Tarpon were feeding on bait schools recently.
Ashlee Stratford landed a nice flathead when fishing near a bait school.
Flat out on muddies and flatties
T
HIS year has been one of the wettest we’ve had for a
Luke Stratford landed a decent flathead casting soft plastics.
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Page 8 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024
while. Constant downpours have kept the rivers browner than we would like. The fish don’t seem to know whether they’re coming or going. As soon as the water looks to be clearing up and the fish start pushing back in, it rains again and we are back to square one. Mud crabs have been plentiful and the quality is generally very good in May. There is always someone out there who wants your crabs or pots more than you, so expect to have your pots checked or stolen at some point. I do my best to make it hard for the average person to find my pots, but it’s impossible to hide them from everyone when you’re following the rules. We have invested in a trail camera to catch the oxygen thieves that keep checking our pots. I’m looking forward to finding out what sort of people think it’s OK to mess with someone else’s gear. Mud crabs really aren’t that hard to catch at this time of year, so I don’t
Local Luring by KEITH STRATFORD
understand why everyone can’t just catch their own in their own pots. Fresh bait is always best. I prefer to mix it up with a combination of fish and chicken frames. There are some excellent quality pots on the market currently. The best I have found are the pop-up pots from Crab’n Gear. These pots don’t need to have uprights put in and they work a treat. They’re quick to set up, have a good bait bag and catch more crabs than any other pot I’ve used. The crabs will continue to move about over the next two to three months, then they tend to slow down a little.
I put the pots away towards the end of August and won’t get them back out until late November or early December. The months of spring are hard work when chasing mud crabs. Even though there are still a few getting about then, fishing during those months is excellent, so it takes preference for me. March and April are generally the best months of the year to chase a few prawns around Brisbane, however so far this year, it has been very difficult to find them consistently. I don’t chase a lot of prawns these days, * continued P9
Excellent quality mud crabs will be on the move during May.
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