Allnighter

Good stuff you two Amigo's 🙂
Nice spotty Steve and a great photo too btw Brian👍

Good stuff you two Amigo's 🙂
Nice spotty Steve and a great photo too btw Brian👍

@Old Scaley and I launched at Manly at 7 this morning and headed to Mud. Plan was to have a go at a snapper or two on the runout and tide change, then head up inside Moreton to troll for some spotties.
Mud was a bit quiet but managed to put a keeper grassie and tusky in the esky. For the first time in ages we were able to rustle up some livies too. A few undersize fish and a couple of grinners saw us through until 12.30ish. We then decided to go for a troll.
We headed up to a beacon with the plan to troll from there over to Moreton then down to Shark Spit. Steve had on a 3 inch spoon behind a 5M deep trolling board and I had on a Laser Pro 2.5M diver in Qantas. About 500 metres from the beacon Steve's rod went off, I hit the waypoint button and in came a spottie that played up deluxe beside the boat - ripping the line through Steve's hand 3 or 4 times. Finally he got it onboard, going 83cm.

 
I quickly changed my lure to a 190mm 6M diver Laser Pro in Qantas while Steve cleared the mess on his line. Back in the water we passed back through the mark and on a bit when Steve's rod went off again. This time it was an undersize schoolie that flipped off boatside. We did a circle or two for a bonito, before deciding to head back to the beacon and then turn for home, as the wind had sprung up a bit.
On the way to the beacon my rod went off, reel screaming at pace. By the time I'd throttled back, turned and got off my chair and got to the rod the lure was bitten off. Either a big spottie or maybe a Spanish or even a longtail. Who knows ? Whatever it was it won its freedom and I got the booby prize. (Not that I've got anything against boobies.)
We trolled for another five or ten minutes on the way to Mud with no further action, so wound them in and headed for home.
Thanks for coming along, Steve. That macky made the day.

Mmmm...cigar...

Well done on both counts Brian!
You da man 👌
Yea when you fillet the jew have a real close look in the flesh itself for tiny little wormies... definately need glasses on for that one 😁

Well done on both counts Brian!
You da man 👌
Yea when you fillet the jew have a real close look in the flesh itself for tiny little wormies... definately need glasses on for that one 😁

Well done on both counts Brian!
You da man 👌
Yea when you fillet the jew have a real close look in the flesh itself for tiny little wormies... definately need glasses on for that one 😁

Well done on both counts Brian!
You da man 👌
Yea when you fillet the jew have a real close look in the flesh itself for tiny little wormies... definately need glasses on for that one 😁

Well done on both counts Brian!
You da man 👌
Yea when you fillet the jew have a real close look in the flesh itself for tiny little wormies... definately need glasses on for that one 😁

A plan was hatched with @Old Scaley, @AUS-BNE-FISHO and myself to head to the Port today to chase threadies and jew. I've been watching plenty of Youtube videos of people throwing plastics and vibes at the wharves with some good success. So I rigged up 3 rods, with a soft plastic on one, a Flick Prawn on another and a FishTrap soft vibe on the third.
We met at the busy Port ramp at 6.15 and launched. Steve and Hamish threw the castnet for some livies and then deployed their crab pots. Meanwhile I had sounded down the wharves to about 2/3 of the way to the end. Couldn't find any fish but stopped at a place where there was a show of bait and some were skipping out of the water. A likely spot I thought and plenty of boats for company...maybe they knew something.
I threw all 3 rods (at different times 😜 ) for 3 hours and 10 minutes. Not a bump. Nothing. With fitness levels low I decided to drift and dead-stick the plastic and prawn. Occasionally bait jumped, so I threw the vibe into the school and held on.
Nothing.
Steve and Hamish returned from the rock wall and did a drift as well, without any luck. Eventually I had had enough so went up to Clara Rock to drift downstream with some cuttlefish head out on one rod and again dead-sticking the prawn on the other. I landed a 40cm spikey jew (aka cattie) to get me off the donut...just. Towards the end of the first drift I was sitting back having a bite to eat when I had two good hits on the cuttlefish rod, with no hookup. I ran the drift again and had a small enquiry but nothing to show for it.
The third drift was just about over when the cuttlefish rod had some interest. I stood ready beside it in the rod holder. Then it loaded up. I was on and it felt like a decent fish giving a fair bit of grief early, then allowing me to get some line back then a bit more aggression. Finally, I saw colour as it was trying to tie me up on the motor. A flash of silver. Yes !! A jew. I held the rod one handed while the fish flapped about and I setup the landing net with the other (Steve, you would have been impressed haha).
This was my first legal jew. Years ago I used to head out most Friday nights with old mate Jayson, the late @chubbstar, chasing them and threadies with no luck. So this was a long time coming.
I slipped the net under it and hoicked it into the boat. Not a huge one, going 80cm on the measure. I accidentally slit its throat and released it to the esky. Many people have told me they are good eating so this one is destined for the plate. I'm praying there are no worms, @Allnighter. 😬🤢



 
I did two more drifts but had no action. Steve and Hamish had been drifting as well. They went to get their pots and some crabs, I believe. I called it a day, well pleased.
I didn't see any other boats get any action along the wharves nor at the Cruise Terminal.

