Andrew_P

Latest batch. Red wings and backbone

I don't really agree with you @benno573 on your Bass limits, Bass are bred and released by the millions so I think that a bag of 5 is good.
Stocked impoundments are based on a put and take system and the old limit of 2 Bass was ridiculous, especially when you see some lakes so full of small Bass due to the lack of food.
I do agree on the new crab limits as open slather of Sandies was just insane and 7 muddies if still enough for a feed. The boat limit on muddies is not good though, especially when camping with a group of mates you can have 7 each but when you hop into the boat to go back to the ramp, you can only have 14 muddies in the boat.
The new trap tagging rules are good too. Now the tags need to be labeled for the fisherman and not the owner of the traps. This should stop people using large numbers of traps as every person can now only have 4 traps in the water with their name and address on them and that person only must pull them.
I also think a fishing licence should be bought in as long as the funds are quarantined to fisheries related usage only and not going into general revenues for the government of the day to waste on what ever.
I do not agree with these new boat limits as they penalize groups of people fishing together and I do not agree with charter boats not having boat limits because at the end of the day,  they are only rec fishos too.

G'day everyone,
I am back from an amazing part of Australia and have some stories to tell and things to share. 
There is a lot to catch up on with real work and the new lure business also, I will get to photos videos etc as soon as time allows.
Rather than doing a full report with heaps of photos etc like i would normally, I will be doing small videos and releasing photos slowly to get whatever mileage I can to promote the business. (I don't expect I will be doing a trip like this for a very long time so I need to make the most of it).
I am expecting to release small videos of the trip on FB and the Gobblers web site so if you would like to follow that part of the journey you can.
One of the best investments I made before the trip was to buy that drone. It gives a whole new level of appreciation when you see where we were and the amazing places we saw.
Here is a small sample of what I mean.😉


 
Cheers Wayne

1770 is quite different to Yeppoon in many regards. This is what I've learnt having fished both places. Done pretty good at 1770 on Mackerel & Reefies.
Depth for starters. To reach the 20m line out of 1770 you only need to go 1.2km E, where out of Roslyn Bay you need to go 18km E to hit that contour. The 30m contour is just 12km NE out of 1770 where Yeppoon you need to run 45km E. Then to get to the first shoals its 57km E from 1770 & around 100km ENE for Yeppoon. Also water quality at 1770 is typically better, cleaner and bluer. Yeppoon's close proximity to the extremely large and very turbid Fitzroy River means that quite often the offshore waters up to 60+km east can be adversely affected by river flow events. These river flows carry silt which for centuaries have made most of Kepple Bay shallow and with little reef areas, only rocky islands that are well known and heavily fished. The other thing I've noted is that at 1770 the current runs North->South, where off Yeppon, ive seen it now several times run South->North. It seems the East Australia Current swings in the bottom of the swains and eddies making the current east of Yeppoon run reverse direction. It may not do much but its just weird and when its like that & the bites just vanish completely. The other thing is bait is hit & miss around Yeepoon, mostly miss. No bait = no palegics.  On my last trip to 1770 I watched from the hill, a massive school of bait being hammered by birds & fish just out from the headland

Went up to 1770 over the weekend with Lance headed out early Saturday morning stopped and got livies then had a quick look at a close wreck with no luck. Put the throttle down and aimed for our 1st spot up around the reefs it was glassing out and we were loving the weather.
The 1st drop with live yakkas didn't take long with the livie shaking on the line it was inhaled by a nice trout. This was the next couple of hours fishing as baits just hit the bottom you were on, we got good trout and moarie cod on the livies but they soon ran out as silly us didn't take enough up. 
The red throat emperor were scarce as were the tuskies and by midday it had shut down we fished hard for not much but the ever present hussar. Late in the arvo we fished some red emperor ground and were rewarded with a couple of these fish for the box. Losing big Reds was heart braking on a couple of drops and by sunset it was time to find our anchorage.
It was a calm night and the next day was the same we didn't get any wind above 5 knots for the 2 days. The sea was like glass and we cruised to all our spots chipping away at our bag of reefies but again by midday it just shut down. Lunch and a few beers was a good way to bide the time till we headed for the red grounds and yes another red hit the deck.
We droped the anchor again in the same spot for sunday night with the wind finally increasing a bit after we had dinner it got to 20 knots but we had a good spot behind the reef. Monday morning the wind had dropped off and we found some more mixed reefies before we headed for a quick trip into fitzroy lagoon for a swim and a shower. The lagoon had crystal clear water with beautiful reef everywhere this was a great way to finish the trip.
We stopped in town at a freinds place for the night and drove home the next day then got a picture of the catch before filleting.

