As someone who keeps fish in aquaria, and have done for 25 years, I can tell you this is definitely NOT illegal. This fish looks healthy, a fine specimen, and the tank also looks healthy - clear water, appropriate equipment in use, etc etc.
HOWEVER - it is common to see large fish in display aquaria like this, and they can, and do, out-grow their tanks. If large fish are kept in a glass box that is too small, they will suffer more disease, shorter lifespan and the question of cruelty certainly does (and should) come up.
Now, how big is this tank? If the notice about "Please do not touch the glass ..." is printed on A4 paper (my assumption), then this tank is actually 8 FT long, which is quite a decent sized tank. (In a large warehouse space, size of tank can be deceptively large.) The depth of the tank (water height) is 2.5 FT. Most (but certainly not all) tanks are square if you look them on the end, so this would be 2.5 FT wide also, or about 75 cms. In the photo you posted, it is rather hard to see, but it could potentially be wider, e.g. 3 ft or 90cms, or even more.
The criterion for tank size in this sort of situation is making sure the fish has plenty of room to turn around. A common rule of thumb is that the width of the tank is at least twice the length of the biggest fish. It is usually the width of the tank, rather than the length, that violates the guidelines on fishkeeping. With my assumptions above, for a 50cms fish, this tank is on or just below the guidelines, so it is starting to outgrow this tank. Fish grow very slowly as they age, so it could be a number of years before it becomes a serious issue.
But this example is very far from the worst I've seen, and may even still (just) meet guidelines. Note these are guidelines for healthy fishkeeping and NOT laws.
As someone who keeps fish in aquaria, and have done for 25 years, I can tell you this is definitely NOT illegal. This fish looks healthy, a fine specimen, and the tank also looks healthy - clear water, appropriate equipment in use, etc etc.
HOWEVER - it is common to see large fish in display aquaria like this, and they can, and do, out-grow their tanks. If large fish are kept in a glass box that is too small, they will suffer more disease, shorter lifespan and the question of cruelty certainly does (and should) come up.
Now, how big is this tank? If the notice about "Please do not touch the glass ..." is printed on A4 paper (my assumption), then this tank is actually 8 FT long, which is quite a decent sized tank. (In a large warehouse space, size of tank can be deceptively large.) The depth of the tank (water height) is 2.5 FT. Most (but certainly not all) tanks are square if you look them on the end, so this would be 2.5 FT wide also, or about 75 cms. In the photo you posted, it is rather hard to see, but it could potentially be wider, e.g. 3 ft or 90cms, or even more.
The criterion for tank size in this sort of situation is making sure the fish has plenty of room to turn around. A common rule of thumb is that the width of the tank is at least twice the length of the biggest fish. It is usually the width of the tank, rather than the length, that violates the guidelines on fishkeeping. With my assumptions above, for a 50cms fish, this tank is on or just below the guidelines, so it is starting to outgrow this tank. Fish grow very slowly as they age, so it could be a number of years before it becomes a serious issue.
But this example is very far from the worst I've seen, and may even still (just) meet guidelines. Note these are guidelines for healthy fishkeeping and NOT laws.
As someone who keeps fish in aquaria, and have done for 25 years, I can tell you this is definitely NOT illegal. This fish looks healthy, a fine specimen, and the tank also looks healthy - clear water, appropriate equipment in use, etc etc.
HOWEVER - it is common to see large fish in display aquaria like this, and they can, and do, out-grow their tanks. If large fish are kept in a glass box that is too small, they will suffer more disease, shorter lifespan and the question of cruelty certainly does (and should) come up.
Now, how big is this tank? If the notice about "Please do not touch the glass ..." is printed on A4 paper (my assumption), then this tank is actually 8 FT long, which is quite a decent sized tank. (In a large warehouse space, size of tank can be deceptively large.) The depth of the tank (water height) is 2.5 FT. Most (but certainly not all) tanks are square if you look them on the end, so this would be 2.5 FT wide also, or about 75 cms. In the photo you posted, it is rather hard to see, but it could potentially be wider, e.g. 3 ft or 90cms, or even more.
The criterion for tank size in this sort of situation is making sure the fish has plenty of room to turn around. A common rule of thumb is that the width of the tank is at least twice the length of the biggest fish. It is usually the width of the tank, rather than the length, that violates the guidelines on fishkeeping. With my assumptions above, for a 50cms fish, this tank is on or just below the guidelines, so it is starting to outgrow this tank. Fish grow very slowly as they age, so it could be a number of years before it becomes a serious issue.
But this example is very far from the worst I've seen, and may even still (just) meet guidelines. Note these are guidelines for healthy fishkeeping and NOT laws.
As someone who keeps fish in aquaria, and have done for 25 years, I can tell you this is definitely NOT illegal. This fish looks healthy, a fine specimen, and the tank also looks healthy - clear water, appropriate equipment in use, etc etc.
HOWEVER - it is common to see large fish in display aquaria like this, and they can, and do, out-grow their tanks. If large fish are kept in a glass box that is too small, they will suffer more disease, shorter lifespan and the question of cruelty certainly does (and should) come up.
