AUS-BNE-FISHO

We got 146mm of rain Friday night and into Saturday morning so when I set out for a fish as the tide came in on Saturday after the last of the scuds rolled through I didn't hold too much hope as I've learnt the flat ones don't fire up immediately after a big deluge. It usually takes a day or two. I decided to go have a poke around anyway. Seems I was right. Only one flatty landed that went 43cms. I let it go and decided to take the kayak out the next morning and fish the top of the tide in close to the mangroves. So I arrived at my launch spot at 4am and turned the car off. Then I restarted it and headed home because I had left my rods at hime. Luckily I only live 10 mins from my launch spot and I was back and on the water at 4:30am as the first of the light started to become visible on the horizon. There was plenty of bait around and there were swirls aplenty so I was feeling confident. By 5am I had my first flatty that whacked the 4inch Gulp curl tail grub as soon as it hit the water. After a fun little tussle on the light gear I had it in the net. A nice 58cm model. Into the keeper net it went and I continued to hunt around. By 6am I had bagged out. I caught a couple more and let them go and by 7am as the tide topped out they had shut down so I headed in for a cuppa.
 
 

We used to have a couple of them on here but they haven't been around for quite some time unfortunately.
The best I can suggest is on the southside - Tackle Warehouse on Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo/Camp Hill. Assuming you're after guide replacement, I've been happy with that from them.

G'day GregOug
This was just a quick search and I found a couple - I've never been to one but you might want to check them out. 🙂 
Micks Rod and Reels Repairs - https://www.facebook.com/anglermick/ 
Frazorodz Rod & Reel Repairs - https://www.hotfrog.com.au/
MOSSOPS IN-STORE SERVICE AND REPAIRS - http://www.mossopsfishing.com.au/
Bayside Tackle Service in Cleveland, Brisbane - https://www.truelocal.com.au/
If the links don't work, there's the websites there. Hope it helps 🙂 
Cheers Hamish

Thanks Hamish

G'day GregOug
This was just a quick search and I found a couple - I've never been to one but you might want to check them out. 🙂 
Micks Rod and Reels Repairs - https://www.facebook.com/anglermick/ 
Frazorodz Rod & Reel Repairs - https://www.hotfrog.com.au/
MOSSOPS IN-STORE SERVICE AND REPAIRS - http://www.mossopsfishing.com.au/
Bayside Tackle Service in Cleveland, Brisbane - https://www.truelocal.com.au/
If the links don't work, there's the websites there. Hope it helps 🙂 
Cheers Hamish

Bit of a slow day today with Andrew .Jake and Steve. We could find the fish on the sounder but encouraging them to bite was another matter. I even resorted to dropping live shrimp into one of the schools to no avail. Dam has risen at least a foot going by the stump at the floats. We ended up with more redclaw than fish. Fish tally was 20bass,2 yellas and one tilapia.Just got back to the ramp to dodge a heavy shower but Steve got wet opening the gate when we left.

Got up this morning and it was pouring,sat down in front of TV and off to sleep, woke up and was on the dam at 7am.Bass were a bit shy, had to work hard to get 18 trolling and spinnerbaiting.
Dino

You obviously didn't stay up watching the cricket until 2am. 😴
You were probably home again by the time I got up. 😂

I was forced to play cricket at high school and not allowed to go swimming,so got turned off it.Maybe I did play up a little.😋

Great session 🙂 
Cheers Hamish

Alright, that's good to hear 🙂 released for next time
I know they're great eating though, as well 🙂 
Cheers Hamish

G'day Dinodadog
Would've been some good fishing, overcast conditions always work for me 🙂 
Did you keep the yellowbellies? 
Cheers Hamish

Nice garden rain, but not enough for dam inflows.
A few 100 mm days would be great!!

Hi @Ryannnnnnnn.  I remembered reading something about the Swan Bay green zone recently.  I found it here https://flatheadclassic.com.au/swan-bay-green-zone/  Hopefully this will give you some good info.  

Luke and I decided to brave the weather yesterday and have a fish.We were half way down the dam when the skies opened up. I said to Luke are you not going to put your raincoat on, he said he wanted to feel the rain on his face (forgot the raincoat😮) anyway we both ended up with a wet face and ass. Fishing was great due to the rain and overcast conditions,spinnerbaits done the trick,managed 21 bass and 4 yellas fishing the edges. Wife not happy with me as the outside pergola area looks like a chinese josh house with all the wet gear spread out.Luke got a 53.5 bass and we both got over 50cm yellas.
Dino

Don’t worry Hamish,
You obviously are super keen and spend a lot of time reading about and researching fishing. That is a good thing. At your age you can’t have the broad experience that a lot of the other guys and gals on here have. But you have the advantage of knowing the latest tactics, gear and theories and the drive to try them out. I was really looking for examples like “ I would always have a Rapala whatever in red and white for pelagics, a chrome spoon and a wonder wobbler 5 inch in green and yellow. Etc etc’. Thanks for your thoughts and hopefully you’ll get to put them into practice very soon.
cheers
Greg

