Brisbane

Searching for stability

BRISBANE Gordon Macdonald

masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

The summer so far has been fairly disappointing weather wise, however anglers have generally achieved good results when they have been able to get out. Wind, rain or both combined have hampered anglers’ chances and enthusiasm to get out onto the water.

Many have resorted to a quick land-based fish between bad weather bouts but the boaties have been limited in opportunity, especially those who like to venture further offshore. Hopefully March will offer more stable conditions and anglers will be able to get out and have a crack at some of the prime species on offer. SWEETLIP

The last few months have been great for those chasing sweetlip around the bay islands and the shale, rubble and coffee rock patches throughout the Pearl, Rainbow and Rous Channels. There has been a lot of fish in the 30cm to 40cm range but a few better models have also shown up. Even a 40cm fish is a chunky little specimen with tasty fillets so these are well worthwhile targeting if you are after a decent feed.

Grassies can be caught on both baits and lures. I have scored quite a few recently on soft vibes in the Mud Island and Rous Channel locales and whilst I haven’t bagged out I have scored half a dozen fish at times over 38cm in length. Bait wise, I prefer fresh fillet baits (mullet, pike, gar, tuna or bonito) but squid strips, squid heads, banana prawns, whitebait and hardiheads are all good offerings. These are best fished lightly weighted with the period before dawn often producing the best results on an ebbing tide. The areas around Mud, Green, Peel, King and Goat Island will all produce quality specimens. Those fishing with the lighter leaders and more finesse rigging will generally get the most bites from quality fish however this will also often result in more bustoffs as grass sweetlip are a tough, strong fish that will head straight for structure once hooked.

For many, the Qld government size and possession limits can be fairly difficult to follow. It states that sweetlips and emperors both have a minimum size limit of 25cm and a bag limit of 5 per species with the exception of red-throat emperor, longnose emperor and spangled emperor in the category of Coral Reef Fin Fish. Most would read no further and assume then that grassies are 25cm with a bag limit or 5 per species. However, if you continue going through the list then you would see there is another category under Other Tidal Species that lists grass emperor (sweetlip) with a minimum size of 30cm and a bag limit of 10. Confusing, isn’t it? Anyhow keep this in mind when you are next wanting to look up the size limit for this species. TUSKFISH

March is a great month for those chasing tuskfish throughout Moreton Bay. Another prime table fish, tuskfish are around in better numbers than you might think, however you will need the right approach and tackle to have any chance of scoring them.

The favoured food source of tuskfish is crabs, although they will occasionally eat other flesh baits and banana prawns. If you are serious about scoring one of the larger specimens then crabs are highly recommended. Any crab species can be used however be sure to adhere to the relevant size and bag limits. Even a half or quarter sand crab will produce but a whole crab is better.

Minimum 50lb line is recommended for tuskies but many serious about catching the larger fish will opt for 80lb to 150lb line. Even on this tackle they still get busted up more often than you would think. In Moreton Bay, tuskies can be caught around the fringes of all the bay islands, along any ledges, wrecks and areas with rubble or coffee rock.

Even the more popular artificial reefs hold good

Increased baitfish presence will also result in better numbers of pelagic species in the bay during March. Longtails can often be fussy and it pays to try numerous profiles when casting lures. Mark with a neat snapper destined for a dinner invite.

numbers of tuskfish, however few bother fishing it with crab baits and the occasional fish hooked on other offerings will often gain its freedom as anglers are not fishing suitable tackle. The bite from a tuskfish it often fairly delicate but once you strike and set the hook all hell breaks loose and you want a heavy drag and some serious rod work to get the odds in your favour. MACKEREL

The prevalence of school and spotted mackerel has been minimal of late, possibly due to the frequent rain that has kept many areas of the western bay fairly dirty. Cleaner patches of water in the eastern side of the bay have often held decent numbers of fish but it has been sporadic.

I cant see March being a lot different but it still pays to try your luck jigging beacons with chromed slugs and floating out a pilchard or small live bait when fishing around the island fringes and shipping channel beacons. The Measured Mile beacons are often popular during March for floating pilchards out to target mackerel. Whether it fires this year will depend on water clarity and bait prevalence but at the time of writing the water was still a little too dirty here, even on the higher tidal stages. Trolling spoons around the Sand Hills area, Lucinda Bay, Rainbow Channel and upper Rous Channel should see a few schoolies landed, especially towards the latter half of March.

LONGTAIL TUNA

March can often be a great month for longtails with some real quality amongst those landed. A few decent surface feeding schools can be found however many of the better specimens are often taken on live baits. These are fished around the shipping channel beacons north of the Four Beacons, along the Cowan and Comboyuro Ledge and also the Western Rocks area.

Surface feeding specimens can randomly be located almost anywhere however try around Gilligan’s Island, Kianga Channel and along the front of Bribie Island. Have an array of offerings at your disposal as you can never be sure what profile they will respond to on any given day. Chromed slugs and slices, stickbaits to around 120mm, pencil poppers, baitfish profiled flies, weighted casting minnows and jighead rigged jerkshad plastics can all be put to good use. Longtails will often follow the trawlers when they are working so ducking behind the nets and dropping a live bait will often reward. However, also expect to hook plenty of sharks as they also will take the opportunity for an easy meal from the smaller fish species that get crushed in the bottom of the net and finally push through the mesh.

Whilst most larger tuskfish are caught on crabs, some smaller ones will succumb to other baits and lures. Andrew Tennant caught this tasty specimen recently.

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