Now, how big is this tank? If the notice about "Please do not touch the glass ..." is printed on A4 paper (my assumption), then this tank is actually 8 FT long, which is quite a decent sized tank. (In a large warehouse space, size of tank can be deceptively large.) The depth of the tank (water height) is 2.5 FT. Most (but certainly not all) tanks are square if you look them on the end, so this would be 2.5 FT wide also, or about 75 cms. In the photo you posted, it is rather hard to see, but it could potentially be wider, e.g. 3 ft or 90cms, or even more.
The criterion for tank size in this sort of situation is making sure the fish has plenty of room to turn around. A common rule of thumb is that the width of the tank is at least twice the length of the biggest fish. It is usually the width of the tank, rather than the length, that violates the guidelines on fishkeeping. With my assumptions above, for a 50cms fish, this tank is on or just below the guidelines, so it is starting to outgrow this tank. Fish grow very slowly as they age, so it could be a number of years before it becomes a serious issue.
But this example is very far from the worst I've seen, and may even still (just) meet guidelines. Note these are guidelines for healthy fishkeeping and NOT laws.
As someone who keeps fish in aquaria, and have done for 25 years, I can tell you this is definitely NOT illegal. This fish looks healthy, a fine specimen, and the tank also looks healthy - clear water, appropriate equipment in use, etc etc.
HOWEVER - it is common to see large fish in display aquaria like this, and they can, and do, out-grow their tanks. If large fish are kept in a glass box that is too small, they will suffer more disease, shorter lifespan and the question of cruelty certainly does (and should) come up.
Now, how big is this tank? If the notice about "Please do not touch the glass ..." is printed on A4 paper (my assumption), then this tank is actually 8 FT long, which is quite a decent sized tank. (In a large warehouse space, size of tank can be deceptively large.) The depth of the tank (water height) is 2.5 FT. Most (but certainly not all) tanks are square if you look them on the end, so this would be 2.5 FT wide also, or about 75 cms. In the photo you posted, it is rather hard to see, but it could potentially be wider, e.g. 3 ft or 90cms, or even more.
The criterion for tank size in this sort of situation is making sure the fish has plenty of room to turn around. A common rule of thumb is that the width of the tank is at least twice the length of the biggest fish. It is usually the width of the tank, rather than the length, that violates the guidelines on fishkeeping. With my assumptions above, for a 50cms fish, this tank is on or just below the guidelines, so it is starting to outgrow this tank. Fish grow very slowly as they age, so it could be a number of years before it becomes a serious issue.
But this example is very far from the worst I've seen, and may even still (just) meet guidelines. Note these are guidelines for healthy fishkeeping and NOT laws.
Hi Hamish,
Yes I can see this last picture, and the final video on the main post. None of the earlier pics though.
I really appreciate your reports showing your honest success rate with shore-based fishing. Across 9 sessions, with multiple lines each time, you only got 1 bream and a couple of perch (plus undesirables like catties and eels). Still more that I get!!
While I don't doubt the veracity of reports on here where blokes catch a dozen beautiful fish to take home (from a boat, always), this does not seem to be the norm, either on boats or the shore. Reports like yours give a much better idea of what to expect. Good on you for taking the time to report.
Cheers
Hi all
Well I've been really lazy and busy in between school work and writing reports lately (if that makes sense). So here are the last few Brisbane River Sessions... Well overdue!!! Now that it is school hols for me I've got time to fish and write reports again. I think I've done well in school, hopefully, anyways. I've been doing lots of riding lately too, but now that it's hols and I have time it's going to be all fishing!!!
The first one was all the way back in April. That's hard to believe. I am using pictures to tell the story, so I know it was a normal arvo session. I lobbed out some lines with prawn and garfish, hoping I could catch whatever had been missing the hooks in the previous sessions.
The session started the same way as usual. A speedy run but no hook up. It happened again but this time I managed to hook the fish. A very brief fight brought up a 10cm catfish 😞. How'd I even hook something that small???
1.
I rebaited in hope of a better fish and got my line out again. Up until this point the salmon line had remained untouched, but i didn't really have much time to look at that because the other line was going off again. It wasn't big, and I wasn't surprised when I saw another catfish only a few CM's bigger than the other. Blast. Today wasn't looking good.
2.
It was a nice blue sky, at least, in fact, I couldn't describe the day any other way than picturesque! Anyways, now, the salmon line had some action. It was going off, so I ran down and struck. I didn't know what it was going to be, but it turned out it wasn't much. A catty, of about 40CM, had decided to come and munch on my half garfish. Rats.
3.
The tide was seriously ripping through, and just to show you how much tidal flow there is there's a short clip attached. It is a pain in the bum when the tide is ripping through but I guess that's just part of fishing the river. The next capture was another catfish, on the salmon line. I struck, and he put up an OK fight. He was a bit bigger than the last one, but had something very weird about him. There were hundreds of seed type things in his mouth, which came off easy, but they were just covering the fish. Sort of like an apple seed but bigger. Any ideas? (Sorry no pic of the seed things).
4.
Anyways, that was the last fish of the day. In fact, my mum had come down to tell me to go home and I'd hooked him as we were reeling in the lines.
Here are the stats for that trip.
