Brisbane

May will produce good fish

BRISBANE Gordon Macdonald

masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

We have certainly had some poor weather so far this year, which has hindered anglers’ chances to get out. Hopefully as we merge into the cooler months the patterns will stabilise and we’ll be greeted with calm seas and bountiful fishing. Over the last couple of months we’ve experienced a lot of rainfall and subsequent flooding which has drastically increased nutrient levels in the lower reaches of the rivers and out into Moreton Bay. This will drastically improve the winter fishing, especially for snapper, sweetlip, tuskfish, cod, mulloway and others.

There’s also a good chance that we may still see some good numbers of prawns in Southern Moreton Bay throughout areas throughout Moreton Bay. However, on those occasions the sharks were ridiculous and took many of the better quality fish we hooked. With water temperatures cooling, shark predation should wane resulting in a greater proportion of quality fish making it to the boat.

The usual spots throughout the bay will be well patronised by anglers, especially those getting out for the early morning sunrise session. The numerous artificial reefs (including Harry Atkinson, Peel, Curtin, Bill Turner and Coochiemudlo as well as the surrounds of the bay islands are all worth trying. Obviously, there are also many wrecks in the bay that are worth trying. Many of these are very small and isolated from other structure yet they still hold good numbers of fish including snapper, sweetlip, grunter, mulloway, cobia and numerous others. and then salt and freeze for use later on. These salted baits are somewhat tougher than fresh caught and have all the good oils condensed in them to provide plenty of scent. Live baits, such as yakkas, herring, pike, slimy mackerel and squid are great for scoring on those above average snapper, especially in the more heavily fished areas. The vibrations and realism of such baits will often entice wary fish lurking on the fringes to move in for the kill. Another great bait is a large banana prawn rigged on a jighead and drifted across the bottom. This is a very realistic presentation when rigged with the prawn laying along the length of the jighead with the weight at the head.

Obviously the lure fishers have a lot of fun on snapper, which will respond to a vast array of presentations. The most commonly presented lures are soft plastics rigged on jigheads and soft vibration baits. With the plastics, anglers will manly use 1/6oz to 1/4oz jigheads in the shallower areas under 12m and 3/8oz in the deeper areas such as some artificial reefs. These are cast upcurrent and then allowed to sink a bit before being retrieved with the current in a series of hops, a slow roll or errant retrieve. It pays to try different retrieves until you find out what is to their liking at the time.

Soft vibes are worked in a similar method, are usually around the 20g mark and will sink fairly quickly. Therefore, they are most suited to the deeper areas and stronger currents. Trolling minnow lures around the outer fringes of the bay islands, through the shallower artificial reefs, areas of rubble or coffee rock and along ledges can often reward with some sizeable snapper. Deep diving minnow lures, which commonly reach depths between 5-10m are best for this pursuit.

For vertically dropping down to snapper and others suspended beneath the boat, micro jigs are ideal. Whilst proper micro jigging outfits will allow you to fish these jigs better, they can be worked with many different outfits for surprising results. Commonly jigs in the 20-50g range will suffice for most areas within the bay and the mouth of the Brisbane River. Which type of offering you decide to persevere with will depend on personal choice, area fished and past experience but do not get stuck in the rut of only using the offering that you first got success on. The more you fish different lures the better you will get at fishing them and this puts a lot more strings in your bow for when the bite is tough.

After the 2011 floods the winter fishing for snapper was ridiculously good. The floodwaters not only brought forth nutrients into the system but it also discoloured the waters, which meant larger specimens felt less conspicuous in the shallows and baitfish were harder to hunt and resulted in little hesitation when they saw your offering. MULLOWAY

Post-flood conditions are also ideal for mulloway and pretty much the same areas, baits and artificial lures will work for them as you use for snapper. However, they will take larger profiles and can be specifically targeted using these.

The Brisbane River often produces some excellent specimens anywhere from the mouth right up to the St Lucia area. The lower reaches are the most heavily fished and anglers often live bait along the edges of the decline into the main river basin, the fronts of the shipping terminals, the Swing Zone, Claras Rocks, underneath the Gateway Bridge, the dredge holes at the mouth and numerous other spots.

Live mullet, herring, pike and banana prawns will get the job done. These same areas can obviously be fished with soft vibes and numerous jighead rigged plastics such as paddle-tail shads and prawn profiles. The beacons leading out of the Brisbane River mouth will also often hold bait that entices mulloway into the precinct.

Further out into the bay, the best bet is usually the artificial reefs however they may also be taken closer in around the bay islands. Often schools of mulloway can be located using your sounder and then offerings are presented in front of the roaming school. Unfortunately, these schools are also often followed by sizeable sharks that will often tax hooked fish before they can be landed.

Night sessions can be especially rewarding for mulloway, which actively hunt during this period. Whilst some actively pursue mulloway, many of them are caught as by-catch by snapper fishers. May will be a great month to score a PB mulloway in the Brisbane River or further out into the bay.

CEPHALOPODS

Squid really prefer very clean water, therefore it is more likely that numbers will be better in the eastern portion of the bay than the western. Westerly winds are generally required to help make the waters of the foreshore areas of Wynnum, Manly, Scarborough, Victoria Point and Wellington Point crystal clear. This may take a month or two yet until these are clean enough for healthy numbers of tiger and arrow squid to abound. However, there could definitely be a few squid to catch in these zones over the coming weeks, especially throughout the darkened hours.

In the eastern bay, areas such as the Rous Channel, Rainbow Channel, Amity Rock Wall, Dunwich and around the shallower areas of Peel Island are likely to hold good numbers of squid. Often the early part of the season produces some of the larger squid with tigers well over the kilogram mark being caught. Most of these are taken on egi, however a baited squid skewer will also produce. Casting and retrieving egi, either with a series of hops or a slow, intermittent wind, will generally produce the goods. Often the squid are visible well before they throw out a tentacle to grab the prey. Anglers chasing whiting in the Rous Channel and Sand Hills area will often drift an egi or baited skewer behind the boat to secure a few squid.

