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A very late notice and unexpected child free weekend revealed itself yesterday morning. While I was not happy about the circumstances, @Kat and I wasted little time in seeing the silver lining. With a coastal wind warning current it would be tucking up a creek somewhere that didn't involve travelling great distances in the boat. Our regular haunt ticked the boxes. We organised some blood worms, packed the boat, some sandwiches etc and off we went to brave the wind. There were plenty of spare parks at paradise point ramp as expected. We could have launched much closer but a better ramp with a pontoon and no cross current is worth a couple of minutes travelling in the boat, even in yesterday's wind. We found a spot that was sheltered from the wind and anchored up. It was less than about twenty seconds before my basically free spool drag screamed off. The catfish that appeared shortly after at the boat signalled the start of what would become a monotonously regular annoyance. My next bait was out a few minutes before it screamed off in a similar fashion and I think I actually called catfish again but was pleasantly surprised when a reasonable spotted grunter appeared at the boat. It had actually made a bit of a mess of my 10lb leader so I'm glad I opted for the net. @Kat couldn't seem to get any interest on her side of the boat yet and started making noise about swapping sides. Very soon it didn't matter what side of the boat you were on it was catfish aplenty. This went on for a while before I landed a solid whiting that was frustratingly shy of the magic 40cm mark. There were a lot of other undersized grunter, a few legal bream and tarwhine which were released, (and of course the mandatory pony fish). Kat then landed a good legal whiting, but it was back to catfish and undersized spotted grunter straight after that. Unfortunately it was looking like we were going to have to endure a lot of undesirables to get a feed of whiting. We chose to move to try and escape the catfish etc but to no avail. It was the same everywhere, a couple of good fish and then we just couldn't get past the vermin. @Kat bettered me on the whiting tally again and contributed two very solid specimens that were almost identical to the first one I got. But neither of us managed to bust the 40cm mark yesterday. Catfish OMG the catfish. Wow, to think that @kat wanted to rename her boat to "Katfish".

Went out with my 9yr old son on foot at Sun up to try our luck around the mighty (but really low) north pine dam. Alternating between live worms and poppers + hard body's + zerek prawns. In the last maybe half dozen times out there I've failed to get a bass, My only " joy " to be let down after the initial run on my line then sighting a fork tailed catfish. This morning though luckily the bass didn't get in the way and my boy landed more than a few big fat catties. The experience he got with changing the drag, fighting a largish fish on extremely light gear and the sheer thrill I saw in his eyes and on his face made it an unforgettable morning, never mentioning catfish traditionally rubbish fish. We were home by 0730 and he raced in to tell everyone about his epic fishing conquests. Merry Xmas AFO Go Northside!

Hi all Today I couldn't find anyone to go fishing with (normal mates busy), so I decided to go to a spot I hadn't been to in a while to see how it was fishing. I also decided to only bring two rods, which I came to regret later in the day. I got the 7am train to Roma Street and was at Southbank to get my ferry a little while later. I eventually arrived after a walk from the ferry, and after deploying baits with some dead pike, I got to cast netting. I had to cast net in a few different areas before I hit a couple of Christmas trees of small to medium herring, and also one or two winter whiting. After I more or less got 50, I started to fish with them. Seeing as though they were quite small, I bunched two up on a hook at a time but also put a winter whiting on one rod. It wasn't long before one of my lines was getting pestered by a catfish, which was promptly hooked and flicked away. I also dropped another shortly after. After observing the conditions for a while, I noticed there wasn't much tide and there was a dirty/clear water channel, where some scum mixed with cleaner water. This was evident when my lines became coated in mud after I wound them in from the clearer water, which was in casting distance, back to where I was. I decided to take advantage of the low tidal flow so I started casting in some deeper water, where I caught some scat, jumbo herring, and lost a big mullet. I also caught this, which looks like some sort of flounder. Fish ID please? After I watched the rods for a while and checked them a couple times, I did some more netting for a couple more big herring. There were a few big ones around today so I was hopeful a thready would come and eat one. Now that I started to sit down and wait, I was quite annoyed I didn't have a third rod to maximise my chances, as the jetty was completely empty and the tide wasn't that strong meaning it would be easy to manage them all. For about an hour, until 11:30AM, I was checking and replacing baits after they'd been pickered. Some walkers were on the jetty and my baitrunner bent over and line began peeling off the reel. It was a classic looking