Stats of Trip:
Tide: 8:35AM, 2.2M, High, 3:15PM, .4M, Low, 9:30PM, 1.9M, High
Moon Phase: Waning Crescent
Bait Caught: (I did throw the net)
Bait Used: Prawns, half garfish
Fish Caught: Catfish x 4
Tackle Used: 12LB, 20LB, 30LB, Braided Mainlines, 10LB, 80LB, Fluorocarbon/Mono Leaders/Traces, Size 2 and 6 ball sinkers, size 4/o suicide and 6/o circle hooks, large swivel. Size 2500 Diawa Shinobi, Size 650 Abu Garcia Barra King, Size 650 Penn SSM, Abu Garcia Veritas 3-5KG, Ugly Stik Rod, Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod 5-8KG.
Air Pressure: 1006
Humidity: 70%
Overall Success Rate: 20% - it wasn't a donut, and nice conditions.
Ok, now to the next session. This was the next morning because it was still school hols back then. I was out of prawns, which was annoying, so resorted to using garfish cubes on all lines. I arrived a bit before six, and deployed the lines. There wasn't much bait about, and we didn't get any decent livies.
Dad buggered off a bit before seven, leaving me with no company, so I got my chair out and hoped for a fish. The first capture came in at around quarter past seven. The tide was rising, and I had my garfish cube and line out in a little eddy, almost, made between some pylons and the wooden structure. I was sitting down and heard the iconic sound of the ratchet on my Barra King going off, so I jumped out and set the hook. I was on, and after a decent fight, I landed a catty. I thought it may have been a cod, in fact, as he bricked me in a snag earlier on, but I managed to pull him out and land him. Off the donut, tick:
5.
I lobbed out the same cube of garfish in hope for a better fish. I waited, and then, "ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ". I hoped up, and struck. The fish had OK headshakes, and I was in hope of a bream, but alas, it was just another annoying catfish.
6.
I was thinking it was going to be a good day, and the tide was getting really high. After many bait checks on both lines for no fish, I took a couple more pics. The captions explain them.
At ten, the tide was still rising. It was practically flooding the wooden jetty! I still had no more fish to show, but then the line went off. Yes! I set the hook, and the fight began. I eventually landed the third and final catty for the day, which was alright. I left a bit later, with no more bites, so was happy with another sesh. It was nice and glassy and departure, so I had a nice morning.
7.
Here are the stats of the trip:
Stats of Trip:
Tide: 3:10AM, .5M, Low, 9:20AM, 2.2M, High
Moon Phase: Waning Crescent
Bait Caught: -
Bait Used: Garfish cubes/Half garfish
Fish Caught: Forky x 3
Tackle Used: 12LB, 20LB, 30LB, Braid Mainlines, 10LB, 20LB, 80LB, Mono/Fluorocarbon Traces and Leaders, size 3/o, 4/o, and 6/o circle and suicide hooks, size 2 and 6 ball sinkers, large barrel swivels. Diawa Shinobi 2500, Abu Garcia Barra King 650, Penn SSM 650, Abu Garcia Veritas 3-5KG, Ugly Stik Rod, Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod 5-8KG.
Air Pressure: 1008
Humidity: 71%
Overall Success Rate: 40% - I had fun
The next trip was after my holiday to Mount Tamborine, which I will put up some pics of shortly. It was really nice up there, but anyways, to the trip... I was at the normal spot with my mate Sam, aiming to get something sizeable. The same baits were deployed as usual, and we were hoping for a fish.
The lines weren't getting much action after a while, but something caught my eye. It was a Lime Scooter helmet, floating down the river. It was in range of the landing net, so Sam and I got down there and netted it up. It is now known as 'Hambo's Helmet' but is yet to be worn by me anywhere. Lol.
New gear!
This session was oddly quiet, and even though the tide was running there weren't even any Catties biting. I was quite disappointed, as Sam never ends up being fishing with me when I get a good fish 😞. I did lots of cast netting this session in hope of livies, but no good baits were caught. I did get a Glassy, which was lucky to survive my mouth. 😉
He was giving me a dental check up.
Anyways, after that, the sun went down and Sam and I left the park to come back another day for more fish. Here are that trip's stats:
Stats of Trip:
Tide: 12:31PM, 1.8M, High, 6:45PM, .4M, Low.
Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent
Fish Caught: -
Bait Caught: Glassy
Bait Used: Garfish, prawns.
Tackle Used: 12LB, 20LB, 30LB Braid Mainlines, 10LB, 20LB, 80LB Mono and Fluorocarbon traces, size 3/o, and 6/0 suicide and circle hooks. Size 2 and 6 ball sinkers. Large barrel swivel. Size 2500, and 650 Diawa Shinobi, Abu Garcia Barra King, and Penn SSM, on an Abu Garcia Veritas 3-5KG, Ugly Stik Rod, and Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod 5-8KG.
Humidity: 63%
Air Pressure: 1014
Overall Success Rate: 40% - good arvo with mates
Alright, now to the next session. This one was a fair bit more interesting, with some good success for what we targeted. You probably read in the last report I was out of prawns, so guess where we were headed?
Colmslie!
We got Sam, three nets, a bit of tucker and water, and set off. After a short drive, we arrived at about 7:00PM, armed with some berley and high spirits. We had a quick look around, and the normal crowd was there. Sooner or later though, we were on the jetty and cast netting.
It wasn't looking good to start with. It was very slow, even with our berley. I wasn't getting many prawns, nor was Sam, who is still learning to throw a net, and Dad wasn't either. No one else was getting much though, which made us feel somewhat better. I kept up the casting, so we could get some bait for future fishing.
