queensland Brisbane River Session #63

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Hi all

This took place on the 8^th of the 11^th, in the morning (yesterday). I set the alarm for a bit before sunrise (Also known as 4:15AM) but after waking up and waking an unhappy, grouchy father, I was told to go back to bed and wait ‘till later. I fell back asleep and at about 5:30AM we were off, with hopes high for a bully shark or thready salmon... This will also be the last report for a while (probably a couple - 3 weeks - I just wrote it up and Sunday night after the session so I could get reliable stats). 

I deployed the lines baited with mullet and herring, and my dad got to cast netting. He wasn’t getting anything in the first few throws off the jetty, (apart from a baby bream which someone walking by took interest in and we informed him about size limits, etc) and the tide was a bit high for our liking anyways. The rod with a half mullet was getting a couple taps, (most likely a smaller fish toying with the bait but there is a fair chance it was a bully as well), but unluckily, the shark didn’t like it and dropped the bait. My hooks were brand new Kato 6/o’s, so there is not a very likely chance the reason I did not hook it was because of a bad hook.

 He tried off the walkway to the jetty, and first cast he got some scat and glassies – I kept them all, and baited both the shark and salmon line up with scat and glassy (Shark – Scat. Salmon – Glassy). My dad was not getting any more action though, so he went off back to the jetty. The rod with a live scat was getting some action, and before I knew it there was line screaming off. I was probably too ambitious in my actions and picked up the rod, possibly spooking this fish. It dropped the bait and did not come back. When I brought it back in, a (still kicking) scat came back in, but had some rather gnarly tooth marks on it. I called it almost certainly for a shark, but a very slim chance is that it was a pike eel.

Mauled to death - what an unpleasant way to go!!!

The scat was casted back out, and I hoped that I could entice another bully. My dad was going up to throw his net on the mud flat now, and on his first or second throw he got some good mullet. I saw them kicking and thrashing, but unfortunately, somehow, he managed to drop all of them… Catch and Release . He kept throwing, and a couple casts later he got a proper school of about ten. I was bringing the bucket up but then the salmon line buckled over. I ran down and picked it up. The line was not frayed but it was a pretty good hit making me think it was a bully. I put another glassy on and cast it back out (then proceeded to give my dad a hand).

After those two missed hook ups (disappointing!) my dad had a brief break from the net, and I checked the lines. I moved the rod with a herring on to the side of the wharf so it would drift under the structure. My dad got back to cast netting, and while I was standing on the wharf, I saw either a big yellowfin bream, bony bream, or mullet bust up right next to it. Possibly being chased, but more than likely just jumping because it felt like it. I wish we could have gotten that one in the net.

The salmon line was still soaking with two glassies, and I was down on the jetty when it went off. I picked up the rod, unsure if there was still a fish on… But after a couple cranks of the reel handle, I was on to something with a fair few head shake. It was small enough I could skull drag it in, but I still thought it may be a bully. Soooo, I was rather disappointed when a 30cm odd catfish came up. Bummer! Guess they will be coming on the bite more though now that it is warming up.

OK cat

After not being able to lip grip or grab the catty, I resorted to flicking it off the brag mat. It was nearing quarter to seven, and seeing as though my dad had a journey to Wivenhoe Dam on with the Cub Scouts he leads, he had to get going soon after. I thought I would be in at least for one catch – live mullet soaking, perfect tides (or so I thought). I thought wrong ☹

My friend said he would be down at 8:00AM or so, so I had a bit of time to wait. I simply just checked lines for this duration and kept re-deploying the livies. They really did not want to be taken, and despite being flicked under structure, or flicked deeper and further out, no fish were enticed. A dismal couple of hours sure put a downer on what seemed to be a good morning session.

My friend was here sooner or later, and we started chatting (I was mainly keeping my eyes on the lines though). I got one snag on the cod line, but then about 20-30 minutes later I got another bloody snag. I wasn’t so lucky this time and lost my rig. The same happened on the other line that was out deeper on the retrieve – A real shame as those snags wasted two or three good livies.