squire bite, and after some vicious head shakes and a short run I pulled up a 40CM odd model. Already having fish at home I threw this one back - lucky fish. Nice to catch I got back to fishing after I released that, and did a bit more netting. I did my last throws of the day around mid day as there seemed to be no more herring about to be caught, and I had plenty of bait anyways. I kept re casting baits, and alternated between using a big herring or small one. The big herring seemed to be getting pickered a lot more then being eaten whole, so I was pleased when I hooked another squire after I caught a small river perch. This one didn't put up as much of a tussle but was still a bit of fun. This one would've been 37cm I was happy enough with the session now, though more surprised as I was getting squire at this location. I was still hopeful for a bigger fish, although it seems the threadies still haven't started chewing in the reaches of the river upstream from the port (and even then not heaps around there going off Facebook/Instagram/Youtube posts). It was a nice temperature now, so I laid down for a while on the jetty waiting for a bite. I continued to check baits but it went quiet for the next two hours. I made a pretty big dint in my herring, but annoyingly I lost two rigs in the space of two minutes, as one had been frayed and snapped on the cast (toadfish), and the other had strangely been snipped just below the leader (maybe a fish took the bait and rubbed me off without me knowing). Fortunately, as soon as I casted another rig in, the third squire of the day took the bait. It was on another tiny herring, which were proving to work - This one was about 41-43cm After that, it was a bit past two, and my mum wanted to go shopping at a place nearby so she offered to pick me up instead of me getting the ferry then train home. I tried with a whole pike to try and entice a larger snap for the last half hour but the only thing I could manage was a toadie, on the other line. I left satisfied with the session despite the fact no larger fish were landed. A couple of other fisherman came down at the end who also hooked (but lost) a toadfish or two, but other than that, I had an enjoyable day out of the house with a couple of nice little squire. Stats of Trip: Tide: 6:30AM, .4M, Low, 1:00PM, 2.3M, High, 7:15PM, .7M, Low Moon Phase: About 20%, increasing Bait Caught: Heaps of herring, a glassy, some winter whiting Bait Used: Live herring and whiting, dead pike Fish Caught: Squire x 3, Catfish x 1, Toadfish x 1 Tackle Used: 30 pound braid mainlines and fluoro leaders, FG, dropper loops, blood, and Alberto knots, size 6/o and 4/o circle hooks, large barrel swivels, about a meter trace and 1.5m leader, Shimano Sedona 6000 on Abu Garcia Nanotech Nexus, Kmart rod on Shimano Aero Baitrunner Air Pressure: 1008-1010, pretty low barometer but still some bites Humidity: 47-59% Weather: Sunny, 27 degree high Notes: Squire were being caught on in the clean water, not the dirty channel, only catfish and toadfish in the dirty channel. Pretty low tide due to the near 30% moon phase. Plenty of bait about in the morning but would've been tough if I got there in the arvo. Water very turbid due to regular boats and seemed to stir up the bite if it was off or turn it off if it was on. Still no prawns about either. Overall Success Rate: Fun session nailing a few squire - 60% Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, Cheers Hamish

Hi All Anybody know any decent tasting catfish recipes particularly for channel catties? Thanks - Charlie

Took my boys out again this morning. Gentleman’s hours start with the plan to fish the last couple of hours of the incoming tide and then maybe go troll for mackerel (didn’t eventuate as win picked up a bit). Found some action on the sounder just after a sharp rise so went last a bit and anchored up ready to toss our baits back in their direction. George got a big run within a couple of minutes but got bitten off so I suspected there may be some big green sea toads around. Got plenty more action but the majority either bit us off or didn’t hook up properly, even when fought/wound half way in to the boat (one I had on felt reasonably sizeable and despite me two or three times ‘setting the hooks’ it still spat the half pilchard bait, leaving barely a mark on it. After a while I had enough and instead of chucking my rod straight in the rod holder and playing decline, decided to concentrate on my rod and managed to confirm one of the mystery fish, landing a small catfish, grrrrr . The boys got smoked a few times. Liam got one reasonably close to the boat but lost it when it went beserk near the boat. Eventually George had one on and was keen to pass it to me and we landed a very fat catfish, which is probably what the others were but we’ll never know for sure. We still lost some hooks to more bite offs so changed over to two gang hook rigs (with half pillies) but only landed undersized squire and grassies so we still aren’t sure what was biting us off unfortunately. Stayed for the first hour of the outgoing tide which was sort of against the wind but fishable and I landed a small wobbegong to George’s delight (he has a soft spot for them after catching a decent one last year. All in all nothing to take home in the esky but fun time had with the boys and some more learning on board for them which is always a bonus.