This isn't going to be a long report, so bare with me, but we did start seeing some prawns. It was mainly one or two a cast. At one point, I felt some better tugs and I realised I'd caught a nice little Summer Whiting. I chucked him back, carefully making sure no one would cast near him so he could grow up and be big in the river.
A fair while later, after numerous Banana Prawns, Frogmouth Pilchards, Herrings, and Scat were landed, Dad hit the jackpot. As well as numerous prawns, up came two fine specimens of Bony Bream! Now that's what I call bait!
As that was happening, I also hit the jackpot. The net was clicking easily for a minute! After the clicking subsided, I pulled it up. I had twelve, maybe more, huge prawns in the net. That was a nice feeling. Woohoo! I can't imagine what some of you prawning dudes would feel on a good cast though. Lol.
Go me!
Anyways, after about another half hour of that, we called it quits. We didn't stop in at Murrarie Recreation Hub this time, as we planned to just get our traveller pie and go home. I some how managed to convince Dad to stop at one of my spots I ride too, which had a light, which I plan to fish for a night session soon! We got nothing here, but it was still decent fun.
I will hit up the spot for a night sesh sometime, and we have good baits now too!
That was that session, and here are the stats of the trip:
Statistics of Trip:
Tide: 6:09PM, .6M, Low, 12:36PM, 2.4M, High
Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent
Air Pressure: 1019
Weather: Cloudy, chilly
Humidity: 73%
Time Prawning: Around 7-10PM
Overall Success Rate: 75% - a good haul
The next session was important. It was a milestone! It was the 100TH BRISBANE RIVER SESSION (technically only the 99th but I'm calling it the hundredth because it was special) 🥳.
Or it was supposed to be awesome. Lol.
The plan was to launch the yak at the Story Bridge and drift upwards, then downwards with the tide, in hope of a good Thready or larger fish. I'd whipped up this cool milk crate thing, which was basically an extra basket to go on the back of the yak to hold more rods.
The one and only
We got to the Story Bridge on one fateful night. We dragged the yak down the stairs to the beach with all our might. We looked at the ferries wake and got a fright. For those waves were not polite! A metre high easily, and coming in fast. Our yak wouldn't stand a chance, it'd get a blast! Even if we dared brave the waves, we may as well be digging our own graves. The CityCats were only metres from shore, and if we launched in we probably would've become whipped into a tidal wave!!!
Anyways, I reckon you would all get the gist from my little poem. That place was no place for a yak. Maybe Dad and I will have a landbased mission there one night flicking lures around lights, but we will need to do some extra research before that happens. A backup plan was quickly formulated, and off to Dutton Park we went.
With a bit of extra knowledge (Cheers for those photos you posted in the report last time I went to Dutton Park Steve) we aimed our drift around some structure. We had no luck catching livies off the jetty, apart from some little prawns, so we brought some dead ones out there too. I quickly deployed a line with a prawn, and after this was put down a soft vibe was (Thanks John Costello) too.
The sinker whipped the line of my spool, hitting the bottom of the big brown pool. The Prawn was attached to my hook, I betcha any fish would've thought he was a fool! The yak drifted ever so slowly away from the bridge, until at last, we'd even made it past the rocky ridge. Our paddle's hit the water and really fired up, so we could reposition and hopefully get a hook up!
This spot brought the goods. I dropped the bait down and immediately (like, 5 seconds) the rod was squealing. that got us back to life! Unfortunately, our prawn was mangled, but I dropped him back down anyways. It wasn't long before I was winching up a catfish from the depths, an unwelcomed salmon by catch.
We did the same drift, this time a bit closer to the rocks. Another run was had with no hook up. We did the drift again. I hooked up to another catty, which gave Dad and I a bit of curry getting him de hooked. Anyways, then we were out of bait, so we set back to the jetty.
The session came to an end as we came back to the dock, it was a shame all we found there was a rock. The yak was loaded onto the car roof, and then, just like that, the night went KABOOF. 😴
A little video I put together of the best moments!
vid.MOV
Stats of Trip:
Tide: 3:25PM, .2M, Low, 9:18PM, 2.2M, High
Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Bait Used: Prawns
Bait Caught: Prawns
Fish Caught: Catty x 2
Tackle Used: 15LB, 20LB Braid Mainlines. 20LB, 30LB, Fluorocarbon Leaders. Threadybuster soft vibe, size 6 ball sinker, large barrel swivel, size 4/o circle hook. Diawa Magforce Ci4 Baitcaster, Abu Garcia Barra King 650.
Time Fished: about 8:30PM-10:00PM
Weather: Cloudy, rather warm
Air Pressure: 1021
Humidity: 79%
Overall Success Rate: 40% - average session, I guess.
Right, so the next session was actually yonks away. I was utterly dying for a fish, so I planned to just have a nice and calm arvo session to try and hook a fish on my brand new Shimano Stradic, which I had recently put 15LB Braid and backing on.
I got to the park at a bit past two (well, closer to three really) and lobbed the baits out with prawn, and on the salmon line frogmouth pilchard. I didn't need to wait long for the first hook up, which was on the light line. I set the hook and the fish had a fair bit of go in it, with some nice headshakes and a fairly decent yank for structure. My whippy Veritas enabled me to get it out no worries though, which was quite good. Up came a small catfish... At least I was off the donut.
(No pic)
8.
