AUS-BNE-FISHO

Yes

Are you sure it actually melted from heat? Sometimes soft plastics will break down into goo if when they're stored they come into contact with a different type of plastic and the chemicals in the two plastics react with each other. Soft plastics are best stored separate from other brands of soft plastics and in their original packaging to prevent this.

I have seen lots of dead catfish and bony bream floating around Indooroopilly recently, its a shame that all these fish and crabs are dying. 

I disagree with the West End residents saying there was nothing like this in previous floods. I often walk around the river side from West End to Kangaroo Point and last year there were masses of dead fish and some crabs belly up in the river. Having said that, IF there was a chemical spill it would be a worry. I hope the river gets back to being fish able soon but I think I will give it a miss for a week at least. 

Congrats team south! 

Entries closed.
Scorecard has been updated.

Hi all
This report will be about the last few sessions fishing in the Brisbane River, most of which has been quite slow. With all the rain I have found the fishing to be pretty bad in the middle reaches of the river lately. 
Two Sundays ago, I met a mate I hadn't seen in ages down at a local jetty to get him a bullshark. I arrived nice and early, but I struggled to catch any bait or get a bite. However, about 20 minutes before he arrived I deployed a stinky chunk of eel in hope a shark may be cruising around. Sure enough, two minutes after he arrived the rod was screaming. I set the hook, and it was a better sized shark than usual, so I passed him the rod. A few runs later we had a nice 1M bull shark on the jetty, the biggest I have caught at this spot. 
We continued fishing for a few more hours but I struggled to catch any bait and we only got some large catfish. Oh well, at least we got that shark. 
Stats of Trip:
Tide: 6:30AM, .2M, Low, 12:45PM, 2.6M, High
Moon Phase: 10%
Bait Caught/Used: Bony bream, eel
Fish Caught: Shark x 1, several catties. 
Tackle Used: 15-30 pound braid, varying ball/star sinkers, 4/o and 6/o circle hooks, 80 pound mono trace, varying spinning rods and reels. 
Air Pressure: 1006
Humidity: 66%
Overall Success Rate: 70% - got the shark
The next day, I was fishing with @Thorbjorn Hale at a spot we hadn't been to for a while. Shortly after arriving and not being able to catch any good bait I cooked us up some bacon and egg rolls, which were nice until it started raining and the bread became soggy. I had caught a couple of pike eels and a 1.3M shovel by the time Thorb had arrived though. 
Eventually, I started getting a few herring in the net, and we each were getting plenty of bites. Between all the showers it was pretty cold though, and we landed several catfish, pike eels, as well as stingrays and shovelnose. By about 4:30PM, I headed off, a bit disappointed with the day. 
Stats of Trip:
Tide: 6:30AM, .4M, Low, 1PM, 2.8M, High, 7:50PM, .5M, Low. - tide was absolutely ripping. 
Moon Phase: 19%
Bait caught/Used: Live herring mainly
Fish Caught: Stingray, shovelnose, catfish, pike eel. 
Tackle Used: Shimano Sedona 6000 on Abu Garcia Nexus, Shimano Baitrunner on Kmart Rod, Penn Spinfisher Liveliner on Ugly Stik. 50 pound leader, 4/o and 6/o circle hooks, 6 ounce sinkers. 
Air Pressure: 1005
Humidity: 86%
Overall Success Rate: 40%
The day after that I had some chores to do so stayed home, but then on Wednesday I was fishing with Thorbjorn again at his local spot. I arrived a bit before seven and deployed a chunk of pike eel while I tried to catch some livies. Soon enough, the shark rod was screaming, and Thorbs rocked up just as I was mid way through the fight. Unfortunately the shark was no monster but a solid 1.1M model all the same - a new PB bully for me. Thorbs helped me land it and we released it. 
Later in the day I caught a nice size school of herring in my cast net, enough to keep us fishing for the day. This however didn't bring anything great, and I think we just caught several vermin fish. Soon enough, we were out of bait and I got home, ready to go for a fish the next day. 
Stats:
Tide: 7:20AM, .5M, Low, 1:40Pm, 2.6M, High
Moon Phase: 30%
Air Pressure: 1003
Humidity: 88%
Tackle Used: Shimano Sedona 6000 on a Abu Garcia Nexus, Penn Spinfisher Liveliner on Ugly Stik, Penn Spinfisher 8500 on Savage Gear Salt, 30 and 50 pound braid, 50 pound and 10 pound trace/leader, wire trace, size 4 star sinker or 6 ounce sinker. 