Hello! I'm pretty new to fishing and was wondering if anyone who could advise some bait for catfish in bulimia creek, near Brisbane.

So we were fishing at crescent head estuary and the saltwater tide was coming in/ almost completely salt water by now. We were fishing with fresh caught mullet and thought we caught a flat head, felt like lifting a dead weight, not a great deal of fight, and we ended catching a striped eel looking thing, so we googled the fishing charts and it wasn’t on anything until we googled the description and found out it was highly venomous and freshwater. Anyone heard of freshies in saltwater?

Hi all Two of these reports are from a while back, and the third is a little bit more exciting. I haven't been fishing as much as I usually would lately due to school, and I already can't wait 'till the next holidays. The third was chasing Threadies on the yak, and it had a slight success (still a donut). Anyways, the first session was just at the local park - I got the gear ready, and got to the park a little before two in the arvo. My friend was meeting me there, and he said he had brought some of his other friends. I wasn't to phased, as I figured we'd all at least catch a catfish or two. I deployed the lines with prawn and half garfish and started the waiting game. Sooner or later, my friend got here. He seemed to have a little bit of gear, which was good. I kept my lines on the wooden part, and they had theirs on the jetty. I was giving a little Holt Prawn in White Flash (3 inch) a flick on a small jighead, which I eventually switched as there was no love given. The tide was fast rising, and the salmon line started getting some hits. I could pretty much guarantee it was a catfish, but the surges on the line did not mean a fish. I think I pulled the hook, because I was briefly on then lost him. Blast! I kept fishing, and it was quiet for everyone. My friend's mates were making lots of noise stomping all around the jetty, but I didn't mind too much as I wasn't catching anything anyways. Lol. I can't remember all the fine details, but soon enough they headed off. I was tasked to mind their gear, so I wound it all in and left it neatly stacked on the edge of a chair on the jetty. It didn't take long for me to get a fish, and the 20LB overhead went off. A short fight ensured a very lightly hooked perch emerged from the depths. I dehooked him and sent him on his way. Hardly Hooked Now, I kid you not, the moment he was released, the salmon line went off. I got to the jetty and struck - I was on. it was heavy, and the fight was mainly a skull drag with headshakes except for a little run. I got a big catty up though, which was quite disappointing. I think big catfish just love the garfish, so I've stopped using the garfish at this spot. I got the 6/o hook out though, and sent the catty on his way. After that one was dealt with I was glad I'd have something sizeable to show for my efforts. I redeployed the salmon line in hope of something more desirable and kept fishing. I stayed on my chair, and it was rather hot, but the line went off yet again. I was quite enjoying myself, as it was very quiet and they were biting. It was unluckily another catty, which was released away like his mate. Cat The others had come back now, and they had purchased all their food. So while I was fishing they were eating meat pies. Lucky them. Lol. My friend Sam had offered to get me a Chocolate Milk (I told him it didn't matter) but he came back with what he thought was a Chocolate Milk - instead, it was a Barista Iced Coffee . Haha. The bite went quiet again now, and there was really nothing happening. I gave the net a few throws for (if I remember correct) two or three prawns, so it wasn't the most productive cast net session ever. I gave the lines regular bait checks also, which didn't get me anywhere. The others left sooner or later, and I had one more hit on the line (most likely a perch). Dad also took my sister and her friend for a spin on the yak too; the sounder still wasn't working unfortunately. Thanks for reading that report, I hope you enjoyed. Here are the stats of the trip - Statistics of Trip: Tide: 11:05AM, .9M, Low, 4:40PM, 1.5M, High, 11:00PM, .6M, Low. Moon Phase: Waning Crescent; 9%. Bait Caught: A couple little prawns Bait Used: Prawns, Garfish Fish Caught: Catfish x 2, Perch x 1 Tackle