I decided to stay until about 10:15AM, and at about 10:00AM I got to packing away some gear. The rods were left out, but I washed down the jetty and boardwalk from all the mud my nets had brought up (and random flotsam probably from the outgoing tide), my net and umbrella, and all the gear back away. By about 10:15AM, a very disappointed Hamish came home. I got the mullet ready for freezing and packed away all my gear ready for the school week.

The salmon line (when reeled in) felt like it had no livie, and on a closer inspection I got why – my mullet had a chunk taken out of it, so it was missing some of it’s vital organs . Maybe a smaller bream or something of the likes?

Another unpleasant way to go!

 

Here are the stats of that rather dismal session. I hope you enjoyed this report, and at least I got out and about doing it. Cheers for reading.

Stats of trip –

Tide: 3:30AM, 1.4M, High, 9:45AM, .6M, Low

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous (since it is just after a full moon there is a bit of run alright)

Air Pressure: 1024.3

Humidity: 59%

Weather: Cloudy, slightly windy, a bit chillier than usual which may have influenced the bite

Rain: None, but a lot of fresh in the river system still

Bait caught: Mullet, Prawn, Glassy, Scat

Bait used: Mullet, Prawn, Glassy, Scat

Fish caught: Catfish x 1

Tackle used: 12lb, 14lb, 30lb braid mainlines, 20lb, 30lb, 80lb, mono, fluorocarbon traces, size 2 and 6 ball sinkers, size 4/o circle and suicide hooks, large barrel swivel, size 5000 Jarvis Walker Sovereign, Size 2500 Shimano Nasci and Diawa Shinobi, 6’6” Abu Garcia Veritas, 8’ Ugly Stik, 2M Rogue Firepoint Boat rod.

Overall Success Rate: Solid 50%...

Cheers Hamish

[rayke1938]

Have you thought about dropping a crab pot . 

[Drop Bear]

+ 1 on Raykes suggestion. I even have a spare one you could have. 

21 hours ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

After not being able to lip grip or grab the catty, I resorted to flicking it off the brag mat.

@rayke1938 I have seen rayke pick up catties. he holds them around the belly up tight against the spines. I will let him explain it better but it is a safer way to hold them.

[Brodie_S]

I’m yet to fish with live mullet but it seems to be quite tricky to get something decent to take a live bait I’ll think I’ll stick to dead bait if try shark fishing because it seemed to work amazingly well up at the Whitsundays . Oh and the last photo on your thread with the mullet with a bite mark in it looks like a massive pufferfish took a bite .it looks a lot like a pufferfish tooth Mark when I was up at the Whitsundays I had a stripy head as bait anyway I got a run on the rod I tightened the drag and set the hook the fish felt decent but small for a shark anyway after 5 minutes i got it close to the boat and netted it . It was a massive pufferfish probably around 7kg probably one of the weirdest things I’ve caught I was a little disappointed to say the least lmao.

[GregOug]

Hi mate,

Good report. How big was the mullet? Looks like something a big larger than a bream had a chomp to me. Also, I’m no expert on live baiting but I would think that the method of inserting the hook into the mullet you used would have killed it almost instantly. We always used to place the hook behind the head and only just below the backbone, into the flesh. Then again I could be totally wrong. Wouldn’t be surprised. 

cheers

Greg

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

On 10/11/2020 at 5:32 AM, rayke1938 said:

Have you thought about dropping a crab pot . 

Hi Ray

Well - this is a bit of a sad story, by g he err I go. About five years ago I still fished this spot a lot, but mainly just got catties and river perch... And a crap tonne of muddies - sometimes we would get about ten on the lines in one session. It began happening until they ran out, but this Asian man would come down and take everything he got in his crap pots each morning. We told him it was under size and that wasn’t allowed, but of course he couldn’t care less. At the time we didn’t really know that there were such thing as fishery officers, as we’d only really started fishing not to long ago (well stuff like going every weekend not just every now and then) , but now I feel guilty for not doing anything about it.