After that catty, lines were rebaited. I'd actually put the Stradic in the cod spot - I was aiming for quality not quantity. Unfortunately, it was evident this wasn't paying off, so I switched it over too the deeper spot which was hopefully going to get me a couple catties to blood the combo.
There was no action for about an hour or so, and I can't recall having any luck in the cast net. No live bait was acquired, so I continued persisting with the Frogmouth Pilchards. Eventually, I saw the salmon line going off, so I ran down and got it. A short fight ensured a small catfish was landed, so after de-hooked him and getting rid of the bugger I kept fishing.
9.
The day shaped up to be quite nice on all fronts except the fish one, with no more catties, or desirable fish landed. I went home, with a slightly dampened spirit. I was hoping to christen the new combo on something nice - next time! Some poor bugger was getting a tow from Maritime Rescue too, ugh!
Not Ideal
Here are the stats of the trip -
Stats of Trip -
Tide: 2:28PM, .3M, Low, 9:30PM, 2.7M, High
Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Bait Caught: -
Bait Used: Prawns, Frogmouth Pillie
Fish Caught: Forky x 2
Tackle Used: 12LB, 15LB, 30LB Braid Mainlines. 10LB, 80LB, Mono and Fluorocarbon Leaders and Traces. Size 3/o circle and suicide hooks, size 5/o circle hook, size 2 and 6 ball sinkers, large barrel swivel. Shimano Stradic C3000HG Reel, Shimano Snapper Raider rod 4-7KG, Abu Garcia Barra King size 650, Ugly Stik, Penn SSM 650, Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod.
Weather: Sunny
Time Fished: About 2:30PM-5:00PM
Air Pressure: 1022
Humidity: 61%
Overall Success Rate: 40% - better than being at home
OK, now this is the final session, so you won't have to read anymore if you've kept up. It only happened yesterday, and after a busy week of assignments I was ready to get out for a proper fish! I rigged up four rods, one with a trace, one with no trace, the salmon line, and my Stradic with a Holt Productions 5 inch Swim Prawn. Originally the plan was to get to the park early, but since Dad had buggered off on some camping trip (which I wasn't invited too 😞) I was solo. Mum didn't let me go down alone, and since I'd stayed up late the night before I opted for a simple arvo session.
I got to the park on a low tide. I chopped up some prawns and frogmouth pilchards and got three lines out. Since it was low tide I figured I'd try my chances with the cast net, hopefully to get some prawns or mullet. I gave the net a good throw and I got a good prawn. He was chucked out on the cod line in hope of something good. More throws bought more prawns, and some were sizeable too. I had enough for bait for two lighter lines and I threaded a couple onto the hook on the salmon line. They were lively, and it was the right time of day, so I figured I had a half decent chance.
Anyways, sooner or later a chunk of prawn was taken by something on the overhead. i began winding him in and low and behold up came another catty. It's Winter and I'm still catching tonnes... Come on 40CM Brisbane River Breambo!
10.
The next take was on the cod line, on my Veritas. I saw it when I was coming up from cast netting, and I really hoped this might be a Threadie or Bream. My hopes were shattered when I saw a rotten catfish come up after some neat rod work to get him out of the snags. This one didn't even make it up fully and flicked off as I was pulling him up. I didn't mind, for some odd reason.
The next take wasn't too long away. It was on the salmon line. I was in the middle of having a chat to some old fella who was talking about threadies and river fishing to me. I ran down anyways though, and pulled in a catfish about 40CM. Seeing as though I was in the middle of a convo with the other fella, I just flicked him off with no piccy.
Sooner or later, the lighter rod went off after many nibbles on it. There was a solid pull, but I called it for a perch shortly after the first tug. It's about perch time now, so I should be getting lots of them. I wish they fought harder! It's worth mentioning I had live prawns soaking all throughout the sessions and at prime bite time, and as the sun went down I also flicked out into the main river with my lure to see if there'd be any takers. Nope!
Nice
That was that session, so overall it was pretty average. Here are the stats of the trip -
Stats of Trip:
Tide: 2:18PM, .3M, Low, 8:40PM, 2.1M, High
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous
Bait Caught: Prawns, and a glassy
Bait Used: Prawns, frogmouth pillies, glassy
Fish Caught: Catfish x 3 or 4 and one perch
Tackle Used: 12LB, 15LB, 20LB, 30LB Braid Mainlines. 10LB, 20LB, 80LB, Mono and Fluorocarbon Leaders. 3/o, 6/o, circle and suicide hooks, Holt Productions Swim Prawns, 1/4th ounce and 3/8th ounce jigheads, size 2 and 6 ball sinkers, large barrel swivels, Diawa Shinobi 2500, Shimano Stradic 3000, Abu Garcia Barra King 650, Penn SSM 650, Abu Garcia Veritas 3-5KG Rod, Shimano Raider Snapper 4-7KG Rod, Ugly Stik, and Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod 5-8KG.
Air Pressure: 1021
Humidity: 50%
Overall Success Rate: 40% - not to great!
The final session of this report was just this afternoon, and it was pretty good. It was blowing an absolute gale, in fact, I was practically getting blown away! Anyways, at about 2:30PM, I was at the local park with prawns and bony bream baits, ready to catch some fish!