Used: 12lb, 20lb, 30lb, braided mainlines, 10lb, 30lb, 80lb fluorocarbon and mono leaders and traces, 3/o, 6/o, 4/o, circle and suicide hooks, size 2 and 6 ball sinkers, large and small barrel swivels, FG and Albright Knots, Ugly Stik overhead rod, Abu Garcia Barra King 650, Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod, Penn SSM 650, Diawa Shinobi 2500, and an Abu Garcia Veritas. Time Fished: A bit before 2:00PM-5:15PM or so. Overall Success Rate: 30% - Slow Day The next report takes place in a week's time, and was a little better. My normal fishing mate was down, and despite it not being the ideal temperature, it was a fun arvo. I got the lines in baited with prawns and began fishing for anything, really! It was a real slow bite at first, with nothing whatsoever happening. I checked the tide for once when I left and it was falling, so I thought this would allow easy fishing. This gave me the false opinion that the run would be very slow... I casted out, and my 6 ball sinker was no match to sink the slab of Pike Eel put out for a Bull Shark. After a fair while of failing, and a tangle with the other line, I made a bit of a new rig. Since I didn't have any star sinkers, (I plan to buy sinkers from a 3 bean up to a 5 star sinker for fishing the river) , I tied a swivel, two size six sinkers, a short trace, then another swivel to my trace. This got the bait down, but it still was getting overpowered by the tide! That was quite the surprise, that's for sure. The slab of Pike Eel really wasn't getting any love, which was disappointing. I was now starting to regret the decision not to keep the Freshwater Eel from last time . I whipped the overhead out yet again, and this time something bit on. It took the bait straight away when it hit the bottom, and up came a feisty little catfish. I dehooked him and my friend decided to throw him back. I forgot to warn him about the great slime though! Small We kept fishing for no joy, and we were just chatting most of the time to pass the time. I gave the cast net a throw on the mudflat for a couple prawns, so they were deployed. It was a bit later in the arvo now, and the overhead went off. It wasn't big, and the Group Leader from my Scout Group (I often see him) walked by too. It didn't feel like there was any fish on, but to my surprise an incy Small Eyed Gudgeon was landed. As the Group Leader put it, quite possibly the 'dumbest fish ever' - it hadn't even been hooked and was just holding onto the head of my live prawn, the greedy bugger! I got him off and put him back. I wonder if they'd be any good live bait for Threadies... Normally these guys terrorise my shrimp pots! After that, it was nearly knock off time, and with no more fish and my mum down at the park we decided to depart. My friend attacked me with a wet landing net, so I left chilly and wet (but in good spirits of course). While he was reeling in the salmon line, he somehow didn't notice the little catfish on the end. This greedy bugger had another swivel and trace in his mouth, and after being dealt with was safely released. Cat #2 After that, we left for home. It was a good arvo, so here are the stats - Stats of Trip: Tide: High, 2.5M, 11:45AM, 6:30PM, .3M, Low. Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent, 20% Bait Caught: Prawns Fish Caught: Catfish, Small-Eyed Gudgeon Bait Used: Prawns, live and dead, Pike Eel Tackle Used: 12lb, 20lb, 30lb, braided mainlines, 10lb, 30lb, 80lb fluorocarbon and mono leaders and traces, 3/o, 6/o, 4/o, circle and suicide hooks, size 2 and 6 ball sinkers, large and small barrel swivels, FG and Albright Knots, Ugly Stik overhead rod, Abu Garcia Barra King 650, Rogue Firepoint Boat Rod, Penn SSM 650, Diawa Shinobi 2500, and an Abu Garcia Veritas. Time Fished: A bit past 2:00PM-5:30PM-ish. Overall Success Rate: 60% - Good Arvo OK, so now this is the report that gets interesting! I convinced Dad to take me out for a night session on the yak, chasing lure threadies in the river. It took us a while to get ready, and I was already quite knacked after a big tennis game (I won in a tiebreak by three-five). We ate dinner and had the yak in by about quarter to eight (crazy late for us to start!). Our objective was to learn a bit more about the habits of surface feeding threadies, and what attracts them. Now, there is a big boat moored on the next jetty down