Well, those morning westerlies have turned up the last few days – uncanny, isn’t it? Those EKKA winds usually change fishing in the Passage and beyond and make things tricky. Certainly, the rain over the EKKA week changed the fishing – at least for a few days!
As we head into the “between-seasons” period, every day can be different. Windy days are not all bad – there’s always somewhere to hide in the Passage – or up in Ningi Creek and the others further north. You can use the wind to make a good, long cast towards the mangroves. Joel caught a mangrove jack a little way into Elimbah Creek, as well as a cod and a flathead. Catching a mangrove jack is often more good luck than good management, especially in the winter. A lot of the bigger ones have wandered out to one of the reefs, but there are still some in the Passage and can sometimes be caught when other fish are being targeted.
This winter has been one of the best for tailor in a long time, I reckon. There are continuous reports of big catches of goodsized tailor. Vince and Katrina took their boat up and anchored off White Patch, catching 4 tailor using froggies for bait. Tyson and his mates spent most of their day between Gallagher’s Point and Stockyards – bringing home 6 tailor (38cm+), a 47cm flathead and a 29cm bream, all using pillies for bait. Stopping at Ningi Creek on the way in, they took another tailor. Strangely enough, they didn’t keep any of the two dozen grinners that they also caught!
Ron had a bumper fishing session three weekends ago, when he hooked up 10 tailor, “all of’em over 50cm”, and five dusky flathead around the 60cm mark. He just sat in the same spot over the two days, north of the Ningi Creek yellow marker, “mostly in water no more than a metre deep”, again using pilchards.
Then, last weekend, he was at it again and almost in the same spot. He had to call in for ice, to deal with all his fish – eleven tailor, two flathead and one big bream – this time fishing over the sand bar extending from Turner’s Camp. The next morning, he headed out again to use the last of his block of pillies and landed a 60cm flathead on his first cast, right at the top of the tide.
There are still plenty of flathead about, but the sizes brought in have dropped a little with the funny weather, I think. The first decent day after the last spell of rain, Jason caught two bar-tail flathead about 37cm each, (mullet for bait) but it was a quiet day all up. Buzz, from Everton Park Fishing Club, was able to add two sand flathead, a winter whiting and a bream, to his tally, caught at Ningi Creek. Young Charlie’s flathead was a good one – 57cm, picked up at the ripples, using a pilly on a ganghook – he was pretty excited, he said, when he could feel the head-shakes on his line.
Matthew told me he’s been spending a bit of time waist-deep in water off Cardboard Hill at Sandstone Point, targetting flathead, mainly casting out a gang-hooked pilchard. He said his favourite time is towards dusk, if the tide is right, anytime til 9pm, when it goes quiet. Luke did some night fishing, too, in Ningi Creek on an incoming tide – and got himself a 66cm dusky.
Fish-of-the-month goes to snapper. The rest must have done them good because they’ve been coming in ever since the season opened up on August 16th. On the first day, Zac and Andrew went out to Moreton Island, sitting about half-way down on the ocean side. 60cm was the biggest of the 6 snapper they kept. Zac said everything they cast out worked – pilchards, squid, soft and hard plastics. The best fishing was in the morning, on the falling tide, clouds came over at about 11 am, and the snapper lost interest until the clouds cleared again.
Jason didn’t have to go as far for snapper, nor did Matt, but theirs weren’t as exciting in size. Jason caught two at Turner’s Camp and Matthew said he threw back about sixteen of them from the ripples! Luke went up the ocean side of Bribie, and caught snapper too, six of them – but they were no bigger than those being caught in the Passage. Still good to see the snapper so keen.