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
 

Hey, some of you know that we are working to restore lost shellfish reefs in Moreton Bay. 
We have lost around 95% of our shellfish reefs and this effects water quality, fish numbers and biodiversity. Every oyster can filter 180ltrs of water each day. Every hectare of restored shellfish reef will produce 2.5ton of fish.
The other thing they do is sequester micro plastics. Here are some reports about how they do that. 
https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/research/selective-ingestion-microplastics-oysters-exposure-assessment-predictive-tool-assessing
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.8b03467?src=recsys
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.5b04099
If you would like to get involved or find out more go to our website
https://www.ozfishmoretonbay.org/

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.
 

Nice sounder shot mate,  it will be interesting to see what you can catch off it .  

Mate I think you might’ve accidentally hit demo mode on your sounder to get a show like that!

Hi all,
The first instalment of the much anticipated 2 boat challenge occurred on Saturday.  Rules were that you must remain within sledging distance at all times and a move of spots must be a consensus.  Many different scoring options were touted and dutifully ignored on the day, the quality/quantity of the esky to be the determining factor.
@Drop Bear and @Old Scaley were the skippers and providers of the 2 x boats, @ellicat and I were the lucky deckies.  Straws were drawn at the ramp and team Quampie was Robbie and I, Bwian and Steve climbed aboard Steve’s nameless tinny and we aimed towards Mud Island, avoiding the exclusion zones around USS Wasp but appreciating all the cool toys on the deck – F-35’s, MV-22 Tilt rotor and a CH-53 Super Stallion chopper.  Funnily enough, the Japanese ship moored just up the river had no exclusion zone and no police guard – it did have a couple of chinooks on deck though so that was pretty cool to see.
After a failry smooth run across to Mud, we anchored up on the first spot and things were very quiet indeed, with just a few undersized snapper being boated.   A move of about 300m netted immediate results with Steve first on the board that counts with a nice pan-size snapper of 38cm.  Things continued to be quiet so we up anchors and moved to a totally different area.
The new area was unfortunately similarly quiet, I got myself onto the scoreboard with a tusky just over legal, but it just wasn’t really happening.  So we moved back to a similar area to where we had started as the sun started to head a bit lower.
Things started positively after the move with some more reasonable sized pinkies coming aboard but things then quietened off again.  Then after about an hour of tiny pinkies and trumpeter, a more substantial pull was felt on my line and a lovely 55cm flathead boated not long after.  Steve was not to be outdone and shortly after landed a nice gold spot cod at 45cm.  2-2 at this point, sledging at an all time high.
Team quampie then secretly pulled out the 80-grit sandpaper and a new supplement program supplied by Swimming Australia and kicked it into overdrive with a pan-size snapper and a cod of our own finding their way into the esky.  Unfortunately as the tide slowed near the high, the bite dropped right off.  During pack up Rob’s livie out the back went off in a big way with a decent bend in the heavier rod.  We were hopeful of a finish on a high, however, the fishing gods had other ideas.  One of the biggest green sea toads I’ve ever seen was landed and subsequently returned from whence it came with utter disgust and distain from all aboard.  Slight sniggering could be heard from the other boat, what’s that saying they use at the footy… look at the scoreboard… 😛
All in all a very fun day out on the water, not a huge catch but good banter and copious amounts of BS with the occasional fish distracting everyone.
Others will add photos – I neglected to take any!
Further installments of the two boat challenge will hopefully be posted in coming weeks / months.  Current scoreboard sits at Quampie 1 - Nameless - 0
Cheers,
benno <’><

Mate I think you might’ve accidentally hit demo mode on your sounder to get a show like that!

