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Luke Truant
Over the past month the fishing has generally been good. However, as I have stated in previous reports, it’s different from previous years in that there is a real lack of medium-size fish. For example, we can do a day’s fishing and catch maybe 20 hussar, one or two tuskfish, a lone sweetlip, and then several big emperor and/or coral trout. I’ve even had a couple of lousy half-day trips where
mackerel have been larger and less numerous lately. The day before I wrote this report, we pulled the hooks on an estimated 25kg+ Spaniard at the side of the boat; it had to be around 1.5-1.6m. In recent weeks, the red emperor have been averaging 6kg+, with the biggest caught lately weighing in at around 9.5kg. That’s not a massive red, but it’s still good fish. The majority of the trout have been in the 3-7kg size range, and the biggest we caught recently was around 7.5kg. Obviously, we can’t be sure why the fishing
We can expect some great trout catches this month. we literally caught 1-2 very large trout or red emperor and very few other legal fish. It’s totally unlike any fishing I’ve ever seen in my lifetime; in a normal year you would normally get lots of small to medium fish – often around 20-30 or so – and maybe one larger fish. Even the Spanish
is different this year, but there are theories. Perhaps a contributing factor is the current we’ve had. For example, on a recent trip we visited an area where we’d normally have an incoming tide as a west-flowing current, and outgoing as an east-flowing current. This time, by contrast, we had a tide for the entire day flowing
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DECEMBER 2022
southerly at 1.5 knots through both the incoming and outgoing tides. Also, the water was 4.5°C warmer than on the trip before. Some of the pros say they’ve seen it only several times over the past 20 years, which could indicate that maybe the EAC is inside the reef. This hot water from the north, coming down somehow, occurred just after a really strong northwest wind. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2023. OFFSHORE If you want to catch stacks of livies through December, well… you’re dreamin’. You might find some little trevally schools, but yellowtail numbers have really gone down. Out of Bundaberg, the only reasonably consistent places to get livies (especially now that we have floodwater running out of the Burnett again) have been around the FADs, which are 10 miles northeast of Burnett Heads. While you’re getting bait it’s a pretty good place to vertically jig for school mackerel. We have been picking up some good schoolies lately, with fish up to around 4kg. A popular way to catch them is with chrome lures dropped to the bottom (around 20m deep), which you retrieve as fast as your arms can go at a 45° angle. Knife jigs can also catch a few when retrieved at a similar angle, or vertically. If you don’t end up getting any livies, that’s OK because dead baits have been catching good fish. Ideally, I recommend that you use long strip baits. My favourites are hussar, iodine bream and variegated emperor (variegated is just about the best trout bait you’ll get). Whole pilchards and whole fresh local squid will also catch their share of fish. Some of the tuskfish we have been catching recently have been particularly keen on the squid. Unfortunately, the sharks have decided it’s time to become predators again. Like other anglers, we have had bad losses on a couple of trips. All you can do is instantly move as soon as you get sharked once. If you really want to stay, you can push your luck and see if you get sharked twice, but definitely don’t stay after that. There’s no point. When it comes to the distance you’ll need to move, it can vary. Sometimes you can only move 500m and it’s enough, while at other times you can move miles and still run into them. We once had a tiger so aggressive it was eating fish under the boat, darting around to snap up any fish it could get its teeth into, even hussar. We have been catching
some cool, random mixed bags lately, and these unexpected species always liven up a trip. One of the more unusual catches last month was a pearl perch caught in 30m of water (on a live yellowtail scad), and yellowtail kingfish (also on a yellowtail scad) which weighed in at around 9kg. The day before I wrote this report, a client caught a little black marlin on a livie. The black was only around 12kg, but the client was thrilled, and let it go to fight another day. It was the unluckiest marlin in the sea, because the hook fell out and it still got caught. The fish had the leader wrapped around its snout around 20 times as it kept jumping and tying itself in knots. When I untangled the leader I discovered the hook wasn’t in the fish. There’s a reason I use Schneider – it has such good abrasion resistance, and the marlin’s sandpaper-like bill wasn’t able to wear it through. The unusual catches don’t stop there – we also caught five gorgeous tomato cod on scad and fresh local squid as well. It just goes to show, you never know what you might run into out there. ESTUARY AND INSHORE The fishing in the estuary is