Bait Caught: Herring
Overall Success Rate: 60% - new PB bully
The next day I was back at the same spot with a mate from school. We arrived and shortly after setting up were onto plenty of herring, which we could use for both live and dead bait. It was the last of the run out tide first, so although optimal for sharking I said to my mate the bites would probably be slow for a while on the livie rods. Sure enough, we didn't get any bites until the tide switched, but once it started running in, we caught a nice mix of catfish, stingrays, and eels, and although not good in general, it was my mates first time fishing, so plenty of entertainment. 
As we were about to head off, the big shark rod screamed. I set the drag and line kept peeling off. Eventually, after 60 or so meters were taken, the shark stopped, and this is when I realized the line was caught in something underwater, making it difficult to fight the fish. I was just about to hand the rod to my mate to have a go when the shark shot off again and then busted the line off after taking a fair few more meters. I would estimate it to be in excess of 1.5M, maybe 2M+. Hopefully I can catch it next time!
Stats of Trip:
Tide: 9:00AM, .8M, Low
Moon Phase: 52%
Bait Caught: Herring
Fish Caught: Stingray, catfish, eel
Tackle Used: Shimano Sedona 6000 on a Abu Garcia Nexus, Penn Spinfisher Liveliner on Ugly Stik, Penn Spinfisher 8500 on Savage Gear Salt, 30 and 50 pound braid, 50 pound and 10 pound trace/leader, wire trace, size 4 star sinker or 6 ounce sinker. 
Air Pressure: 1000
Humidity: 90%
Overall Success Rate: 60% - a few fish for my mate
On Friday, I was fishing on the bay, and then on Saturday, I think I had a rest. On Sunday, I tried a local spot that a mate had caught a thready at two days prior, so I also invited a mate from a previous session. This proved to be a waste of our day though, as I could only catch one bony bream, and we didn't end up catching a single fish. That was alright though, it was still a bit of a fun day. 
Stats:
Tide: 6:45AM, 2.5M, High
Moon Phase: 80%
Air Pressure: 1003
Humidity: 86%
Fish Caught: -
Overall Success Rate: 30% - better than staying at home
Anyway, I slept for 15 hours that night, so didn't get around to fishing, and then I was back at school, but I did go out this morning in the river for a flick. My Dad and I launched the yak after the last ferry shot by, but to our disappointment Spot X was still a bit busy so we hit a fishy looking very terminal for no luck. It was still mid run out though, and the tide was pumping being a full moon, so it was tricky to fish here. We shot up to a different terminal, but the tide was ripping twice as hard here, making fishing near impossible. We had a look at one more terminal on the way back but with minimum lights and no surface activity we gave it a miss.
Fortunately, Spot X had cleared out by now, and first cast into the light pool my Zerek Pyra lure got smacked. A couple of casts later I hooked a nice tailor which fought well. We got a quick pic then released this one, but as the tide was still pumping we went to the ferry terminal where we started. We were now hearing some tailor splashes and I heard one distinct boof (like a bass one but louder), so we had a few casts here. I picked up another tailor here, but the lights around the terminal turned off for some reason so we went back to the other spot. 
This brought no more fish, and although it would've been good to stay until tide change at four my Dad wanted to get home, so we were off the water by 3. Anyway, I guess I should name it Spot T for tailor, hopefully next time when we try a new area we will catch a thready!
Stats:
Tide: 10:18PM, 1.7M, High, 4:13AM, .3M, Low 
Moon Phase: Full Moon
Air Pressure: 1004
Humidity: 89%
Gear Used: Spinning and Baitcast setups, 15/20lb braid, 30 pound leader, soft vibes, Zerek Pyra, Megabass Oneten. 
Fish Caught: Tailor x 2
Overall Success Rate: 50% - some tailor
Photos: Brisbane River Session #283-#288 - Lensdump
Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. 
Cheers Hamish

Total Team North                                    3 points/9 contestants = 0.3
 
Total Team South                                  50 points/16 contestants = 3.1
 
 
Winner = Team South!!!!!