Mate I think you might’ve accidentally hit demo mode on your sounder to get a show like that!

Mate I think you might’ve accidentally hit demo mode on your sounder to get a show like that!

Well I think I may be getting a little excited with my posting but. Today I got away a little early from work and had 3 hour of free time. So what better else to do than look for some fresh ground close to the ramp. 
 
First stop was West Peel artificial reef as some guys at the bar reckon it is hot at the moment. I covered the distance from Raby bay boat ramp to WP in about 10 minutes are 32 knots. 
 
Not much showing on the sounder. They are in more water than I first though. Some in as much as 45-50ft.
Found a little more ground in another spot I ain’t telling anyone. Here’s a sounder photo for a tease. Can’t wait to flog it on Friday 😄. You should have seen me when I saw I didn’t have any rods onboard 🤬
 
Has anyone actually caught anything at West peel? I reckon the guys at the pub are ******** me.
regards,
Mick

Media Statement
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries
The Honourable Mark Furner
Sunday, July 21, 2019
Prawn farmers breathe little easier after negative white spot disease tests
The latest round of surveillance tests conducted by Biosecurity Queensland show no signs of white spot disease in South East Queensland waters, more than two-and-a-half years after the virus devasted the big prawn farms on the Logan River.
It’s a big relief for the prawn farmers whose stocks were destroyed after white spot disease was first discovered two-and-a-half years ago, and who have restocked their production ponds again.
Prawn and marine worm samples were taken from a number of locations within Moreton Bay, Logan and Brisbane Rivers and all returned negative results.
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said it was great news for the industry and its employment prospects.
“This is the second consecutive surveillance round conducted by my department which has returned negative results for the virus that causes white spot disease,” Mr Furner said.
“If another round of tests next year is negative Queensland and Australia would be declared free of white spot disease.
“But this means everyone must continue to remain vigilant to ensure the disease is contained and does not spread.
“I thank the industry for its resilience and patience during this hard time, and the general community, especially recreational fishers for heeding our messages and helping stop the spread of the disease.”
Australian Prawn Farmers Association President Matt West said all his members have their fingers crossed hoping the white spot outbreak is over.
“Affected businesses have gone through a lot of financial and mental stress with our Logan farms having to shut down for lengthy periods with the sole purpose of eradicating the disease,” Mr West said.
“Everyone has done an amazing job, but we’ve had a wake-up call to remain vigilant, not just for white spot but other diseases coming into the country.
“It’s imperative we boost exotic disease testing regimes at our borders to prevent any other major disease outbreaks.
“An end to the white spot disease outbreak would be very good result indeed, not only for the Logan farmers but Queensland’s prawn farming industry, which is currently enjoying a considerable, state-wide, expansionary phase.
“Established aquaculture companies and major new entrants are spending millions and millions of dollars expanding their farms or constructing some new large-scale operations.
“There’s such unlimited demand for our prawns. Seafood suppliers take everything we can produce.”
White spot disease is a highly contagious viral infection that affects crustaceans, prawns and crabs, but it is not harmful to human health and these seafoods are safe to eat.
Additional biosecurity measures are in place on the Logan prawn farms where white spot disease was first detected to protect the farms from disease incursions.
Line fishing is still not permitted around the prawn farm inlet and outlet channels and this measure will remain enforced at this time.
So will movement restrictions for raw prawns, yabbies and marine worms in South East Queensland.
Three of Seven Logan prawn farms restocked their ponds last summer and the biggest operator and harvested around 421 tonnes of their much sought-after prawns. Although well down on prior to the disease outbreak, production is set to double again later this year.
The battling Logan prawn farmers got another much-needed boost after the owners of Gold Coast Marine Aquaculture won the prestigious Champion Prawn and the Champion Aquaculture Product Trophy at the Sydney Royal Show, which sets the quality bench mark for all Australian seafood.
Noel Herbst pioneered prawn farming in Queensland establishing his family-run business on the Logan in 1986.
Debbie Herbst said the achievement was extra sweet.
“Especially coming in our first year back in production,” she said.
“Winning awards like that makes us feel proud of what we produce.”
Mr Furner said the global aquaculture industry was valued in the hundreds of billions of dollars and Queensland was well placed to take advantage of the opportunities on offer.
“Overseas, aquaculture is rapidly overtaking the wild caught fishery in value,” Mr Furner said.
“In Queensland the industry is valued at over $120 million and rising fast, with the production of prawns making up the lion’s share of this figure.
“To boost the sector further, the Government has identified six Aquaculture Development Areas in the Townsville, Whitsunday, Mackay, Rockhampton and Gladstone regions.
“Identifying areas suitable for aquaculture development is an important initiative to grow the industry and will bring more jobs in a stronger regional Queensland economy.
“My Department reports there has already been a number of enquiries from prospective entrants.”
Mr Furner said the Ask for Queensland seafood campaign featuring footy legend Sam Thaiday helped to restore confidence for seafood lovers buying Queensland seafood.
“Nothing beats Queensland’s fresh, tasty and delicious seafood,” he said.
Mr Furner recently launched the #eatqld campaign asking Queenslanders to buy great-tasting Queensland produce.
“Buying local produce benefits local businesses, it creates more jobs, commercial fishers continue to support their families and Queenslanders can enjoy fresh seafood,” Mr Furner said.

