Brisbane

Silver-lining sleep in

BRISBANE Gordon Macdonald

masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

Now that the shortest day of the year has passed and we are in the middle of the official winter months, anglers will be really noticing the chill during those early morning starts. One positive is that you don’t need to rise as early to be on the water for daybreak but you will still need plenty of winter woollies and a warming beverage to cope with the cold.

Personally, I dislike the cold weather however there are some awesome fish species to be caught during this period with luderick, mulloway, snapper, tailor, bream, squid and flathead being some of the more prominent cold weather aquatic creatures. SNAPPER

Over the last few months, anglers fishing Moreton Bay have scored some quality snapper from the artificial reefs, Brisbane River mouth, wrecks and bay island surrounds. Whilst many have been happy to score their limit of pan-sized specimens, some have been elated to latch onto knobbies to over 80cm in length. Whilst these larger specimens have not been plentiful, knowledgeable anglers have been getting them on board using a variety of techniques.

Early morning starts and evening sessions are popular with those targeting snapper using baits such as squid, pilchards, numerous fillet baits, cuttlefish, banana prawns and hardiheads. Anchoring and deploying an array of these baits is a very relaxed way to fish and can be very productive with careful rigging. Use the minimum lead to get you bait into the lower third of the water column, embed hooks well into the bait with just the points proud and use fluorocarbon leaders as light as you dare. Often a larger bait will work well for the more spooky and wary knobbies. Once the smaller fish have come in and had a crack at it (which creates some commotion and a berleying effect) the larger snapper lurking on the fringes will get the courage to check it out.

I like whole fillet baits, especially salted tuna or bonito but mullet is also good due to its oily nature. A whole squid or the squid over a pillie combo is probably the best of the generic baits. Casting your baits upcurrent and allowing them to travel back with the current as they sink is a successful ploy. Baitrunner reels are great for fishing in this manner as they allow the fish to mouth and run with the bait unimpeded as they swallow it. Once you are sure they have it, flick the rear switch or turn the handle to engage the drag and set the hook.

Anglers achieve results on quality snapper using an array of different lures and techniques. Soft vibes would have to be my favourite artificial however jighead-rigged soft plastics, micro jigs, minnow lures and blades can also be utilised with surprising results. Fishing lures is often a case of gaining confidence in what you are using in the relevant situation. You don’t catch fish on every cast with a bait and you shouldn’t expect to do it with lures either however if you persist, results will be forthcoming.

Additionally you can cover a lot more area whilst drifting and casting lures. In the shallower areas snapper will roam constantly – you don’t need to be fishing one particular piece of structure to score quality fish. However, stealth is very important. Having an electric motor to change position or otherwise skirt well wide of your drift line whilst repositioning with your petrol motor. Snapper are very opportunistic and therefore a large array of different lures can be successful. Soft plastics are a great way to get into the lure fishing arena as they are relatively cheap and very successful. Some of the styles I have used regularly on snapper with good results are jerk shads, T-tails, paddle tails, prawn profiles, curl tails, crab imitations and creature baits. I sometimes still use plastics these days but mostly opt for the Samaki Thumpertail 100mm in either whitebait, chartreuse pink head, fairy floss or ghost bait UV as they suit my fishing style and will catch snapper, sweetlip, longtail tuna, cod, flathead, morwong and a huge array of other species in Moreton Bay. Don’t forget the snapper closure comes into effect from 15 July to 15August so make the most of the first weeks of this month.

BAY PELAGICS

The colder months are not prime periods for pelagic species within Moreton Bay, however there are still options for those who like targeting these speedsters. School mackerel numbers can still be fairly good and anglers fishing around the artificial reefs will encounter a few on lures and drifted pilchard baits.

Your best chance of success however is generally in the channels and along the edges of banks. As the tide rises, mackerel will patrol these bank edges until such time as they feel safe to head up onto the banks to chase baitfish, whiting and other aquatic critters. As the tide lowers they will move off the flats an banks and back along these edges to ambush baitfish forced off the banks with the receding tide.

Trolling these edges with either deep diving minnow lures or a spoon lure behind a trolling board or paravane is generally a very successful method that allows you to cover a great area of water. The popular Yamashita trolling boards are now out of production but there are several others that can do the job including the Hookem planing boards, Blueline Paravanes, Yozuri boards and the various clones of these. Good spoons include the Halco Barra Drone and Halco Kimberley Spoon in size 3 and 4 and the Macka Spoons. Deep diving minnow lures such as the Nomad DTX 85mm and 100mm, Samaki Redic DS100, Atomic Hardz Shiner and many others work well. I prefer the more natural finishes such as metallics and translucents. Fishing these lures on lighter braid around 10lb to 15lb will allow them to get deeper, additionally increasing the fun when you hook up.

Do not use wire in front of your lure or you will decrease the strike rate considerably. Mackerel are tail biters and will try and immobilise their prey by snipping the tail off on the first strike, therefore you generally don’t get bitten off that often.

Longtail tuna numbers were healthy during recent months with plenty of variety in size. Specimens from around 5kg to over 20kg were caught but the smaller specimens dominated catches. I caught several quality fish around Mud Island on Thumpertail vibes whilst chasing snapper in as little as 5m of water. On one particular day it was a fringe-eye flathead first cast, bar-tail flathead second cast and a 107cm longtail on the third- surprising in such shallow water. Schools of longtails were found regularly however getting a strike was often difficult due to the miniscule bait on which they were feeding. By now, a lot of the baitfish should be larger therefore hook ups will hopefully be easier. However, there will be fewer numbers and less baitfish, which decreases the ferocity of the surface activity.