Also, I gave up the smokes on the 4th of January. After catching that fish has been the hardest going for wanting a durry, so far.

Paradise point was the ramp of choice 5/1/23. Having dropped @ARKS2011 back to her mother's beforehand the crew was down to @Kat and myself. We launched about 4pm and headed up Coombabah creek to get yabbies. We had been watching a couple of storm cells on the radar and it looked as though we might just escape the worst where we were heading.
The yabbies were not in great numbers and it took much longer than usual to collect what we thought we would need. Yet another little snippet that makes me feel like something is going a bit pear shaped in this creek system. Or perhaps I am trying to read too much into normal seasonal cycles and have not put the dots together properly yet. Likely the latter.
Anyway we got our yabbies and checked the radar again. It still looked as though where we were was about as safe as it would be in the next hour or so. 
It was very calm at this point and the tide was just beginning to flood, so we were able to achieve a steady drift a little bit further up the creek.
 This yielded nothing more than a small bream or two and some Moses perch. It would have been nice to do some more drifts over the same ground as the tide flooded further (perhaps intercept a school of whiting moving up with the tide?), but things started looking a little ominous and the wind picked up. It was out with the anchor. Another radar check indicated that we might just get the very northern edge of a cell.
Lines were still in the water and mine screamed off. After a lap of the boat a small trevally was landed and Kat kept it for a raw fish salad. I would have sent it back to swim and do it's thing. Kat food...😜
My next bait wasn't out for very long at all when my reel received the stingray kiss. It was well over five minutes before ensuring that only a hook had to be replaced. A new catch for me in the creek however with an Australian whipray (Himantura australis) presenting as the hook thief.
Some very light rain, an intermittent light show and a little more wind saw us reaching for the rain jackets. All electronic devices were stashed undercover inside water proof boxes. We hunkered down... Nothing more than some light rain and a stiffer gust every so often...? We barely even heard a rumble...?
After about 10 minutes I dug out my phone and checked the radar. We could not have been more fortunate. I momentarily wondered if @Kat had some devine powers that I was unaware of, but quickly concluded that I would have seen them demonstrated by now for leader board purposes. The northern edge of a significant storm cell actually parted around the blue dot that was us sitting in a creek in an aluminum boat. I wish I could have taken some sort of rolling screen shot.
We started heading for the seaway. There would be limited places to shelter from the forecast wind but we had to try something different.  Our old faithful creek had provided a place to experience a parting storm but the series of letdowns had become too much. 
Though it wasn't sheltered from the wind we first tried a location on the western side of wavebreak island. Some small bream and Moses perch were landed very quickly but it wasn't comfortable fishing and I wasn't comfortable feeding pickers.
The northern side of wavebreak island was about as sheltered as it was going to get. So we poked around there for a while amongst much larger vessels with the same idea. We found a likely spot and it was here we stayed for the night. A legal whiting was the first fish on board and they continued to come steadily in the next few hours. There was very "little"in the way of vermin but Kat did  land a stingray about the size of a tea saucer. Even though it was a stingray it was almost cute 😂. 
Things went a little quiet for a few minutes but then Kat's reel screamed. At first we thought stingray and then not. Close though. After quite a battle on the whiting gear (Kat did an awesome job👍), a shovelnose that probably just nudged the meter mark was released at the side of the boat. Kat retired for the night after this.
I fished on for perhaps another 45 minutes and landed a couple more legal whiting, then retired myself.  
Kat was up before me and the tide was high. I remember her remarking about dolphins and a school of whiting on the surface hugging the boat, but I was still slumber prone. Soon enough I was ordered to get up and we pretty much started heading for home as it was very windy. 
We headed to the northern end of Crab island and drifted all the way back to sovereign island. Another legal whiting, two legal bream and one tarwhine were kept from this drift.
The final keep tally was 17 whiting. 2 bream, 1 tarwhine and a small trevally. No great size amongst the whiting but we had a good feed in the esky.
It is with a heavy heart and after much procrastination that I post this. It is likely the last trip for a while as I have had to return to the daily grind. A big thanks to @ellicat for enquiring about where I was planning on going at 04:44hrs on Monday morning 😉

They do exist! A genuine SEQ barramundi. Caught today on a gulp 4” drop shot minnow in watermelon pearl. Not quite the legal size of 58cm and closed season so released for another time. Only other notable catch for the morning was one good flathead at 64.5cm.
 
all in all a good morning on the yak - save for a broken rod and a red bellied black trying to join me on the kayak!
 
cheers,
benno <‘><

Recieved an invitation form an uncle to get away from the hustle and bustle and head out to Uncle Billy's Retreat out past Glen Innes. First time fly fishing for me but a great big thankyou to Uncle Tony for showing me the ropes on how to cast and handle a fly rod. We both had a great 4 days away staying in the log cabin there and was the most relaxing time i've had for a long time. We didn't take our jumpers and jackets off for the whole time day and night, it was bloody cold and windy. Minimum temps were 2 degrees with maximums of 20 degrees... crazy to think it's December. Lost count of how many rainbows we caught and it was great fun fly fishing for something different . Highly recommend Uncle Billys retreat!!