Hi Andrew ,
 
i got the 4.5 Drifter Centre Console.

Hi Drop Bear,
 
its 5.45 metres. Etec’s are my preferred motor never had a drama with them . Drove to Bundy to get the new boat only dealer in the south east that doe a poly with a etec

About 15 years ago i used to fish the bay islands regularly with my sons and one close mate, but then some life changes got in the way and my close mate unfortunately passed away 😢
Back then i was a regular to Ausfish and met some great blokes, and had some great fishing adventures.
I sold the 5.2m Formosa 10 years ago or so, but have recently rekindled my passion for the bay again and have bought a 4.2m Renegade with the desire to fish the bay again with my two sons 😊
Well, the glorious bay is still there all these years later and i am thoroughly enjoying re-living the good old days!
What a beautiful place we have right at our back door!
Luckily i kept some gps marks from all those years ago which are still producing some great fish.
These are from just 5-6m of water.
 
 



 
 

Hi all. 
Headed out after work last night with a mate to see if the snapper where still around. Launched at 5.30pm and on the anchor by 6pm burleying up and putting some baits out.
Took about 1hr but slowly they the came on the chew
Caught 6 around the 70-75cm mark with 4 being released. Then the sharks rocked up and took the body of a solid fish in the  mid 7kg bracket.😫 So we up anchored and headed for home as we didn't want to see any more fish destroyed by sharks. Good to spend a few hours on the water again. Hope to get out again in the coming days. 
cheers Josh <><

All good mate. No party spoiled. Each to their own.
I don't take bream very often either but I have in the past and probably will again. I get 4 boneless pieces off each bream and find them delicious and a very worthy dinner.
The southern black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri) has a much slower growth rate and there has been a lot reported on this but the yellow fins are not that slow to grow reaching legal size in as little as 3 years. 
 
 

From Fisheries QLD
Yellowfin bream is one of the most popular fish to catch and eat in Queensland. At minimum legal size (25 cm) they can be anywhere between 4 and 10 years old. The oldest yellowfin bream our monitoring team has encountered was 21 years old and 31 cm long (fork length). You can check how old your bream could be using the graph below. Most yellowfin bream fish change sex, from male to female, during their life. This is referred to as being ‘protandrous’.

Hey legends.
Thought you might like to read this news report about what we are doing with shellfish reef restoration in Moreton Bay. I wish it did a link thingo.....
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019-07-19/snotweed-algae-oyster-reef-restoration/11324388?pfmredir=ms&fbclid=IwAR0oo8B8QBNLIjzYlg1XvNtl9fr6Vh-9p_kJgmdHJtOUGlqIZ21gcS90wu4
 

I’m curious about your comment on spangles not tasting any good at that size. I’ve eaten them up to just on 80cm and always found them extremely tasty and personally prefer them over snapper - not trying to start a war with that comment by the way! 😂
what about them changes at different sizes?

Spangles go hard and your hoping to see a horse snapper surface but then the deflation hits hard.