I deployed two lines with eel, and after that happened, I started chopping a bit of bony bream. That was taking ages. I really need to buy a new bait knife. Any recommendations on something that's bendy, sharp, and relatively cheapish??? After I chopped the head off the bony bream though, it was lobbed out with a 5/o through the back. It looked good, and I thought if something sizeable came across it there would be a hook up!
Just as I was going down to cast it though, an elderly fella alerted me that my line was having some serious action. I put the gear down, flicked off my thongs, and ran down. My line had been taken out for about ten metres, under some nearby mangrove trees. I slowly lifted the rod tip and tightened the drag. I had high hopes (praying) for a flathead, and this fish was sure giving an account of itself. I was going slow and steady, and the fish had very strong head shakes. I was scuttling down the jetty so I could get closer to the water, to hopefully land this. Silver was seen. What was it? Not a bream. A mullet? A bass? NO!!! A bloody eel! He was quite a fat one though, and I would say he'd be over a metre. My hook was swallowed, which I only noticed after I clambered around a pylon with about ten centimetres of metal to walk on. Lol.
I managed to grab the net. I tried guiding the eel into the net, but I didn't have any luck. He'd go in then slide straight back out. Eventually, after much hard work, the eel won his freedom. Probably better that way - less slime and the eel got the safest release he was going to get (I wasn't going to bother keeping this one for shark bait).
After that, I could fish in peace. All lines were in. I bait-checked everything after about twenty minutes. Apart from the bream line, everything still had bait. This line had been getting numerous picks, one after the other. They weren't that big so I wasn't exactly interested.
After more bait checks, more wind, and not much happening (apart from myself flicking some dog turd into the drink that some twit had left on the jetty), I went to bait check the salmon line. The head of the bony bream was still soaking, so I was satisfied that it hadn't been touched. As I walked up I realised the cod line had another run, so I slowly set the hook. This fish was putting up a good account of itself, with quite large head shakes and an attempt to win it's freedom by going under the jetty. I was pleasantly surprised when a decent bream surfaced though. Unfortunately, my line was wrapped around a fin, which would have made the fight a little bit more worse. It untangled though, which made it all good landing the fish. I decided that the hook was in a position that was risky for giving slack and grabbing the net, especially considering the bream had gotten the knack of the flathead head shake, so after I clambered around the pylon again I quickly hoiked the breambo up. I got the hook out, and walked him up for a measure. He spiked me and flicked off though, which wasn't good. I shouldn't of bothered measuring him. He went 29.5CM though, so a decent fish. I swam him for about 30 seconds and then he gave a strong kick back, which was good. 🙂
After the breambo, things had become a bit quiet. There weren't really any more picks on the light line, and the tide was still gushing in. I kept checking the lines, and nothing was really happening. Then, there was a bite on the overhead. It missed the hooks, but it was good to know that there was still something biting.
There was a man and his son, who was about three, who I let reel in my lines because he wanted to. Just before this, I'd hooked something with a bit of go in it on the same line which had just gotten a run. It seemingly took the bait on the retrieve, which was weird. Anyways, just as the fish surfaced, it spat the hook. I didn't see it properly, but it was silver. Looked to big for a river perch, and to slim for a bream (though someone watching said it was a bream so could've been one), so I'm calling it for a catty.
Anyways, after everyone left, I was all alone on the jetty. The tide was still rising, and the salmon line still had no action, nor did the bream line. As I was walking along though, I heard the loud ratchet of my reel alive, so I set the hook. The fish was quite strong, but after a decent fight, a different sort of catty came up. Now, these have something cool about 'em!
https://biological-sciences.uq.edu.au/article/2018/08/shocking-discovery-brisbane-river-catfish-breaks-world-record
They hold a world record for the longest organ of some sort! And isn't it cool they were only rediscovered 20 years ago! Just shows the river is gaining health!
11.
Well, after that catty, things got cold. The wind had briefly subsided but it picked up again. My legs were getting goosebumps. But I was determined to catch another fish. I was pacing up and down the jetty to keep warmth. I didn't see anything to interesting in this time frame, and apart from changing a leader on a line, not much happened. I gave my lines regular bait checks, but it seemed that there were many pickers about, taking the bait without giving any sign.
At exactly 5:11PM, my lines were wound in, and I shivered home, getting back before it was to dark. It was a lovely days fishing, despite the fact it was windy as. The last place I would've wanted to be today was on open water, it would've been rough!!!
Here are the stats of the trip -
Stats of Trip -
Tide: 11:50AM, .4M, Low, 6:08PM, 1.9M, High
Moon Phase: First Quarter
Bait Caught: -
Bait Used: Prawns, Bony Bream.
Fish Caught: Eel x 1, Bream x 1, Catfish x 1
Tackle Used: 12LB, 20LB, 30LB, Braided Mainlines, 10LB, 30LB, 80LB, Fluorcarbon Traces/Leaders, size 3/o and 5/o circle and suicide hooks, size 2 and 6 ball sinkers, large-ish swivels. Diawa Shinobi 2500, Abu Garcia Veritas 3-5KG, Abu Garcia Barra King 650, Ugly Stik Rod, Rogure Firepoint Boat Rod on a Penn SSM 650.
Air Pressure: 1012-1015
Time Fished: 2:30PM - 5:10PM
Humidity: 58%
Notes: Windy as, possibly why the line positioned near the bank fired up?