Arrived at the Viccy Pt ramp at 5.15am today to see @benno573 had arrived earlier and was castnetting some live goodness. He had a heap of live and dead fish with hard heads as well as some herring, small tailor, a tiger prawn and a trev of some sort....entries for the Northside to the comp.
We hit Macleay in calm conditions and set out some live baits and dead baits and two mackerel lines - one deep and one not so deep. It was a quiet start and I was hoping it wasn't going to be one of those days, but after a few minutes Benno's line went for a spin and up came (you guessed it) a shark. We took a pic for the comp. He went 75 or thereabouts to the tip.

 
Not long after, Benno's line went off again - this time a 45 snap hit the deck.
This capture attracted a couple of boats - like moths to a flame and someone with a pea brain decided to cut across 25 metres off the back of us and suddenly my mackerel line was screaming as it wound its way around his prop. They stopped and apologised after getting a mouthful from the decky, then set anchor - a little too close if I have my etiquette gauge set correctly.
Anyway, next up Benno was on again. Unfortunately this time an approximate 8 foot shark tried to take it beside the boat leaving the fish whole but with a nice slice in each side. Just under, so released to the sharks. I had one rod with half a whiting out and another with cuttlefish. Both decided to go off at almost the same time. I was winding in the one with the whiting bait, that seemed to be a decent fish, while Benno grabbed the other one and landed a decent breambo. The one I had on got sharked and the shark took off - last seen heading briskly towards Peel with a hook and trace trailing from its mouth.
Benno landed another keeper (He'll post pics later I hope) and I got sharked again but it let go of a just-under snap. The bite slowed on the turn of the tide. It came on again once there was a bit of run but there was no quality/size to them though, except for a Giant Trevelly that I had to rest on my legs for a pic...without doubt the best catch of the day. Again, Benno has the pics. A swag of picker snapper, bream and tarwhine pestered us until the end. Benno landed the final contribution to the esky with a flattie about 45cm to join 2 x~45cm and 1 x 35.5 snapper.
With the wind starting to pick up we headed for home with Benno going close to his snapper bag and me just happy to come away with the 2 points. Bloody sharks.
A successful and entertaining morning session. Thanks for coming along Benno.

Recieved an invitation form an uncle to get away from the hustle and bustle and head out to Uncle Billy's Retreat out past Glen Innes. First time fly fishing for me but a great big thankyou to Uncle Tony for showing me the ropes on how to cast and handle a fly rod. We both had a great 4 days away staying in the log cabin there and was the most relaxing time i've had for a long time. We didn't take our jumpers and jackets off for the whole time day and night, it was bloody cold and windy. Minimum temps were 2 degrees with maximums of 20 degrees... crazy to think it's December. Lost count of how many rainbows we caught and it was great fun fly fishing for something different . Highly recommend Uncle Billys retreat!!

Yes Steve, fly fishing only allowed
I don't know Brian, about 150metres across? But no idea how much water it holds. I noticed once the trout were released they needed a lot of time getting oxygen back into them before they could swim off compared to saltwater fishing ( and we were quick to get them back in)  No television and barely enough phone reception on and off - NO people for 4 days... just sheep, cattle and flys! Lots of flys... would make a good Wolf Creek movie hahaaaa

Recieved an invitation form an uncle to get away from the hustle and bustle and head out to Uncle Billy's Retreat out past Glen Innes. First time fly fishing for me but a great big thankyou to Uncle Tony for showing me the ropes on how to cast and handle a fly rod. We both had a great 4 days away staying in the log cabin there and was the most relaxing time i've had for a long time. We didn't take our jumpers and jackets off for the whole time day and night, it was bloody cold and windy. Minimum temps were 2 degrees with maximums of 20 degrees... crazy to think it's December. Lost count of how many rainbows we caught and it was great fun fly fishing for something different . Highly recommend Uncle Billys retreat!!

Finally wet a line at dusk today, was great to smell the salt air again, omg lost count of the bloody stingrays but a few good whiting, with one standout at 42
 

Whiting @Allnighter team south
 

Finally wet a line at dusk today, was great to smell the salt air again, omg lost count of the bloody stingrays but a few good whiting, with one standout at 42
 

Finally wet a line at dusk today, was great to smell the salt air again, omg lost count of the bloody stingrays but a few good whiting, with one standout at 42
 

Whiting @Allnighter team south
 

Whiting @Allnighter team south