Working over areas with weed, rock, rubble or reef and clean water will generally put you in good stead as squid will commonly lurk and hunt in these areas. They are opportunistic feeders that will prey on baitfish, prawns and small crabs. Cephalops are masters of camouflage and often appear to materialise out of nowhere.

Cuttlefish can also be caught during the cooler months yet are more common in the deeper channels. The western end of the Rous where it meets the Small Ships Channel, the channel out from Wellington Point and Green Island plus the drop-off out from Jeays Reef buoy on the northern end of Mud are all reliable producers. Cuttlefish are commonly caught on egi drifted down deep and close to the bottom. This is often achieved by adding weight to a conventional egi (squid jig). Some will just put a ball sinker on the line above the jig but a much better presentation

Numbers of decent quality snapper, like this specimen Mark caught recently, should be healthy throughout the coming months around the lower Brisbane River, bay islands, artificial reefs and other locations throughout Moreton Bay. Longtail tuna are still likely to be prevalent throughout Moreton Bay in the coming month despite water clarity not being ideal. Often they are caught as by-catch around the bay islands whilst chasing snapper, which was the case with this specimen that Chris caught.

May. Crabbing should also be decent and if the waters in the eastern bay begin to clear then it should be a productive start to the squidding season.

Let’s look a little closer at your options. SNAPPER

My predictions are for an excellent snapper season over the coming months. The few times I have been able to get out after the floods the bite was exceptional in several

All these areas can be worked over with both baits and lures. Quality fresh baits are always best, however the humble frozen squid and pilly still produce plenty of great fish. Fresh fillet baits (mullet, pike, herring, bonito, grinner, gar etc.) and whole banana prawns and squid are some of the better options that are fairly easy to source at times. I often catch and fillet bonito and small tuna during the summer months

is achieved by putting your egi on a paternoster rig. The rig is commonly drifted in the lower quarter of the water column in these channels and once a cuttlefish grabs the jig then a slow constant wind is all that’s required to secure the tasty prize. PRAWNS

It is a tough prediction as to whether there will still be prawns around during May. Commonly the southern bay is where the action is at this time of the year however the huge amounts of rain received over the previous months has really messed with the usual movements of this species. I believe there will be some decent prawning action, however it may only last for a few weeks or so. The only way to know however is to get out there and have a look for yourself.

Whilst relying on others to find the action is a good indicator, you should also venture to historically known areas such as Giants Grave, The Powerlines on the western end of Russel Island, The Salt Works, eastern end of the Lamb Island Channel, Jackson’s Hole, Redland Bay Channel, the main channel out from Jumpinpin and Rudy Maas Marina plus other deeper holes throughout the southern bay to check it out for yourself. These areas are usually best an hour or two either side of the tidal changes when the prawns will lift from the mud and move. If nobody looks, then the prawn conglomerations won’t be found.

The flats out from Nudgee may also produce at times but usually only prawn well early morning, especially on the higher tidal stages. The lower reaches of the Brisbane River and Kedron Brook Floodway are also worth checking out. Hopefully the prawns will show as they are usually of a good size by this time of the year but are fickle creatures and it is hard to predict their movements. THREADFIN

There should still be a few threadfin around in the Brisbane and Logan rivers however at this time of the year the populous tend to migrate upstream. Anglers fishing from shore-based locations commonly get a few around the lighted areas at night. These are mainly caught on lures worked fairly close to the surface as the threadfin are preying on baitfish and prawns attracted to these zones by the light.

Mulloway and occasionally tailor can also be caught around lighted areas well up the river, at least as far up as the St Lucia University. Live baiting along the declines into the main river basin, the mouth of Breakfast Creek, underneath the Gateway Bridge and numerous other spots along the river will likely reward. Live mullet, herring, banana prawns, pike and gar will all produce. SWEETLIP

May is a good month to score a few sweetlip around the bay islands where the rubble and reef begins to peter out and the sand begins. Pre-dawn sessions with a rising tide are often the best but good numbers of these hard fighting and sweet tasting fish can be caught throughout most stages of the tidal phase.

My preference is for fresh fillet baits from pike, mullet and bonito or banana prawns but they can be taken on numerous offerings including the staples of frozen mullet and pilchards. Fish baits lightly weighted yet on the bottom with a single hook buried in the bait with just the point proud. More finesse rigging with lighter fluorocarbon leaders will get you the most bites but will also decrease chances of landing quality fish.

Sweeties will often head straight for structure after hook-up and bust-ups are common around the reefy areas. Sweetlip can also be taken on smaller soft plastics and soft vibes but baits tend to produce the better numbers. Those out on the water and in position pre-dawn will often experience a flurry of bites just as the sun creeps over the horizon.

CONCLUSION

The fishing should be rather good over the coming months, especially in regards to snapper and other demersals that dwell around the artificial reefs and bay islands. The pelagic action is debatable but the eastern areas of the bay should produce a few school mackerel and longtails. Hopefully prawns will show for a few weeks or more and the squid will begin to come on, with the best bet in areas where the water clarity is good. It may take a little longer for the inshore areas to clear up and consistently produce good numbers of squid.

The regular downpours and flooding of the last few months should do wonders for the winter fishery due to increased nutrient levels inshore which promotes healthy numbers of baitfish and other food sources. Hopefully the weather will be favourable so you can get out amongst the action soon.

With higher levels of nutrients and increased baitfish presence in the bay and estuary, large predators like mulloway will be more common around the inshore waters.

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