Unlucky Northside 🏆🏆🏆🏆

Not this cat. Lucked out hard

No unfortunately. I don’t get my new boat until next Tuesday.  We’ll beat those southsliders next year!

That day the weed and fresh came down the river at probably 3 knots....it would soon overtake me in the kayak....probably match it's speed for a few hundred metres if i wanted to race it, but it would have won.
Odd sight to see freshwater weeds rolling down the creek like a log being rolled down the driveway. 20m behind that there was fish surfacing.

Looking good for Team South.
Deadline is tonight at 8pm.
Are any of you Team North members holding out ?

Mate of mine did a trip up to Pancake Creek and on way home drove into Monduran Dam reversed down the ramp.  A guy was yelling at him about not having undone the straps…he laughed and said he was just flushing trailer and motor with fresh water.  Not sure if its bad etiquette but its only around the corner from Turkey Beach relatively so you could always stop for a quick fresh water fish on the way home and run it with some fresh water.

If you are into Youtue have a look at Part 1 of the boat build on Greg’s Wicked Fishing (he is a bayside boy).  He bought a 5m plate boat and had RipTide fabricate a new casting deck and other mods.  Might give you some ideas at least as its a very different boat.
And get into it.  If you can fabricate and weld this will be a walk in the park.  

Spot on all extra water would be carrying excess organic matter and microbes sucking all the oxygen out of the water. Normally the larger fish can outswim it but 1m jew would mean the inundation was rapid!

My bet is oxygen depleted water.
I was kayaking Caboolture River in 2011 when the weir breached upstream and a sudden gush of fresh water came down. All forms of life in the river started coming to the surface for oxygen...most did not find it and perished quickly....like 2 minutes and they were gone.   Hundreds of crabs, bream flathead, jew, jacks.....the fresh came down as a distinct line of fresh water weeds and 30 metres behind that was the dying critters.
I harvested a metre jew that morning by hand.
I didn't realise just how quickly it kills until that day.
I went up there for a last minute fish before the flush....did not get a bite, I got a shock.

as much as i dont like fish dying, theres enough catfish in the brissy river @AUS-BNE-FISHO

I have seen lots of dead catfish and bony bream floating around Indooroopilly recently, its a shame that all these fish and crabs are dying. 

Bit of a concern for the river fishos... as in a big bit of a concern...
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-31/dead-fish-mud-crabs-wash-up-along-brisbane-river-after-rain/103408290
 

