AUS-BNE-FISHO

Hi kmcrosby78 Thanks for that , I am finding that they bite a bit better in the early morning opposed to night/afternoon. Yeah, I don't eat the fish, but if I caught the cod somewhere else it would be dinner Also lol, you wouldn't expect a wobbegong to bite, would you? Cheers Hamish

Yeah, I use Zman and Squidgies, though I'm still working out which one I prefer. Those are the plastics you want to be using, with the lightest jighead you can to make the lure look more natural. Cheers Hamish

Hey again, Breaming with bro I'm nowhere near a lure expert but I can give you some advice that should send you in the right direction. Here it is, hope it helps For landbased flathead fishing, soft plastics are the way to go. Fish them on any sandflat or around a sandy/muddy bank or drop offs at dusk or dawn. You may be surprised, but the one flatty I've caught on a lure was in the Brisbane River, in about 30cm of water on a mudbank. From what I've read, flathead hate white sand as they can't blend in and target prey without being seen. So that's what you're looking for - darker sand and mud banks. In terms of fishing for them, the two retrieves with soft plastics are the slow roll or the hop. The slow roll is in the name, bringing the lure slowly back, with no jerking, the tail in the back is doing that. That is what paddle tails are for. The hop is hopping the lure back. I can't make any recommendations but here are some good Team Madmullet Production videos on flathead fishing with plastics. While hardbodies do account for fish, it's mainly being trolled over sand flats on boats. Bream fishing is a whole different matter. They can be taken on any soft plastic or hardbody, it needs to be fished around structure such as mangroves, pylons or even moored boats. Small diving lures do account for some fish and so do small plastics. The key is too find where they are hanging out and then you will get them consistently. Experiment with different lures in different spots. I can also recommend you to borrow/buy some fishing magazines from your newsagent/library, these help too. Hope this helped, Cheers Hamish

Hi Breaming with bro In my opinion, there is no substitute for quality hardbody lures. Like ellicat said, rigging your plastics weedless is a cheaper way to get down to the bottom. I'm simply saying that because from using hardbodies from Jarvis Walker compared to Rapala lures, one swims far nicer than the other. The reason i believe they get tangled is because of bad split rings and trebles, so you might want to take them off if you are buying cheaper lures. Normally though, BCF/Anaconda has a tub on sale, it pays to have a look in them. That is how i would try to fix it, otherwise I would stay with the better quality ones. Hope this helped, Cheers Hamish

Hi christophagus Yeah, I see how it's a bit lighter coloured than usual - might've been something it was eating, probably prawns or river shrimp. Thanks also, the sharks seem to have a soft spot behind their head, it makes them easier to hold than on the tail Cheers Hamish

Sounds good Cheers Hamish

Hi rayke1938 It was in the Friday Courier Mail. Cheers Hamish

Yeah, all good. Hope you snag some good flatties and the reel works well Cheers Hamish

Hi rayke1938 That is a great feed of redclaw, it'll be very tasty. Also, I saw you in the Friday paper in the fishing section, that was a stonka bass you caught - good job Cheers Hamish

Hey Breaming with bro The longevity on my Nasci is still going - I got it last Christmas, and it still spins, casts, drag works great. Yeah, I own a sienna 1000 which is spooled with 14lb which is probably a bit to heavy but it works, i could go lighter though but I use bait on it so I'd probably get a fair few bust offs. I do recommend either buying the 1000 sienna for finesse flathead fishing if you want a great fight, I've owned mine for 7 years and it still goes good Cheers Hamish

Hi Leejin Did you end up going to deep water bend? I'm curious to how it went Cheers Hamish

Hi Breaming with Bro I don't have any experience with size 2000 reels but i would recommend you either purchase a 2500 Diawa Shinobi or a 2500 Shimano Nasci, or Sienna. Those are the reels I'd recommend for flathead, and they will land bream, whiting, cod and trevally too. Hope this helped, Cheers Hamish

Hi Old Scaley Thanks for that, it’s funny because if I’m allowed to choose what I’m going to write about at school it will be fishing Cheers Hamish

