Old Scaley

That must be a bit frustrating @Dinodadog. Hope the time goes quickly for you. By the way, you forgot the photos?

Not areal test today Brian, with only light rain, no wind and not very cold. I was nice and dry though..

Once they started hitting the bait, the plastics didn’t seem to work as well. I probably should have been there early to catch the tailor bite. The conditions were a bit eerie today - the sky was grey, the water was also grey and there was almost constant drizzle. Still lovely though.

Had a day out planned with one of AFO’s luminaries today, but unfortunately more compelling issues meant he needed to cancel yesterday arvo so I decided I would have a solo fish today. Had a bit of a sleep in and hit the water about 9am. Nice and quiet at the boat ramp and on the water. I fished the bottom of the tide and a bit of the incoming at the wall in front of the Port of Brisbane. I had the whole wall to myself for the entire session, about 3 hours. Was a bit quiet to start with. I had a bait line out and flicking placcies at the wall. I started to get a few touches on the plastic, with the first fish landed on the plastic being a just under snap. Then I had a run of small tailor in that 25 to 30cm range, before I finally got a legal chopper at 35cm. I wasn’t sure if I was going to do any better so I kept that one for dinner. Not long after that the bait (squid and pillies) started to work and the little snaps came on the chew. After about a dozen just unders I finally got a keeper, followed by 2 more. They weren’t huge (38, 41 and 51) but given the time of day and the number of fish coming over the side I thought it was worth letting you all know that the snaps are on the increase, so get out there if you can. The island fringes in the Bay should be starting to work. Good luck everyone.

If you want to compare different boat styles and how they compare in a bit of wave action, go to YouTube and search for Haulover Inlet. A mob called Boat Zone have a few vids up, including a 2020 compilation of craziness at this inlet bar. Absolute madness. Worth a look if you have a bit of spare time. Some of these people should be banned from boating forever.

Just looks like there is a bit of chop on the surface, and/or the boat is moving. Looks ok to me, especially if you are using feet not metres as the unit. It is just the transducer moving up and down with the boat movement.

So glad you explained this! I was thinking if you can only harvest 2 balls per fish, and then only from the boy fishies, it is going to take many tuna to feed the family....... Nice recipe, thanks mate.

A quick google search tells us they are all fishing guides/writers/identities from CQ or FNQ so should have something to contribute. Like @samsteele115and @Drop Bear I like to trust the science and err on the side of caution. Maybe if there is a change to be introduced it might be similar to the black jew closure that only cuts in when a certain quota has been caught? Wait and see I guess.

Pro tip right there. I guess the scales and intact gut cavity would help keep the moisture in the fish as well?

Another strong NSW team on paper, but will they be good enough? Gaigai had a blinder this weekend and may just inspire the Maroons to another upset series win.

The forecast for mid-week was too good to miss, so @ellicat and I made a plan to hit spot R1a on the eastern Bay to chase macs and squid. We launched from Manly at dawn into a bit of westerly chop which was not too uncomfortable. The sunrise was beautiful as usual. Here is photo for those who never see a sunrise ( @GregOug, I am talking about you). We got to spot R1a and Brian deployed a pilchard under a float. I decided to fish the bottom with local squid chunks while I waited to see if there was any mackerel action. Brian soon followed suite. Pretty soon we were pickerel severely and the only fish coming over the side were stripies and undersize snaps and grassies. The float line was not getting any love either. I called a fellow AFOer who I knew was close by chasing squid to see if he was having more luck, but alas he was quiet as well. The conditions just got better and better as the day went on, but unfortunately the fishing was still quiet. Brian called @GregOug who was out and about surprisingly early. He reported that things were quiet as well. We had a couple of moves and did a bit of drifting before settling in at spot R1b for the run out tide. The nursery was still active but I did manage one grassy in the mid thirties. Soon after, there was our favourite sound of zzzzzzzzz coming from my reel. After a very brief fight the line went tight but no movement. Was it a ray, or a big cod headed for home? I left the line with tension on for about ten minutes hoping to annoy the fish out of hiding, but no joy. So I gave it heaps of slack, again no joy. I tightened the drag and broke the line. Looked like the braid was cut on something sharp so the fish must have headed for a bit of reef. A bit later after landing a smaller legal grassie and a legal tuskie, the old zzzzzzz happened again. This time there was no heading for the reef and we settled into a good battle that went for several minutes. When I first saw the fish on its side down deep, I thought it was a big snapper, but when I got it closer We could see it was a big fat morwong. By this stage I was wondering how good that hastily tied FG knot would hold, but in no time Brian had slipped the net under it and 75cm of morwong hit the deck. I weighed it on my boga grips this morning and it was just over 12lbs in the old lingo. My best fish so far this year so I was pretty happy. So while we didn’t manage either of our target species, it was another great day on the water with good company, a few laughs and a few fish. Thanks again Brian.

Now those are a couple of absolute beauties @Allnighter. Thanks for sharing.

I hope the op goes well Dino, and that you can use at least one hand straight away. There are some things that your wife didn’t sign up to all those years ago.

When you say “neigh-sayers” are you referring to the horse in the gif? Pretty sure it says neigh all the time. I can’t believe it is nearly State of Origin time again. Bring it on. I just hope there are a few players left who are not suspended or injured. A few strategic lay downs with head holding could decimate an entire team in one round. Already a few missing from both sides.

Finally crack the Qld trifecta. Once that first Brisbane forward pass was let go I thought this could be their night.

Good to see you out and about Brad, and good to see that prize boat going to good use.

Good on you Hamish. Count me in. Could the mulloway include the northern species (black Jew)? I am heading to Darwin in July and hoping to target these on a charter in Darwin Harbour.

Fantastic result, Greg. Pretty sure you will be motivated to get out more often now. Congratulations!

That boat is accumulating some serious mojo, Andrew! Looks like you are not shy to take it out a fair distance. Rods look very schmick as well.

Happy birthday Hamish.

Looks pretty ordinary Mark. I am guessing that as well as those cr@p conditions, you didn’t get any decent fish and didn’t enjoy a coldie while floating in a crystal clear lagoon. Please don’t do a report because it is bound to be boring and have no good photos.

If it ends up being the Brisbane River Classic, you could work the Suburbs Of Origin into it somehow. That generated a bit of interest.

Except Steve Renouf. I suspect Steve is a bot designed to make the rest of feel good about our tipping. He didn’t count on you, me or Robbie.

Nice stuff @Lava. A fish like that on your last cast would certainly give you the GT bug! Which dam did you fish for barra?

It sure was an incredible game. Not sure if the result says more about the Broncos or the Titans? Even though it is hard when your 2 favourite teams play each other, at least it means there is one less tip to get wrong. Now if the Cowboys can get up, I might get a perfect round.