Overall Success Rate: 75% - nice variety
Now, this is the FINAL report in this trip - it was yesterday arvo again, and was a bit longer (but less fishy) than the above. I got to the park on a low tide at about two. The tide had just started to rise, so after getting lines out with dead prawns I got cast netting quick smart. There were some other people there as well - I said hi and got no response and it seemed they had no English so I left them be.
In the first couple of casts I managed to get two prawns - one a good size for a bream bait and the other a good size salmon bait. Though seeing as though the other people had put all their gear on the jetty the salmon line was not thrown in. Instead, I put a 3/o circle hook through the prawns tail on a lighter rod.
Nothing was happening on the rods, but I did continue cast netting. While I was on the jetty throwing, I did notice that one of their rods they had a plastic bag tied over the bait, which was weird. I really hoped it would not fall into the drink. No one was getting any bites still, so I continued chucking the net. It had gone a bit quiet, so I went to move up the jetty to a spot on the mudflats. Apart from some prawns and one lone glassy netting off the jetty hadn't been to good (we got livies, that was the main thing).
I did a perfect throw of the wooden thing onto a mudbank, probably because the height helped my net open, and I felt a couple of tugs. It was no big school of mullet like I hoped, but it was an OK prawn and a glassy. We chucked the glassy back but baited the prawn up. As we were walking down, I heard the reel screaming! I thought I'd hook him for sure, so Sam got the net and I tried to set the hooks. Fish - 1. Hamish - 0.
After this, I did a couple more throws of the big wooden thing but it is exhausting and I wasn't getting much. I went back to the jetty but by now the tide was really roaring through. With a relatively good stock of live prawns and a slow bite I figured that we'd be set for the rest of the day. I did put the salmon line out eventually, it was a bit messy, and if a good fish did take it, it would tangled, but it was better than no chance of a good fish. The other guy fishing was smoking a durry now, and on my last throw's of the cast net I saw him (actually, Sam saw him) throw his durry into the water!!! 😠.
Anyways, we left these guys to do whatever, and started fishing a bit harder. We were sitting around after a couple baitchecks, and then I saw the bream line cutting the water up. I picked it up and low and behold, after a two second fight, I got up an eel. This bloody thing had tangled up in the line heaps though, and there was just line everywhere! I flicked the hook out, decided to keep a bigger one for next Summer's shark bait, and spent ten minutes unwrapping line from his neck. Back he went.
After that eel, not much was happening. A man and his two young kids rocked up, and they fished off the jetty, but Sam and I kept fishing hard. We were bait checking lines regularly, and the final live prawns were put out. I resorted to fishing with whole, larger prawns on the salmon line though. We had no love on either of the lines out deep, and just as things were looking quiet the bream line went off. I picked it up but I let Sam pull up a solid perch, of about 25CM.
I had to be home by five for a family thing, so at about 4:40PM I packed up and went home. It was an OK session, really, and I had quite a good arvo. Well that's the end of that report marathon, I hoped you enjoyed. Here are the stats of the final trip -
Stats of Trip -
Tide: 12:50PM, .3M, Low, 7:12PM, 2.0M, High
Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous
Tackle Used: 12LB, 20LB, 30LB, braid mainlines, 10lb, 20lb, 30lb, 80lb, mono and fluorocarbon traces, size 2 and 6 ball sinkers, 3/o and 5/o circle and suicide hooks, large barrel swivel, Diawa Shinobi 2500, Abu Garcia Barra King 650, Penn SSM 650, Abu Garcia Veritas 3-5KG, Ugly Stik, Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod 5-8KG.
Fish Caught: Eel x 1, Perch x 1
Bait Used: Live and Dead prawns, hunk of bony bream
Bait Caught: Prawns and Glassy
Humidity: 55%
Air Pressure: 1017
Time Fished: 2:00PM-4:40PM
Overall Success Rate: 50% - good arvo with a mate
On my rides to the park I observed mullet feeding from the pylons, which I will try to catch one day. A video is attached too. 🙂
Hi Hamish,
Yes I can see this last picture, and the final video on the main post. None of the earlier pics though.
I really appreciate your reports showing your honest success rate with shore-based fishing. Across 9 sessions, with multiple lines each time, you only got 1 bream and a couple of perch (plus undesirables like catties and eels). Still more that I get!!
While I don't doubt the veracity of reports on here where blokes catch a dozen beautiful fish to take home (from a boat, always), this does not seem to be the norm, either on boats or the shore. Reports like yours give a much better idea of what to expect. Good on you for taking the time to report.
Cheers
Hi Hamish,
Yes I can see this last picture, and the final video on the main post. None of the earlier pics though.
I really appreciate your reports showing your honest success rate with shore-based fishing. Across 9 sessions, with multiple lines each time, you only got 1 bream and a couple of perch (plus undesirables like catties and eels). Still more that I get!!
While I don't doubt the veracity of reports on here where blokes catch a dozen beautiful fish to take home (from a boat, always), this does not seem to be the norm, either on boats or the shore. Reports like yours give a much better idea of what to expect. Good on you for taking the time to report.
Cheers
Thanks Ray. That looks like a good suggestion for fishing.
If by "shoot the pipes" you mean to swim through them, I'm at least 50 years too old to even consider that.
Franz
Thanks Ray. That looks like a good suggestion for fishing.
If by "shoot the pipes" you mean to swim through them, I'm at least 50 years too old to even consider that.
Franz
Thanks Ray. That looks like a good suggestion for fishing.
