather was a bit blowy and rain was forecast (but didn’t happen), so we arranged to meet for a land based session at Colmslie. It was a really pleasant couple of hours where Kevin outfished me by landing one small tailor while I landed zero. Long story short, Kevin gave me a brand new ice fishing rod that he had brought with him from Ontario. I was totally blown away, and a little embarrassed since I had brought a Shimano cap as a gift for him but got totally trumped. I love this little rod. It is about 60cm long and really nicely made. I knew immediately that I had to catch a fish on it rather than just putting on display. I am without a tow vehicle at the moment while my usual tow car in at the panel beaters following an unusual incident involving 2 vehicles without drivers or passengers and neither are autonomous. Go figure. Fortunately this site has many generous people and both @benno573 and @ellicat offered to provide a tow vehicle in exchange for a day on the water. @benno573 was the first available so we planned a Sunday trip to Cabbage Tree Point area to chase whiting and flathead. We had and early start so we could pump yabbies on the low at daybreak then fished a few of Ben’s many spots down that way. The fish weren’t chewing their heads off but we managed a decent feed of whiting and bream. We (Benno) did land about 4 flathead during the day but all were undersize. Sorry no pics except for the highlight of the day - my first fish on an ice fishing rod. It was so much fun that I will definitely be doing this again. The little rod easily managed a 35 cm whiting and despite Benno’s best attempts to put me onto a ray just to test it out, that did not happen. Top day out as usual @benno573. And thanks @kjohnson

Excellent.. will give you a buzz some time this arvo to see what we can arrange.

Good luck @Drop Bear. I hope you put your uncle onto a few. I am without my tow vehicle until the end of the month and my hire car has no tow bar so keep me in mind if you need a deckie in the next couple of weeks.

^^ I prefer the darker photo @Drop Bear. Lots more beauty sleep required.

I was lucky to get a call from @tugger on Friday to see if I was interested in an offshore trip on Sunday. I couldn’t say yes fast enough. The weather prediction was good so I knew we would have a great day. We were at the ramp around 5am, meeting up with @straddiebrad and Kurt, and set off over the Bay in the dark with Mark giving me some good oil on navigating the Bay in the dark. We crossed a very timid bar at first light with Brad and Kurt right behind us. We headed to Mark’s live bait spot and gathered enough livies for the day while the other boys headed north. Then it was off to the rock. We fished a mix of livies and dead baits, with fish falling mostly to the dead ones. They weren’t chewing their heads off but we had a steady stream of snapper coming over the side. Mark is a great skipper and fisherman and I learnt a few things yesterday that will improve my fishing in the future. Around turn of the tide Mark suggested we drop a floater out for a Spanish. He has a unique way of rigging the dead bait for mackerel and it certainly works. The bait was in the water for less than a minute and the reel started screaming. Mark selflessly handed me the Rod and said “Do you want to have some fun?” It was fun fight and we soon had a fat 125cm toothy critter on the deck. A new PB mack for me, but I can’t take all the credit. We headed home early afternoon and were back at Mark’s place to do the clean up by 3pm. Great day out, Mark. Thanks mate. As usual for me, there are only a couple of poor photos, but Mark might have some.

Not sure how many tackle shops there are close to Southbank, but there are some reasonable access spots for land based fishing close to you. Head down to the river and walk downstream (towards the Story Bridge). When you see some cliffs with people doing abseiling beside the walkway you will be in the right area. There are a number of spots with platforms or open areas that you could fish from. The high tide in the next couple of days is mid morning so the timing is good to avoid too much current. It is not prime fishing in that area but you might pick up something. If you are using bait and can’t find a tackle shop, a bit of chicken flesh would be ok. I would try a rig with a small running sinker over a swivel and a leader of about 40cm with a smallish hook. I am free in the morning tomorrow. I will pm you my phone number so if you find you can get away for an hour or two just give me a call and we can catch up for a quick session. I have plenty of bait in the freezer and enough tackle. Hope this helps.

Looks like one of my photos @rayke1938 . Mystery fish?

Nice work @benno573. Conditions were magic and the company was good, but the fish really didn’t want to play the game. I only took one photo but it was of the highlight of the day - benno’s freshly cooked pork belly. Not sure if the smoky flavour was from the marinade or the proximity of @ellicat‘s cigarette to the frypan. Great day out boys. Too be continued........

Sorry that it hasn’t worked out yet @kjohnson. It is the old fishing story “you should have been here last week”. Maybe when you are back from Cairns? Enjoy your stay up there. It is usually lovely and warm up there at this time of year and lots to see and do.

Might be a bit windy and some rain over the next few days, and I am made of sugar. Sunday looks good at this stage and a high tide in the middle of the day means we don’t have to start too early. I am flexible though.

Welcome! How busy are you later this week? Weather is not looking as nice as it has been over the past few weeks but we could still get out for a fish if you have time and are over your jet lag. Good luck sleeping tonight!

Wow. That is a great fish @kjohnson. I don’t think we will be catching anything that big if you come fishing with me. Keen to hear about ice fishing though.

This one? https://www.bigcatcharters.com/our-boat/

You are an interesting man @Drop Bear. What about this beauty?

Can the mods please disable the gif function on @Drop Bear‘s profile

What a great family break @kmcrosby78. Good opportunity to test out the rig before the big trip to the Cape.