After a couple years of nothing, they seem to be rehabilitating, as one of my mates got a few and one keeper and I have caught the odd one in my shrimp pots. If that bloke comes back again, I’ll know what to do (slash his pots and let the jennies go) as well as call fisheries before the other two as it could get me in some hot water. Lol.

Sorry for that big story, but I think it is quite important. I reckon in about five years I will start catching some more.

13 hours ago, Drop Bear said:

+ 1 on Raykes suggestion. I even have a spare one you could have. 

@rayke1938 I have seen rayke pick up catties. he holds them around the belly up tight against the spines. I will let him explain it better but it is a safer way to hold them.

Hey Robbie

I have a couple pots, so I can use them every now and then. If I really want a feed of crabs from the river (my mum is the only one who really likes crabs as I’ve never tried them but refuses to eat from the river) I can put them up or down somewhere on the kayak.

11 hours ago, Breaming with bro said:

I’m yet to fish with live mullet but it seems to be quite tricky to get something decent to take a live bait I’ll think I’ll stick to dead bait if try shark fishing because it seemed to work amazingly well up at the Whitsundays . Oh and the last photo on your thread with the mullet with a bite mark in it looks like a massive pufferfish took a bite .it looks a lot like a pufferfish tooth Mark when I was up at the Whitsundays I had a stripy head as bait anyway I got a run on the rod I tightened the drag and set the hook the fish felt decent but small for a shark anyway after 5 minutes i got it close to the boat and netted it . It was a massive pufferfish probably around 7kg probably one of the weirdest things I’ve caught I was a little disappointed to say the least lmao.

Hi BwB

If you can get it, it is far better. Don’t be discouraged because you don’t get a hit, and especially not a shark as they can be caught on a bucket load of things! Down your way you’d have a good chance of a big jew if you’re using mullet I suppose  

A 7 Keg pufferfish is humongous, so it could be a toadfish or pufferfish I supposed. I reckon it might’ve been a shark as you can see the two teeth marks on the side after it.

10 hours ago, GregOug said:

Hi mate,

Good report. How big was the mullet? Looks like something a big larger than a bream had a chomp to me. Also, I’m no expert on live baiting but I would think that the method of inserting the hook into the mullet you used would have killed it almost instantly. We always used to place the hook behind the head and only just below the backbone, into the flesh. Then again I could be totally wrong. Wouldn’t be surprised. 

cheers

Greg

Hey Greg

The mullet was about 15cm long, so it may well have not been a bream. I just thought that as they would have a similar bite to what was left. That method certainly doesn’t kill them. It was kicking around for two or so hours. If you go any deeper though, that is where there’s a problem as you go through their brain.

Cheers Hamish 

[Drop Bear]

On 11/11/2020 at 6:53 AM, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

my mum is the only one who really likes crabs as I’ve never tried them but refuses to eat from the river

I have eaten loads of crabs out of the river, and apart from cancer and this itch that I cant get rid of and the breasts that seem to be growing and the lumps all over my stomach and the mental health issues and the twitch I get in my back and a few other things I'm as good as gold....

[Drop Bear]

[Old Scaley]

6 minutes ago, Drop Bear said:

I have eaten loads of crabs out of the river, and apart from cancer and this itch that I cant get rid of and the breasts that seem to be growing and the lumps all over my stomach and the mental health issues and the twitch I get in my back and a few other things I'm as good as gold....

That explains a lot..........

[GregOug]

37 minutes ago, Drop Bear said:

I have eaten loads of crabs out of the river, and apart from cancer and this itch that I cant get rid of and the breasts that seem to be growing and the lumps all over my stomach and the mental health issues and the twitch I get in my back and a few other things I'm as good as gold....

I’ve had all those things but I got rid of them by eating crabs out of the river.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

1 hour ago, GregOug said:

I’ve had all those things but I got rid of them by eating crabs out of the river.

Really? You caught crabs out of the river? 

 

Just joking  

[GregOug]

1 minute ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Really? You caught crabs out of the river? 

 

Just joking  

Well, I bought them from the seafood wholesaler on the river, but still!