If by "shoot the pipes" you mean to swim through them, I'm at least 50 years too old to even consider that.
Franz
Thanks Ray. That looks like a good suggestion for fishing.
If by "shoot the pipes" you mean to swim through them, I'm at least 50 years too old to even consider that.
Franz
Thanks Hamish.
I live in Parkinson, near Browns Plains. So it's 45 minutes to an hour each way to any fishing spot, including the river. More if I gauge wrong and get stuck in traffic. I've worked from home for 25 years, and recently discovered I don't really know when/where the traffic gets congested around much of the place.
Haven't had a chance to get out again yet, but I will have another crack soon.
Cheers,
Michael
Thanks Hamish.
I live in Parkinson, near Browns Plains. So it's 45 minutes to an hour each way to any fishing spot, including the river. More if I gauge wrong and get stuck in traffic. I've worked from home for 25 years, and recently discovered I don't really know when/where the traffic gets congested around much of the place.
Haven't had a chance to get out again yet, but I will have another crack soon.
Cheers,
Michael
Thanks again Neil. That explains the shrimp side of things.
I do have 4 aquaria at home - but shrimp or even prawns would not last very long in any of them. Let me see if I can set up another one.
Thanks again Neil. That explains the shrimp side of things.
I do have 4 aquaria at home - but shrimp or even prawns would not last very long in any of them. Let me see if I can set up another one.
No worries , you can buy live shrimp from Pet City at Mt Gravatt - feeder shrimp they call them . From memory they are about 50c each but I’d ring them 1st to make sure they have them in stock.There’s also a red claw farm at Kalbar that will deliver live shrimp to your front door . Or do what I do - leave some shrimp traps in a dam of choice and take the risk no one checks or steals them . If you set up a fish tank at home with a good filter and air supply , the shrimp will last for weeks in winter.Ideally you stock your tank at home, take them to the dam and use them for a morning fish , then just before you come home pull your pots and bring home your bait for your next trip .
Some excellent tips, many thanks. I will follow up on some of these at least. Not sure how I'll go with the live shrimp though.
The trip this week was originally scheduled for first thing in the morning, but then her ladyship invited herself along, and then her sisters got in on it, and then the time moved to 12 noon. There's no winning that argument, so I just went along, not expecting to catch anything at that time of day. What can you do. I'll just have to schedule another trip and ban anyone tagging along.
I'm aware of the SIPS, and have sorted the legal side of it.
Some excellent tips, many thanks. I will follow up on some of these at least. Not sure how I'll go with the live shrimp though.
The trip this week was originally scheduled for first thing in the morning, but then her ladyship invited herself along, and then her sisters got in on it, and then the time moved to 12 noon. There's no winning that argument, so I just went along, not expecting to catch anything at that time of day. What can you do. I'll just have to schedule another trip and ban anyone tagging along.
I'm aware of the SIPS, and have sorted the legal side of it.
Some excellent tips, many thanks. I will follow up on some of these at least. Not sure how I'll go with the live shrimp though.
The trip this week was originally scheduled for first thing in the morning, but then her ladyship invited herself along, and then her sisters got in on it, and then the time moved to 12 noon. There's no winning that argument, so I just went along, not expecting to catch anything at that time of day. What can you do. I'll just have to schedule another trip and ban anyone tagging along.
I'm aware of the SIPS, and have sorted the legal side of it.
Some excellent tips, many thanks. I will follow up on some of these at least. Not sure how I'll go with the live shrimp though.
The trip this week was originally scheduled for first thing in the morning, but then her ladyship invited herself along, and then her sisters got in on it, and then the time moved to 12 noon. There's no winning that argument, so I just went along, not expecting to catch anything at that time of day. What can you do. I'll just have to schedule another trip and ban anyone tagging along.
I'm aware of the SIPS, and have sorted the legal side of it.
Hi Franz , Sounds like you need to put a little more preparation into your fishin missions 🙈. Unfortunately the family picnics and catching a few fish aren’t really that compatible.
Sometimes I chase wild bass land based in local creeks with lures , and a good trip would only see me catch 2 to 6 fish for a morning or afternoon session . The stocked impoundments are way easier ,as there is literally 100s of 1000s of fish stocked in them.
If I were fishing land based at a stocked dam and wanted to guarantee myself a bass or two ,I’d be ensuring I had some pre caught live shrimp(see photo below of what I have on my back patio) , I’d get there just on sunrise,and putting my bait in close to some fallen timber in a quiet little well grassed nook away from the general use areas.Bass often give away their presence by taking insects off the surface so you may need to move a few times to find the fish . A back pack with drink , food , and small tackle box , 20 to 30 odd live shrimp in a small 5lt bucket with an aerator in one hand and light spinner rod in the other will see you mobile . Give this a go a few times and I’ll all most guarantee you more of a chance of landing a few fish. PS don’t forget to get a stocked impoundment permit if fishing in a stocked impoundment .
Good Luck
regards
Neil
Thanks Kat. I won't give up just yet - but it is quite frustrating, especially when there are 10 other anglers there as well and they are also not catching anything. So it's not simply my own lack of skill, some of those others were veterans.
Of course on a boat fishing would be better, but I'm not expecting or even wanting to catch trophy fish, or huge numbers. Just one or two legal sized fish, most trips would be very satisfying.
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