6 minute read
Winter in Moreton Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brian Webb
Claire Blaser captured a nice bay longtail tuna.
Tim Dunn with a good size grass sweetlip. WITH the cooler months upon us, it’s time to dust off the beanies and jumpers because Moreton Bay can get quite cold early in the morning and evening.
Fish species go through some changes in the bay during winter, with snapper stocks increasing and larger fish up for grabs.
Offshore species enter the bay and you can usually tell the difference as offshore snapper having brighter colours compared to the resident bay snapper.
Early morning even before the sun rises over Stradbroke Island is the time to hit the bay and again when the sun starts setting.
During winter, we usually have better weather conditions and the northeasterly wind is less prevalent.
Places to target winter snapper are the usual haunts around the bay islands, starting with Mud Island’s eastern contours and in close in the evening.
If fishing an evening tide, it’s best to get in early and set up for fishing into the evening – the same applies to fishing an early morning tide – and getting a berley trail going will also help.
When fishing for snapper, it’s a good idea to have a floating rig out with very little weight because tailor numbers increase too.
If coming out of the river to hit the Coffee Pots, try to jig up some yakka, as tailor love nothing better than a good-sized livie drifting around the 10m contours.
Or if you’re leaving the river, target some poddy mullet, herring and prawns because snapper love live bait – you can also jig some squid up around the rock wall at the entrance to the river.
If not, a fresh pillie will do the trick too.
You also have a good chance of hooking up to bay jewfish that patrol the contours, especially if there is a bit of structure about.
Some of the best contours are around Mud and Green islands and the Wellington Point drop-off from the entrance to Manly down towards Raby Bay.
Peel Island fishes well on a rising tide, while Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef fishes better when there are less boats about because too much noise usually turns fish off, particularly larger snapper.
Another place to try is the isolated structure around the Measured Mile and the entrance to the Pearl Channel.
If they’re not biting there, head up the shipping channel and fish the coffee rock areas along the edge of the channel – this applies to areas from Tangalooma right up to the Bulwer ledges.
Coochiemudlo Island fishes better in winter, so hitting the artificial is also not a bad idea.
The Redcliffe shallow reefs are also a good option as snapper numbers have increased over the past couple of years.
One of the best places to target winter snapper is the lower end of the Brisbane River, especially from Clara Rock down towards the container terminals, remembering the 30m exclusion zone around the terminals.
Sweetlip emperor numbers also thin out in the cooler months, but there are still a few areas that will get you a feed, such as Green Island’s eastern and western shallows.
But one of the better places to try is the coffee rock around Bulwer and the Bribie Island side of the channel.
Tuskfish numbers are still available, with green purple tuskfish in the Rainbow and Rous channels, the bottom of the drop-off on the northern side of Peel, and occasionally around Mud.
If targeting the big blackspots, Rainbow and the northern side of Peel at the bottom of the drop-offs, or head north and fish the dropoff from Curtin Artificial Reef up to Bulwer, making sure your bait gets down to the bottom.
You will need to increase your gear with 30lb braid and a good lengthy leader around the 30-40kg mark, because once hooked they head for overhangs or into the reef and will easily cut you off.
If you mean business targeting big tuskies, go out the night before with a headlamp and torch around the rocky shorelines and catch some rock crabs.
Moreton Bay by BRIAN WEBB
Zach Flora was stoked with this great jewfish. Winter in Moreton Bay
from P8
Otherwise, get a few sand crabs minus the nippers and a goodsized hook around 7/08/0 in a circle or penetrator.
The best way to put a sandy on your line is to put a skewer through the back of the shell bringing it out between their eyes, then place the hook on the end of the line and pull the spare line out.
There are flathead at the mouth of Boggy Creek and up the creek itself, and also around the bottom end of the boat passage towards Wynnum, at the mouth of Bulimba Creek and the flats around Pinkenba Boat Ramp.
There should be plenty of bream around in the river near the sunken wall and in Boggy Creek itself, otherwise Mud’s eastern side in close – and I mean in close, where you can actually cast onto the mangrove shoreline.
Nudgee Creek and Macleay Island also produce some good bream during winter as spawning season approaches, and the Pine River and Hayes Inlet hold good bream too.
Squid should be around in good numbers, particularly the weed bed at the entrance to the Rous and Fisherman’s channels, and the rocks walls around boat harbours and jetties are good areas to try.
While fishing the weed bed around Rous, there are plenty of diver whiting around or from Cockle Banks off Scarborough, and you can get some yabbies on the Lota flats.
There are also a fair few sandies about – try from Pearl Channel towards Cockle Banks and around the Measured Mile towards Mud, or between Green and St Helena islands to the mainland.
Mud crabs are also around in good numbers.
The places I try are up Boggy Creek, Nudgee and the mangroves opposite the Whyte Island boat ramp on a high tide – as it gets fairly shallow there on a low, so it pays to put your pots in before sunset and check them early the next morning.
Spotted mackerel have left the bay on their migration north and, while doggy mackerel numbers decrease, there is still a resident population left in the bay around the Measured Mile across to the four beacons and down towards the Sandhills – otherwise look for bird activity in the paddock or jig the beacons.
Longtail tuna will be patrolling the drop-offs from Peel towards Amity Banks and around the Sandhills, otherwise drop a paravane and slow troll the shipping channel or other drop-offs around the central bay.
Remember to organise your trip as to what species you intend to target and also have a backup plan.
Jacki Newton with a pair of quality mud crabs.
Tim Dunn with a green island snapper.
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