Hi GregOug
The number of lures is massive, I'm just remembering staring at them in amazement when I was a bit younger 😉
The three lures I'd go with are soft plastics, probably the best and most easy lure to hook a fish on these days, hard bodies and metals. While I've tried heaps with lures, my best capture has been a 50cm dusky flathead from the Brisbane River. Here;s all I know on lures though, and it should be a basic guide to what lures you'd want for around here.
Soft Plastics - When using soft plastics, these lures are extremely versatile. For around here, you can flick them around 99% of structure and they will catch most bread and butter species as well as the chance of a nice mulloway (jewfish). I'd say the best SP brand would be Zman, and I'd normally have one or two packs and some jig-heads ready if I go on a fishing trip to the GC, SC, etc. Flick them around oyster racks, pylons and jetties and as well as those species, you could get the iconic gold coast Mangrove Jack. Use your standard spinning rod (not to heavy) with 10-20lb fluorocarbon leader. While it does take persistence, lures will hook you up to some very good fish. Good Locations: Pylons, Sand Flats, Deep Holes, Oyster Racks, Jetties, Moored Boats, Rock Bars, etc. Also be ready to loose a little bit of tackle every now and then when fishing in more snaggy terrain. 
Hard Bodies - Hard bodies are a great lure, and can be trolled as well as flicked. They will land you most of the same species, and same tackle/gear as soft plastics. I have never trolled, but I would troll along rock bars and sand flats. Have a flick around creek run off's and rock bars too. Lures from Rapala are normally good hard bodies.
Metals - These lures are great for flicking for tailor, salmon, mackerel and tuna. Around rock wall towards the mouth of rivers would be where I'd use them.
Also,  sorry, I don't have experience with most of this stuff, but from what I hear these are the sure-fire tactics. I'm sure someone will be able to correct me if I'm wrong, as well 🙂
Cheers Hamish
 

Hi all,
Went to BCF for something to do today while waiting for the new boat to arrive. Sigh. Must say I was shocked when I saw the number and range of lures and artificial bait available these days! How in the heck do you pick one new lure out of literally thousands. And don’t get me started on the choice available in artificial baits. The same manufacturer has bait in pouches, bait in screw top jars, large packets, small packets, floating in liquid, not floating in liquid etc etc. Then there were gulps, zmans, blah blahs, blah ba blah blahs. Anyway you get the idea. Now I already have more lures and even artificial baits than I know what to do with but It got me to thinking, what do you think are your best 3 lures (any type or application) and the 3 artificial baits you would recommend members should definitely have in their tackle boxes? Be interested in your replies.

Well there’s a reason the pros are there... 

Hi Ryan,
An example might be easiest. If you are in a boat sitting on the edge of a green zone and cast into the water on the opposite side of the boat to the green zone you are technically okay. But if you cast into the green zone you are not. Having a fishing apparatus anywhere in the green zone will place you on the wrong side of the law. So no, you can’t cast from the bank into the green zone, and you can’t cast from your boat towards the bank into the green zone. In reality, I have been told that they have radar monitoring all of Moreton Bay and if they see a boat which appears to be in, or very close to, a green zone for any length of time, they send fisheries officers out to investigate. All of the above is my understanding, however I am not a lawyer and don’t pretend to me. 
cheers
Greg

Hello,
Just want to clear something up about fishing near, or i guess on the border of green zones that run along banks.
Using the below examples, the greenzone looks to run along the bank of the bay islands.
- Does this mean, that I cannot stand along the bank and cast out into the water?
- Can I be in my boat, and cast towards the bank?

 

Apologies if it seems like silly questions - I just want to be clear and do the right thing.
Cheers

Nice one mate. Some delicious dinners there. I have never seen a whiting bitten in 2 before. 
A mate of mine is conducting a shark survey for half eaten fish. I don't suppose you have that whiting in the freezer?

nice one mate, some cracking fish in that lot.  shame about the whiting - would have pushed the 40cm mark if you hadn't gotten so hungry before the photo!

i only ever make the cuts in the mouth if the shark seems really tired and i want it back in the water fast, or as a last resort. i do prefer to just remove the hook but sometimes it isnt that easy. Just make a judgement call on each capture. Just be super careful when you are up close with the knife, those little bullies are deadly quick!

couple of things mate
1. dont be afraid to make a small cut in the side of the mouth where the hook is to get the hook out. in my eyes, getting the hook out and shark back in the water fast is the most important thing. So a small cut to release the hook fast is a good option
2. depending on the shark size, use your body weight to control the shark. so you can basically have the shark between your legs with a knee on each fin. you will have complete control over the shark and it wont be able to bend around to bite you. (ill try to find a picture of this)
3. otherwise, just pin it on top of its head and push with all your force to pin it on the ground. (ill post a pics up of this too)
once youve got control of it, then juse pliers, dehookers etc to remove the hook. ive found that pliers are fine, just takes a bit of shaking to get it loose sometimes. the smaller sharks are more dangerous in my opinion, they can bend back on themselves alot faster and easier than bigger sharks.