similar to last month, with some massive grunter getting caught in the creek prior to the flooding. At the time of writing, there’s a lot of fresh in the river, but by the time you read this things should have cleared up, and the fishing should have improved – barring more rain events. If things have cleared up by December, you can fish for flathead with plastics, or whiting with beachworms. Obviously we can’t fish for barramundi until the season opens in February, but you can still have a lot of fun catching mangrove jacks. These fish love the heat, and they tend to feed well at this time of year, taking lures with gusto. The average size summer jack is around 40-45cm, with the occasional donkey over 55cm showing up. I use 50lb braid and 60lb fluorocarbon leader for these fish. I love to fish the rock bars for jacks in the upper reaches, focusing on the first metre or so from the edge of the rocks. Whether you’re using a vibe, paddletail plastic or hardbody, you want to make it dance in that first metre or two from the rocks. It’s good to mix up your retrieve to find what works best on the day. Try an erratic retrieve to start with, and if that doesn’t get a bite, try a smooth retrieve on the next cast. The good news is, you don’t need to get up early
Good size red emperor are on the chew. to target jacks, because the hotter it is, the more the jacks like it. You can even fish for them in the middle of the day, as they don’t seem to mind full sunshine. With all the rain we’ve had there have been a few crabs stirring about, and that influx of fresh water might possibly bring on an early season. Normally, the crabs don’t really kick in until the new year. Moving to inshore fishing, the longtail tuna have arrived, and are within reach of smaller boats. Most of the schools are within 5 miles of the coast, and at this time of year you can just zigzag along the coast looking for schools. We have been seeing some schools of big longtails in recent weeks, with an average size of around 10kg, and some 20kg+ models in the mix. I often find that the best longtail feeding schools don’t have birds. You may just see the boil on the surface, with up to 1.5m of spray above the water indicating the mayhem below. When you see a school of tuna busting-up, you can tell which species it is because the longtail’s surface feeding pattern is different from how mac tuna feed. With longtails you’ll see really long slashes through the water, as opposed to the smaller chops that mac tuna make. The longtails will slice the surface for a metre and a half in one go sometimes, while mac tuna tend to slice for around half a metre. The longtails have have been taking small slugs, as small as you can cast, and you can catch them on stickbaits as well. Once you have found a school, you’ll want to go upwind of them so you can cast with the wind; you can more than double your casting distance sometimes. I like to have the motor turned off, as usually that lets the school come a little closer. Cast over the top of the school if you can, and pull your slug right through the feeding frenzy. You’ll want to use a high-speed spin reel for this, and a high-speed retrieve. Sometimes pausing your retrieve in the middle of the school, very briefly, can help. If the fish are feeding
hard enough you can even let your lure sink through the school for around 5-7 seconds, provided you’re close enough and have the time to let it sink through the school. Longtail tuna traditionally hang around until after summer, so they’re a great target during the holiday season. DECEMBER FISHING In December we usually get really good trout and red emperor fishing. Remember that shark issues are usually worse at popular, wellknown spots, where the sharks are used to getting fed, so try to stay away from these places. Take the time to sound around and find your own spots. You can also try fishing heavier line and heavier gear so you can get the fish in faster, before the sharks can reach it. Fishing in shallower water for trout can also reduce the number of times you’ll get sharked. Finally, remember this: there is no bait too big! Predators like red emperor and trout are particularly greedy and opportunistic. At times we’ll use a slab of iodine bream that’s too big for a human to eat in a single sitting, and this monstrous meal will catch a 4kg trout. One trout we caught the other day had a whole fusilier in its stomach, and there’s no way it could have fit our bait in its stomach as well. That certainly didn’t stop this trout from having a red-hot go! • Truansea Charters specialise in 10-hour day trips chasing prized reef targets such as coral trout and red emperor, as well as arm-stretching pelagics like Spanish mackerel. The maximum number of anglers is 6, so you’ll never feel crowded. The price is $350pp (or $330pp if you book the whole boat), which includes all gear, fuel, bait, ice, chilled water/soft drinks and laughs! You’re welcome to bring your own reef fishing gear if you prefer. Other charter options include half-day reef trips, half day river trips and private guiding. To find out more visit www.truansea. com.au, or you can Like them on Facebook or call Luke on 0423 015 490.