from the park. I've lost big stuff there before, as a boy, who I became friends with, lived there and we fished there often. There was a perfect light there, facing right onto the water. I should also mention we had no bait, as we didn't bother cast netting, and a small prawn jumped out as we launched the yak. A bit more lively than last time. We lined up our first drift, and approached the jetty. "KA-BOOF" "BANG" Or that was what I heard, and also what made me nearly die of shock, on approach to the jetty. I fired my Holt Prawn in after the initial shock - it was a bit tricky to cast as there was a large rope going across mooring the boat where you'd normally cast, but it didn't stop me. I was pulling the lure along, in the area where the bait had just been smacked up. This drift proved fruitless, and after many casts we retreated. The tide was very weird here, and instead of pushing us straight it would go sideways. I kept firing away with casts, and on the next drift I switched to a hardbody on my Diawa Magforce. The same thing happened with the tide, and as we were paddling out there was another big BOOF. I kept flicking the 3 inch lure in White Flash colour, but there was no more love. The tide was very fast and we figured we'd spooked them here, so left and whizzed down to the next jetty. The tide was really strong, and we were flying. The next jetty was a ways away, and three or four casts and no surface action ensured us moving along to the next one. This happened repeatedly, and I was experimenting with different retrieves. At every jetty I made an effort to use both the hardbody and plastic, to cover more bases. Fishing was tricky with so much run but we soldiered on. We crossed the river now, and apart from heaps and heaps of ducks, there was no action. I kept flicking, but with no luck at all. We crossed back the river again, and started fishing three jetties all with lights in close vicinity of each other. They did not produce, and by now we were in range of a party full of teenage girls singing and dancing (who sounded like a dying cat I might say). We decided to stay at the end of these jetties, and quite rudely, they bellowed out, "OI, GET OFF THE JETTY YOU WEIRDOS". Of course, we were probably seen as thieves, but little did we worry. They wouldn't shut up though, and of course I casted 10CM to far and it got snagged on the jetty meaning we had to go and retrieve it. We finally left and they shut up, which I was thankful for. The next new jetties with lights were casted at, but there wasn't any surface action or anything, really! We needed a rest break by now and in a few flicks time we were at my school jetty. A fifteen minute pit stop ensured I updated some mates on the night so far. School Jetty We got back into the yak, and kept paddling. We gave the last few jetties with lights a flick before we got to Cobia Bridge, and it was interesting seeing which jetties had their crab pots out the front and which ones had owls on to scare the ducks (seemed to work well too). We shot straight under it, and by now the glassy conditions from the other part of the river had changed to a yucky choppy brown abyss. This part is rather wide, and always seems to get hit by the winds, so fair enough. I peppered all the jetties along here with casts, some good, some bad, and had no love. It was getting late now, so we made the call to begin to head back (still fishing jetties on the way back of course!). No more hits were had on the way back, and by the time we were at my school jetty I needed a toilet stop (again) and a back stretch. A shorter break was had and we set of on our way to hopefully bag a thready (or get off the donut). All the same jetties were fished for no result, and we were still slogging along against the tide. The chairs in the yak help, but the block life jacket I was wearing makes it uncomfortable. We kept slogging and stopping at the odd jetty to fish, and by the time we got back to the one that had the bust ups we were exhausted. I gave it two or three throws and then Dad made us set off. We arrived back at the local park at 10:30PM, which wasn't good enough for a thready. The plan next time is to: 1. Just get some livies. Mullet, herring, prawns, etc. 2. Tie a paver to the back of the yak with about 10-15M of rope. This will ensure our drift slows rapidly, but if we need to move we can do it fast by pulling up the paver. 