Getting to a bust up is often harder as you have less time and the fish are generally more spooky. Casting pencil poppers and stickbaits after the melee has subsided can still work as the longtails are often still in the area plucking of the occasional baitfish. Live baiting along current lines and around the Shipping Channel beacons will often reward. Deploy a yakka, slimey mackerel or pike out and simply wait for hook up. One bait should be in the upper third of the water column and a second in the middle third of the water column. Mack tuna, cobia, trevally, mackerel and even snapper will be by-catch.

There have been some solid cobia showing up in Moreton Bay over the last few months. I have heard of and seen photographic evidence of specimens to over 40kg. Cobia used to be a fairly reliable capture for anglers who specifically targeted them in the bay before the 2011 floods however for some unknown reason their numbers dropped considerably after that event. Over the last few years the captures have been improving somewhat and hopefully we will see their prevalence continue to improve in coming seasons. I love eating cobia, especially the larger specimens which seem to eat better than the smaller ones. This is possibly due to the fact that crabs are a major part of the diet for large cobia and this flavour seems to transfer through to the flesh somewhat. The easiest way to target cobia is with large live baits including fusiliers, grinners, sweetlip, sand crabs and basically any other species which is found in the area you target them (adhere to minimum size regulations where applicable). Structured areas such as wrecks, artificial reefs (mainly in the northern bay), prominent ledges and coffee rock areas are prime spots for targeting cobia. Commonly you will need 15-37kg line, snelled circle hook rig (8/0 to 10/0), 60kg+ leader and some stamina to land the larger specimens. Dropping large live baits around the shipping channel beacons in the northern bay and then drifting away will soon attract any cobia in the precinct. After hookup, drive directly to the beacon which will often coerce the cobia into pulling away from the beacon or in any case will decrease the chance of it wrapping you around the structure

Two consecutive trips to the same area produced a longtail within a couple of casts while chasing snapper on Samaki Thumpertails. This one was 2cm longer than the previous at 107cm.

and busting off. The next few months should see increased numbers of cobia within Moreton Bay. LUDERICK

Although not a species that appeals to everyone, luderick numbers should improve in the coming weeks and months. Specific targeting with weed baits suspended beneath near neutral buoyancy floats are the most reliable way to score a few luderick. This is usually done in areas where aquatic weed grows, such as along rock walls, concrete retaining walls, pontoons and jetty pylons.

If you can find the green, cabbage like weed growing then there is a good chance a few luderick will be lurking around the area. Drift your baits in these areas and wait for a ‘down’ or ‘up’ when a blackfish mouths the bait and pulls the float down or rises in the water column. Strike and you are in for a dogged fight. Long slow-actioned rods, centrepin reels (such as the Alvey 47GZ) and floating monofilament (Sunline Fine Float 2) will offer the ideal rig for this species.

The depth at which the weed bait needs to be below the float will vary depending on location and it pays to alter the depth regularly until you find the depth at which they are feeding. keep luderick alive until you areabout to process and the flesh quality will be superb. MULLOWAY

Better numbers of mulloway have been caught in recent weeks within Moreton Bay and the Brisbane and Logan Rivers. The artificial reefs, wrecks and structure surrounding the bay islands have been the ideal locations for anglers chasing mulloway. Good sounder skills will often allow you to locate schools of mulloway cruising these zones before a soft vibe, micro jig or soft plastic is cast in their direction. Often multiple fish can be taken in a session, providing the sharks don’t turn up to spoil the party. Specimens over 90cm aren’t uncommon and fish of this size yield a lot of tasty fillets so one for a session is a suitable take for most.

Live baits are also a top way to target mulloway with mullet, pike, herring, yakkas, slimey mackerel, banana prawns and squid being prime offerings. The dredge holes at the mouth of the Brisbane River, the ledge in from the Sewerage Shute, Clara’s Rocks, Gateway Bridge area, adjacent the major jetty terminals and the declines into the main river basin are all good areas to deploy such baits.

Night sessions casting lures around the lighted areas along the Brisbane River can also reward anglers handsomely. This can even be done from a land-based position in many cases. TAILOR

Numbers of tailor should increase throughout SEQ over the coming weeks. Anglers will score these around the shallows of the bay islands, artificial reefs, rock walls and often in larger schools around the Sand Hills and South Passage bar area. Landbased anglers should be able to score off the Manly Rock Wall, Woody Point Jetty, Shorncliffe Pier, Amity Rock Wall, Dunwich Jetty, Redcliffe Jetty and numerous other spots.

The occasional school mackerel will also be taken from these structures, especially by those spinning lures or drifting out small pilchards (predominately white, blue and frogmouth) on an early morning rising tide.

Brisbane River anglers will locate tailor along the retaining wall at the mouth and lighted areas at night such as the Gateway Bridge pylons and numerous jetties. Tailor are aggressive predators and will respond to a wide array of lures in most situations.

CONCLUSION

Plenty of quality sport and table fish plus various cephalopods are on the agenda during July as water temperatures fall dramatically. Westerly winds will have created much clearer conditions throughout the bay, especially the inshore areas.

This is ideal for those egi fishing for squid but will often dictate the use of finer fluorocarbon leaders for those targeting various fish species.

Early mornings will commonly produce breezy, cold winds for those out after the dawn snapper bite but these conditions will generally abate soon after dawn to create a nice day with calm afternoons being rather common.

July is a great month to be out on the water so get out there!

The last colour many baitfish see is yellow as they get engulfed by a mulloway. This Brisbane River specimen came from around a lighted area at night on a ZMan Diezel MinnowZ.