So I've recently bought an electric motor and starting enquiring about the plate being fabricated to the bow.. I'm keen to add some flat gunnell to the sides of the boat and extend the casting deck to fit a livewell/ more storage...
so I got to thinking...😬🤪
Being my first boat and also being an apprentice, why not have a crack myself?
I have never welded aluminium but weld stainless and carbon pipe regularly, have access to an AC/DC tig and can get enough materials to do all the jobs for a similar price it would cost to do just the bow mount...
I think I'm going to use this topic to document and record the progress, happy to hear any advice from people that fabricate or have any constructive recommendations to the build... 
To start, I'll give a bit of history on the boat.. I sold my Hobie PA14 when this boat came up. Pretty much a clean swap. It's a Horizon 2000ish 4.2m with a 30hp 2001 Honda 30hp on the back. Trailer was only 12 months old but I believe had been mistreated (along with the boat and motor, they lived on stradbroke)
the motor wasn't running so started with new fuel , fuel lines, filters, got it started but wouldn't get on the plane... 
Carbies next...
Bought a carby gasket set, thermostat, impeller service kit, new plugs and got stuck in. Pulled down the carburettors and took them to the local small motor mechanic to be ultrasonic cleaned, reassembled 
still wouldn't get on the plane.. 
Stripped down the carbies again, somehow there was gunk in the bowl so ultrasonic cleaned again then cleaned the jets by hand with oxy tip cleaners...
My first time on the plane, beautiful! Cruises around 20kts in good conditions, to date have not assessed l/km but it really isnt concerning. Have taken it for over 40km round trips up north. Just take some extra fuel ⛽️ 
the tilt mechanism was damaged and the tiller arm didnt move vertically at all, sorted those out with replacement parts. Was very hard to steer for the first couple months until I found a bolt that restricted movement in the steering, loosened that and greased the nipples. 😄 
In a perfect world, I would have a newer motor and a newer tinny but this is what I have to work with. She's not perfect or pretty but she's honest. 
I'll post photos and updates when things happen. if you got this far into the write up I commend you.
Hope I have this in the write sub category.. 
Also, in the meantime, I'm going to keep fishing, I'm keen to catch more fish on lures, if anyone is keen to come for a burn on the water and show me some things, let me know. (Really just want your GPS marks) 🤣 

The answer to your question is another two questions: Are the batteries charging to 100% during the day, and are they discharging to below a usable voltage with normal use overnight? A volt meter will answer the question for you... a lead acid battery at full charge will read just under 14 volts, and once below about 11 volts it'll probably be too discharged for your fridge. If your batteries are not charging completely you need a bigger solar panel, and if they're charging to 100% during the day and discharging too quickly at night you need bigger batteries (or possibly just new ones, get them load tested).
Of course, putting bigger batteries in might also require bigger solar panels to charge them too... have to suck it and see. If your current batteries are already at 100% by say 11am you can probably afford to put a bigger battery on it but if they struggle to get to 100% by say 4pm a bigger battery will require a bigger panel.
As for the type of battery, a deep cycle battery is specifically designed to be fully discharged and charged repeatedly, while a cranking battery is designed for the heavy, brief load of a starter motor and then immediately recharged by the alternator. If replacing your house batteries you want deep cycle (or dual use) ones ideally.

Thanks Brian, at least they pulled lots of drag. 

Hi all,
I went out with @ellicat (Brian) for a session around Macleay and Peel Island last Friday. We launched at 6:30AM at Victoria Point and we were fishing before 7:00AM at one of Brian's spots at Macleay. It wasn't long before Brian had caught a legal snap, but unfortunately after this we got sharked several times (and landed a couple more undersize fish). We stayed here for a while longer but eventually decided to head to a spot at Peel Island. 
We said hi to @Another Wazza quickly before starting a drift with some plastics and vibes. The weather was pretty good and it was around tide change, but I only managed two grinners on a soft vibe. We repeated the same and different drifts a couple more times but it was to no avail. Additionally, the wind picked up slightly as well as the tide so we decided to go back to Macleay to try there again. 
The anchor was deployed and I chucked over a fresh strip of grinner. It wasn't long before I was on, but it was pretty obvious I was on a ray after a few fast runs. I actually got this one up to the boat, but seeing as though it was gut hooked we cut the line and got rid of it. I hooked another one shortly after but the bite was pretty quiet for the most part.
To finish up the day, we decided to do a couple of drifts around Macleay. This produced a few bites and one undersize snap for Brian, so a bit after 2 we headed back to the ramp and called it a day. Brian let me have the snapper and it tasted good.  Thanks again for taking me out on the boat Brian, it was lots of fun. 
Thanks for reading, 
Cheers Hamish

Wow.  How good was he at getting back on board though. 
I have never tried a bar crossing in a tiller steer is standing up normal to see out?
A mate of mine’s dad who is a really experienced boaty (long term water police) had a bit of a turn and was thrown out of his tinny and got a head knock.  Would have drowned except someone saw him and got him in time.    
Just reinforced that it can happen to any of us.