3. Drift some livies and lures under that jetty. 4. If no success is had, switch to heavier jigheads and fish for a flatty. So, that's the report done and dusted. Hope you enjoyed. Sorry for any typos throughout the report. They were all fun. Here are the stats of the trip for anyone interested - Statistics of Trip: Tide: 4:35PM, 1.6M, High, 10:43PM, .5M, Low. Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous, 75% face. Bait Used: - Bait Caught: - Lures Used: A no-brand mullet imitation, around 3.5inches long, and a 3 inch Holt Productions Swim Prawn in White Flash. A 1/8th jighead on a size #1 hook was used, Tackle Used: 12LB, 20LB, 15LB, braided mainlines, 30LB Black Magic Fluorocarbon Leader, 5/o circle hook, Abu Garcua Veritas 3-5KG on Diawa Shinobi 2500, Diawa Magforce on Shimano Cranx 5-8KG, Ugly Stik and Abu Garcia Barra King. Fish Caught: - Air Pressure: 1012 Weather: Cloudy Humidity: 91% - a possible contributor to the bust ups? Temp: Low, 22oC, High, 24oC Time Fished: Around 7:50PM-10:30PM (not too long). General Notes: The lights on the water must've attracted bait, which attracted the fish. Bigger lights = more bait = more fish??? Overall Success Rate: 65% - The bust up/prawns at light theory is true. Cheers Hamish P.S. One last thing, what marine light does everyone use? If someone could recommend use a brand it would be much appreciated.

Hi all Technically, this report started last night, so I'll tell you all what happened then. After some serious convincing, I managed to get my Dad to take me to the local park to put the shrimp traps in, for some back up live bait. They were baited with catfish and an old beef paddy (whatever I could find in the freezer LOL) and left for about a 10 hour soaking. The plan was to go this morning, so I did. I should probably also note it is fun and creepy to walk through a pitch black forest park/park full of trees at night, but it was worth it for what I got. I pulled them up this morning and managed a few good shrimp, enough to get the lines in and the bucket with a bit of bait, anyways. Here they are (I already had used a few for bait at the time of the photo) - After they were deployed, it wasn't long before my first strike. Within about 15 minutes, I got a run. It managed to get bricked in some structure unfortunately, and it wouldn't come out. I then figured it was probably off, so I tried un-snagging it which resulted in myself loosing my leader a bit of line. I re rigged and through the lines back out. Now, I just sat down on the white bucket and waited. My threadfin line was also out, with a river shrimp. The next inquiry was on the line casted towards the mangroves, but whatever this was, it was tiny and barely pulled anything. After a bit more sitting down, I heard the lovely sound of a squealing reel. I knew it wasn't big as soon as I picked it up though, and I proceeded to land a small catfish. This one went back into the drink, the circle hook doing its job perfectly. Here it is - After that little one, I had a quick go with the cast net. One of my initial casts resulted in four good size prawns, and one of these which was excellent size for threadies (12cm or so). They went in the bucket, and I did a bait check. The lines were debaited, so on two of them went the live prawn. I chucked them into the same positions and sat back down. By this time, the man who kayaks there every day (and the same one who assisted in the kangaroo rescue in session #17) was coming back. I reeled in my lines, and then when he was gone chucked them straight back out. I checked the thready line now and baited it with the biggest prawn. The lady who walks there most days and has a chat with me when I'm fishing came by in about 15 minutes, so I told her the day had been pretty quiet, with only some shrimp, prawns, and a small catfish. Just then, the thready rod went off, so I set the hook. I started the fight, and I could immediately tell it wasn't big because of the weight and I thought it was a catfish due to the fact I was just dragging it in. It just so happens she was looking for a catfish to boil up, so she could get the bones and see how one sides was like Satan and the other like the Cross (if you don't know, I believe this is a wife's tale, but I've never tested so I'll be excited to hear the