Mackay

Long term gain ahead

MACKAY Cameron Christian

It’s been a big year and 2023 will provide plenty of great fishing opportunities. January should be stinking hot with plenty of rain and storms. The rain may be temporarily inconvenient for the creeks and bad news for Teemburra but long term should boost baitfish stocks and may even give new stocked fingerings a better chance of survival having cleared some of those monsters lurking in the dams.

Heavy rain leading up to January should see plenty of prawn and mud Keeping an eye on your pots is usually important in Mackay systems due to large tidal runs, creeks that dry out, and pot robbers, including crocs.

When the rain is intermittent and the creeks get a bit of a chance to clear the typical creek species will be around for a chew. Bream, flathead, king threadfin, blue salmon, queenfish, cod and golden snapper are all fair game in the creeks. If there is a good prawn run, some of the best spots will be where the prawns hang out. Particularly where prawns are left vulnerable, such as when they are flushed from gullies and gutters with the outgoing tide or when they are exposed in the small bays.

Plenty of jacks should be caught while mimicking prawn draining from the mangroves as they usually like to hide in tight cover to the sides of gullies or gutters and ambush their prey. Using live or fresh prawn baits or weedless prawn imitations should work well as long as they are worked close to the structure. In turn, using the current to drift baits or lures past the structure is a popular and reliable technique.

Grunter will also be about and the large tides are usually best for chasing them, if prawn or other bait are seen on the flats or

Mick knows a lot about mangrove jack fishing.

Marc Edmonds, from Team The BFB’s, had no trouble catching plenty of quality barra despite high water temps during the Teemburra day comp. around the rubble patches then the grunter are likely close by. Baits like prawn, strip baits or yabbies or lures like prawn imitations and small swimbaits should work well in these areas.

The mackerel and tuna typically move further south with the bait schools this time of year and become harder to get. Some stragglers usually hang around the southern systems like those around Sarina however and can make having a metal slug or popper rig ready to go well worth it.

Further offshore there have been great reports of nannygai and red emperor catches and these

crab catches throughout the creeks around Mackay and of course a big prawn run means a great start to the barra open season starting 1 February. If the influxes of rain are small there are usually small and sparse prawn runs, which can be a case of being lucky and having a cast net at hand if attempting to get a feed or just a bit of top quality bait.

A good cast net and electric motor are best used to chase prawn that are usually targeted around small side gullies just tucked away from the current, under overhanging mangroves and in small bays. The concentration of small jelly prawn seen jumping through the net is a good indication of whether to stay on them or move on and come back after they have grown a bit.

Heavy rain usually also sees mud crab flushed from the upstream areas toward the mouths of the creeks or gullies. Fish frames are a convenient bait but oily pilchards or mac tuna flesh secured with plastic mesh like gutter guard can yield great results. A freshly hatched sooty grunter from MAFSA’s hatchery. should continue through the summer months. The shipping channel is a popular spot for these deep water species, however shark activity can really ruin efforts. Speaking with local tackle stores will be best for targeting the offshore species and dodging the taxman.

The dams should be on fire with plenty of stinking hot weather and afternoon storms around however impoundment fish don’t like rapid changes in conditions and large influxes of rainwater will typically shut the fish down. The fish will usually feed well during the downpours or well after the dam has had a chance to stabilise however, hence there will always be a chance to get into some nice dam barra.

A recent comp at Teemburra saw how the warm weather can really get the barra chewing. In stark contrast to the previous months comp, also at Teemburra, which fished miserably under some inconsistent conditions. Expectations were low due to many anglers reporting poor pre-fishing experiences and, most importantly, due to the unfamiliar day comp format rather than the usual nighttime session. Nevertheless, the dam fished very well with most teams getting the 3 fish bag and many reporting catching plenty more.

Successful teams kept to tradition by fishing wind blown points around the basin. But they did adapt for the high water temp and extremely lethargic barra by sitting further off deeper points and very slowly working the thermoclines using suspending divers, like Jackall Squirrels or soft vibes like Transams. As the day progressed to night and the water temp dropped, anglers were able to observe the barra pushing closer to the weed edges to feed and shifting the boat in with them kept the bites coming throughout the comp.

MAFSA Hatchery has been busy lately with the sooty breeding season in full swing. Members recently produced a couple hundred fertilised eggs, however a poor hatch rate means members will be continuing the broodstock collection and egg production process. This process will continue right through the warmer months until the tanks are filled with viable fry destined for Mackay dams.

MAFSA’s breeding efforts, barra stocking programs and associated fundraising events will be more important than ever if the dams overflow, as many of the larger fish will take the opportunity to jump the dam walls to try to head to the salt and breed. Continued support is essential for these efforts and MAFSA will require more members, funds and sponsors. Individuals can support the stocking group simply by providing valuable catch data using the catch survey app (see MAFSA’s Facebook page for more details), donating containers (C 1 0 1 7 0 2 5 1) or by becoming a member. Businesses can also play a huge part in MAFSA’s efforts and the group are always eager for more promotion and sponsorship. Any additional funds raised outside those provided by the SIP scheme can be used for activities such as fish monitoring programs including fish tagging. Tinaroo has over 20 years of fish tagging data and it would be great to see such valuable data coming from Mackay dams.