Noel was elated to catch his first ever jewfish when on charter with Brad Smith.
Wal caught a mulloway on a Samaki Vibelicious on charter with Brad Smith on the Tweed River.
Small lures catching big numbers
H
I everyone, here we are at the end of 2022 already! The months have flown by so fast and we’re now into the summer fishing season. We are still in a La Niña phase of weather – in fact, this will be the third summer in a row of this type of pattern – which means h igher-t ha n-average rainfall, and this has certainly been the case. The forecast is for La Niña to weaken in early 2023 and many people, including us fishing guides, will be happy about it. So far this season, there have been some minor floods, though we’re still getting out fishing most days. The fishing can be tough when the water is dirty from mud runoff. Of course, this can vary greatly between a run-in and run-out tide and depends on where you’re fishing. During these times more than any other, www.bnbfishing.com.au
Broadwater Guide by CLINT ANSELL
it pays to switch up lure colours, sizes and types to crack the code for the day. Over recent months, I’ve noticed an abundance of baitfish and shrimp – presumably the rains have had an influence on this, flushing out food and causing them to breed quickly. This also means that the fish are well fed and not overly hungry. If we want to attract regular bites, we need to downsize lures. While it’s true that big lures catch big fish, on the other hand small lures catch all fish – big and small. Live yabbies also work extremely well in discoloured water at this time of year. With clear water and a clear sky, use dull and transparent colours, and with murkier water and a cloudy sky, use darker, solid and brighter colours.
In between conditions, it’s anyone’s guess! Apply Sax Scent or Pro-Cure to these lures every ten minutes for added effect. Here are some of our favourite small lures for catching large numbers of fish. Z-Man 2.5” ST GrubZ Z-Man 2.5” ST GrubZ have only recently arrived on the market but are already making a big impact. They have a great tail action in the water, a range of colours to suit all conditions and wide ribbed bodies that hold scent and hide jig heads well. Either drift and teabag them or cast and slowly hop. Fish really slam them hard. The new Z-man 2.5” PrawnZ are also well worth using and are a very natural-looking * continued P24
Manny did battle with a giant trevally for 20 minutes on a Tweed River charter.
Wayne landed a healthy grunter using a Pontoon 21 lure.
Eight-year-old Aldo caught a big luderick on a lightly weighted yabby. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, December 2022 – Page 23