results). I bagged it up for her, told her about the spines and told her to freeze it before she boiled it so it would be dead (I didn't want to bleed it as I didn't want blood everywhere). It was a 37cm model, so a decent size I guess. I suppose this is a bit of a waste of fish, and I'm sure some will disagree and agree with that statement. I think it was more for an experiment, and she said she was going to give it to her grandson so I am fine with this. What are your opinions on this? Here it is - After that, nothing much more happened. A couple small touches on the rod in the mangrove area, but no more fish. I did some more time checks as well, as I didn't want to stay down there all day or any later because of online school, and my teacher would probably be annoyed if I came to school late LOL. At about 9:00AM, I called it quits as the bite was slowed down for the day, and loaded up the cart. I pulled out the shrimp trap and each one had a nice size shrimp in it, and the nippers on those things are crazy, about 3 times the body. Here it is - That's the last pic, I hope you all enjoyed this relatively boring report. Sorry I didn't put it up much earlier, I was practising my trumpet a lot this arvo. I hope everyone stays safe and well with COVID-19, and that everyone can still get out for a fish. Sorry for any grammatical errors, I only did a proof read because I need to get to bed now/read. Here are the stats of the report - Statistics of trip: Tide: Low at 5:40AM, high at 11:25AM, 0.4M-1.9M. I was fishing the rising tide, which isn't my preferred tide for this spot, but I couldn't help going for a fish Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent, so just after the New Moon. I am actually surprised not more was biting. Weather: 31c, 79% humidity, 8KM/H winds, partly cloudy, and 10% precipitation Tackle Used: 4/o suicide and circle hooks, 9, 20lb, 80lb mono and fluorocarbon leaders, size 2 and 5/6 ball sinkers, 6"6' and 8" Ugly Stik rods, 2M Rogue Firepoint rod, large barrel swivel, size 1000 Sienna (shimano), Size 2500 Nasci (Shimano), size 650 Penn reels. Time Fished: 6:30AM-9:00AM Fish Caught: Catfish x 2 Bait Caught: Prawns x 4, Dozen or so shrimp (plus a heap of baby ones) Bait Used: Live river shrimp and prawns Overall Success Rate: 60% - while nothing good was biting, I had a really nice morning on the water. OK, that is the report done. Cheers Hamish

Hi all Yesterday night I decided to go for a trip to the local park, so I did. I was supposed to be back by 8:30AM but I ended up going 1 hour overtime. It was pretty quiet on all scenes but I still got some fish. I arrived at approximately 6:30AM, and casted my lines out baited with prawn. After the flat salmon - some bait I caught when I was in Yeppoon - was thored, the shark line was thrown out to. It didn't take long for the first bite either, because in about 10 minutes of waiting I had a run. It was short though, and to my disappointment the fish (most likely a catfish) had dropped the bait. I rebaited that line but the next time, in about 5 more minutes, the rod next to the pylons went off. I didn't have a chance to pick it up before it bricked me in the artificial wire rock wall retainer, so I picked it up, felt its vigorous head shakes but couldn't pull it up. I walked over to where it had taken me, and started pulling. Hoping it was another cod, I pulled it up. To my surprise, it was a nice eel, of 45cm. There wasn't a second thought in my head, and straightway this fish was shark bait. The legal limit is 30 cm for Longfin, Pacific Shortfin and Southern Shortfin so in to the esky it went. I didn't want to chop it up on the jetty though in fear of it slipping back into the water, and the fact it was still alive. The fight was pretty lousy as in my experience eels normally go pretty hard, but hopefully the next time I go sharking it will produce. Here it is - I only got a picture of Sharkbait (I named it, how original) at home After that was initially dealt with, I had a throw of the cast net. Hoping for some prawns, my first couple of throws produced a couple. I baited up a line with a good sized banana prawn and chucked it out. In five minutes time the live prawn rod went off so it was frantic. One eel flopping around in the bucket and me trying to reel in a fish. It was fighting quite well, and I thought it might've