Hi ellicat It sure is, thanks for that too. Cheers Hamish

Hi all My brother and I decided to go to our local park on the Brisbane River yesterday, targeting sharks. We were successful and had some other surprises. Here's what happened, and the statistics of the trip So, after waking up at 5:30AM, I woke my brother up. Well, it was to early for him, so I got my Dad up and he took me down. After he left, I threw out my shark lines, one with a slab of mullet, the other with a bony bream. The combos were a Rogue Firepoint 6'6" and a Penn 650 with 30lb braid, as well as a lower quality set up. I was up on the pier area, not on the jetty, but i saw two pecks, (well strikes) and I ran down thinking "Jeez, am I on one already?" Nope! I reeled it in, and nothing was on the hook - *disappointed*. Then, I caught a little catfish which was perfect shark bait size, which i kept (mainly because the line was stuck in it's gills). I pulled up a couple more, threw the cast net and caught a prawn for live bait, then Declan came down with Dad, and after a couple more bait checks we had caught about 5 catties. They each put up a good fight for their size, they really took off when the drag was loose Great fun too. The catfish are caught on a 1000 size Shimano Sienna and a 2500 Diawa Shinobi. Now it was about 8:00AM, and I did another bait check on the shark lines. I felt a sudden pull, then realised I was hooked up. After about a five minute fight, I realised the little bully was tangled with this line and he was actually hooked on the other It was a pretty bad situation, because he had some wire tang;ed around his body, but after he rolled a couple times I could walk him down to the jetty to land him. In about another 10 minutes, he was netted and then released. Here he is- We didn't get a precise measurement but I'd say he was around 80cm and about 5 kilos. He scoffed a big chunk of mullet down too. After he was dealt with and released, Declan and I pulled up a couple more catfish, and by that time it was warming up a bit (but we were in shade). We only kept one shark line out, i figured it would be easier to handle. We had a crowd watching the bull shark too, a lady who walks there a lot and someone else. So, we re-casted all the lighter lines then upped the catfish count to seven or eight. Then, I dropped a line right next to pylon (mainly so it wouldn't get tangled with the other because we were fishing the run out of the end of the pier which is only about five metres wide). I hooked up after about ten minutes, at first thinking it was an ok catty again, but then after feeling the weight and the runs it was doing back to the structore I released it was something better. I got it away from the structure and then was happy/surprised to see a nice estuary cod on the end of my line. I slowly walked it down while Declan was grabbing some gear, like the landing net, brag mat, lip grips and pliers and he scooped it up. I dehooked it and it measured about 40cm on the mat. Here it is - He was released to be caught next time and swum off well, back under the pier/jetty. After that, Declan pulled up a few more catties (I let him have them after set the drag, etc) and he was having fun. After we got the tally to ten, the bite went quiet, as it was about 10:00AM and the tide had slowed a little. Most of the catties would've been under 30cm, but he caught a couple bigger ones. Then, I pulled in one more and my Dad came down and took us home. Here are the statistics of the trip: Statistics Tide: 1.7metre high, run out and .8 metre low, at approx. 10:00AM Moon Phase: First Quarter, so not that much run Weather: 34c, 55% humidity Wind: Very glassy, though the breeze picked up later in the morning Tackle Used: 14lb braid mainlines, 12;b mono leader, size 2 bean sinkers, 4/o suicide hooks, 30lb braid mainline, 80lb wire trace, 100lb mono leader, 6/o circle hook. Fish Caught: Shark x 1, Catfish x 9, Estuary Cod x 1 Bait Caught: Prawn x 1 Bait Used: Herring, Mullet, Prawn Successful Overall: Very Successful Trip I hope you enjoyed reading the report, I know it was a very fun session Cheers Hamish

Hi GregOug Haha, I know the feeling lol. I do advise you keep a fishing diary as well, it will help to see what tides/moons etc to go fishing. Cheers Hamish

Hi GregOug Thanks for that report, it's very handy. I might see if i can get out in the bay sometime too. Cheers Hamish

Hi Old Scaley That’s a nice session you had, despite not catching what you wanted. If you can, I recommend fishing with live bait around the docks with one soft vibe lure. Good to see some crabs too I find dead baiting with herring, mullet etc is always very efficient for fish, I caught my profile picture one on half a dead herring lol. The fishing journal is also good, thanks for the statistics. Cheers Hamish

Hey Old Scaley I'm excited to hear the report, I always like reading any Cheers Hamish

Thanks for the tips Fishaman, they'll be very handy Cheers Hamish

Hi Fishaman That's some great stuff, I can only dream about catching those fish Were you using dead bait on a paternoster rig or livies? Cheers Hamish

Hi kmcrosby78 That’s something I can start to record, the wind Cheers Hamish

Hi buzzard That's a pity, like ellicat said there's not much you can do about it. Good job on the longtail still, are you keeping or realising them? Cheers Hamish

Hi Old Scaley I have been keeping one for my fishing trips, this is how I set them out in case it helps. Date: Location: Fish Caught: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Lures/Baits Used: 1. 2. 3. Tide time: Weather: Moon cycle: Tackle: Overall Success Rate: That's how I make up mine, if there's anything else you think I could add/that I've missed, I'd love to hear it The moon cycle is just something I've thought of too. I normally write them up on a sketchbook but I've been a bit slack lately lol. I keep mine for the exact same reason as you, to see when to and to not go to that spot. Hope this helped Cheers Hamish

Good Luck Cheers Hamish