Daryl McPhee

Sharks can detect magnetic fields while bony fish cannot. In theory the magnet should have some deterrent effect on sharks but they will never be 100% effective. No deterrent for any purpose is. But if you are picking up 10% more fish then they are worth it. 
Neodymium magnets are the best and the come in a great variety of shapes and sizes. They are only a few bucks each so they are cost effective.

Sharks can detect magnetic fields while bony fish cannot. In theory the magnet should have some deterrent effect on sharks but they will never be 100% effective. No deterrent for any purpose is. But if you are picking up 10% more fish then they are worth it. 
Neodymium magnets are the best and the come in a great variety of shapes and sizes. They are only a few bucks each so they are cost effective.

Sharks can detect magnetic fields while bony fish cannot. In theory the magnet should have some deterrent effect on sharks but they will never be 100% effective. No deterrent for any purpose is. But if you are picking up 10% more fish then they are worth it. 
Neodymium magnets are the best and the come in a great variety of shapes and sizes. They are only a few bucks each so they are cost effective.

Here is a summary some published information from a colleague Dr Barry Pollock. 
The annual spawning aggregation of dusky flathead 'Platycephalus fuscus' at Jumpinpin, Queensland
Dusky flathead 'Platycephalus fuscus' form seasonal spawning aggregations where estuaries meet the ocean in eastern Australia. The present study at Jumpinpin in south Queensland shows that dusky flathead have a protracted spawning period with serial spawning during summer (November to April). They are rudimentary hermaphrodites with sex determined at an early juvenile stage. Sex ratios are skewed with males most common in the smaller size-classes (< 50 cm TL). Mid-sized females (45 cm - 69 cm TL) dominate the production of eggs due to their abundance in the spawning aggregation. Within the female component of the spawning aggregation, the occurrence of individuals exceeding the current maximum size limit of 75 cm TL is low (2.6%). Parasitic nematodes (philometrids) occurred in 8% of ovaries. Degenerated ovaries, in which atretic oocytes are common, are present in half of the very large females (70 cm - 75cm TL) examined. The current minimum size restriction of 40 cm TL for dusky flathead provides protection for 73% of males and 15% of females within the spawning aggregation. 

I finished with one more mulloway before coming back to the mainland. It is good to be able to successfully target them on a regular basis, but it will soon be time to change focus and start to target tailor. 

I finished with one more mulloway before coming back to the mainland. It is good to be able to successfully target them on a regular basis, but it will soon be time to change focus and start to target tailor. 

I finished with one more mulloway before coming back to the mainland. It is good to be able to successfully target them on a regular basis, but it will soon be time to change focus and start to target tailor. 

I finished with one more mulloway before coming back to the mainland. It is good to be able to successfully target them on a regular basis, but it will soon be time to change focus and start to target tailor. 

I finished with one more mulloway before coming back to the mainland. It is good to be able to successfully target them on a regular basis, but it will soon be time to change focus and start to target tailor. 

I finished with one more mulloway before coming back to the mainland. It is good to be able to successfully target them on a regular basis, but it will soon be time to change focus and start to target tailor. 

I finished with one more mulloway before coming back to the mainland. It is good to be able to successfully target them on a regular basis, but it will soon be time to change focus and start to target tailor. 

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. 

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. 

A blight on the dedication to my own and significant others' self preservation was noted. I had to at least remember getting a line in the water. @Kat had been suffering my work affliction whilst breaking her own ground on the work front. We had not fished for too long.
Luckily, @ellicat gallantly exuded her talent and a suite of grassies earned @Kat a "cape" status earlier in the week. I had not done anything much except work, chores and transport kids since just after new year.
@ARKS2011, @Kat, Charlotte and myself launched (allbeit very late), Sunday morning from paradise point and headed towards jumpinpin. I don't know the place very well and it was a weekend day, so I assumed that there would be plenty of activity on the water, and given the timing, few fish. As it turns out I was correct. 
It was a light gear/ live beach worm approach to attempt to get a feed of whiting.
We did a drift to begin with for minimal reward. One legal whiting is not a haul by any rational criteria. Charlotte and Amber seemed more keen on fighting than fishing.
We had a look at another spot briefly before finding somewhere we could drop the girls for a swim and a play on the beach. Kat and I deployed baits VERY close by. We were rewarded with miniscule tarwhine and whiting that would make great live baits (had they been the right species of course).
It was about this time that we noticed what appeared to be a small Stedgecraft convention happening around us. One, two, three pulled up close by in barely a meter of water. We wondered if @GregOug might pull up next?

They are sleek looking vessels and they had no problems in that depth. Looking at them I thought that all of them probably drew less water than Kat's tinny.
 "No fish here".  Time to try another spot. So we collected two cooled and slightly de-energised children and headed off.
Charlotte was looking at the high sand dunes and wanting to run up them and slide down. Amber thought that she might make it halfway up before resting and going further. I looked at them and wished I still had that energy and enthusiasm 🤔. Due to environmental and self preservation considerations, such a scenario did not take place.
We settled on a spot that I had fished before and caught some reasonable whiting from. A handful of legal whiting found the esky via my hook and Kat remarked about losing her cape or leaving it in Brian's boat. I landed a small stingray and asked Kat if I should keep it for Brian as a mark of respect for his thoughtfulness in keeping the bream for me. The ray was promptly released.
@Kat landed some unders and a legal. It was tough going.
I will however, (from the far reaches of the shadows of @Daryl McPhee and @Bob9863 recently), take some solace in a 40cm model that was hooked fair and square in the top jaw on a no. 6 hook. It played up a little bit when it got close to the boat too.
Then it was time to head off. The girls mother was picking them up from the ramp across from the grand hotel. It was a busy run back there but conditions were pretty good. There were a few quite large and relatively quick boats heading the same way. The kids always want to go fast in the boat. A little wake surfing during the overtaking process earned me squeals of joy and delight from my children but scoldings from Kat. 
We briefly tried a couple more spots after dropping back the kids but this didn't trouble the esky. In fact, all it earnt me was the opperculum spines of a very small flathead and associated blood loss.
It's good just getting out with your loved ones. We certainly didn't rape and pillage the fish stocks but there was a meal in the esky and good times were had.

Great job Daryl and Max. 

Much better than a sh!t session ….. 🤪🤣.

It was definitely a short session, but I was wearing a shirt. 

We were using a long 50lb trace and fishing unweighted or lightly weighted up to about a 1 ball sinker. 

It's rough ground we were fishing but he managed three out of four so that's very good all things considered. It's always good to get top quality fish landbased. 

We were using a long 50lb trace and fishing unweighted or lightly weighted up to about a 1 ball sinker. 

We were using a long 50lb trace and fishing unweighted or lightly weighted up to about a 1 ball sinker. 

Just got a couple more mulloway in a shirt session this afternoon. The one in this photo and a smaller 60 cm model that I prioritised safely releasing without a photo. 

It was definitely a short session, but I was wearing a shirt. 

Just got a couple more mulloway in a shirt session this afternoon. The one in this photo and a smaller 60 cm model that I prioritised safely releasing without a photo. 

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.