been a large catfish, or even a bream. Though, after 30 seconds or so, maybe one minute, I saw the fish. It was a small catfish, and I was shocked at how it had fought. Head shakes and tiny runs. Pretty good for a catfish though. Here it is - Catfish do fight well! Taken on a live prawn After the catfish, I threw the net some more. A couple small prawns was all I caught initially, but after I had one more throw I saw some silver. I had made one good cast which gave me some prawns and three big frogmouth pilchards. These are my favourite bait in the river, especially if they're alive, so I emptied the cast net bucket and took them over. One problem - the eel was currently occupying it! I put the eel in the esky after some failed attempts at it, and then filled the bucket up. A couple ones were dead, but one was going good. The aerator was fired up and off they went. After chucking them in though, I noticed one was orangey, not blue like the usual. I might need and ID on this if it is not a frogmouth, because while I am 99% sure it is, I just wanted to check. I got some ID photos and threw it back, kicking and alive at the end. Sorry the photos are bad. Is it still a frogmouth? By now, it was about eight. I had supposed to be home by 8:30AM, and with a few more casts of the net I decided to take a break from it. I had already checked the shark line once, so this time I saw the tip bent over. I was excited, hoping I was on. When I started to pull it up, all I could feel was a dead weight. This surprised me and I thought maybe whatever it was had bricked itself. I guess I'll never know, because after about 30 seconds, it dropped the bait. I reeled it up to see only a hook... oh well, time for a new bait. The next half of the flat salmon was chucked on, and wished good luck LOL. Back up at the pier (there is a pier going down to a jetty, I put the shark line on the jetty and the other lines on the pier) my lines were getting pickered. I missed quite a few fish, and in the period of about 45 minutes I lost a bit of tackle too (snags). I had another throw of the cast net as well, and just caught a tiny herring which I threw back (to tiny for bait). I started to switch up my rigs a bit as well, and I put on a whole frog mouth pilchard (smaller one) and half hitched the tail, like you rig normal pilchard with single hooks. This got me nothing except a snag so I switched back to prawn. I decided to change the bait on the shark line as well, as I had recasted it a few times. I put on the largest frogmouth pilchard, in hope of a nice bully - It was nice and cool the whole time, and in the shade was nice. In about another half hour from when that bait change had happened, I got a couple more missed hookups. They were all small though, and nothing would've been very big. They were either taking short bursts of line (I have the drag loose) or just picking away. My dad then called and told me I had to head home, and I was an hour late LOL. When I got home, I still had one important job. To deal with the eel. I sharpened the bait knife quickly and began to chop. After about 20 minutes and a lot of blood on the bait board (not to mention slime) the eel was done. What I found most disturbing is even after i chopped the head off the body still moved . The final product is now in my freezer, and waiting to be consumed by a shark. Here it is - The eel on the chopping board on in chops. That is all that really happened, here are the stats of the trip: Tide: 3:50AM high, 2:00M, 10:10Am low, 0.8M - I was fishing the run out Time fished: 6:30AM-9:30AM Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent, first phase after new moon Fish caught: Eel x 1, catfish x 1 Bait caught: Prawn, frog-mouth pilchard, herring Bait used: Flat salmon, prawn, frog-mouth pilchard Tackle: 4/o Suicide hooks, 6/o circle hooks, 20 inch wire trace, size 5 ball sinker, 30lb mainline and leader, 20lb leader, small swivels, size 2 ball sinker/bean sinker, 1000 size Sieena, 2500 size Nasci (Shimano), 650 Penn, 8ft Ugly stik, 6"6' Ugly stik, Rogue Firepoint, 14lb mainlines. Overall success rate: 50% - not the target species but still a nice morning out Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the report. Sorry if it's a bit boring. I hope everyone is safe with COVID-19. Cheers Hamish

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