Whiting has been the flavour of the month, with large catches along Woorim and Red beaches, with most anglers totalling fish in the double digits – it has been a great start to the whiting season.
Worms have been the pick of the baits and are available frozen most of the time from Bribie Bait and Cycle, but from time to time, they have them live. When live worms are available, they usually sell out before 9 am, but there’s always the option to dig your own. Wriggler worms are found in the grit at low tide around Redcliff, and blood worms are found knee-deep in mud.
Some other baits to consider are yabbies, pipis, and squid. I like to cut my squid up the night before and soak it in pink food dye as the red colour is often a trigger for the whiting’s interest.
In the same vein, seasoned whiting anglers will put red tubing up the line on top of the hook. Snapper is still around, with good bags caught around Bribie and in the bay. Some meterplus specimens have also been reported off Moreton using whole yakkas for bait on 5/0 gang hooks. They have also been caught with plastics on the surf side and from drifting pillies. These are one of the prize species of fish in our area.
Tailor has quietened down, with only a few fish landed over the last few weeks. The lack of rain generally means no bait fish in the Passage, and without the bait the fish there, the tailor will stay on the beaches chasing the bait up the coastline. As school holidays are here, if you are taking your kids fishing, your 4-legged friends also like a day out in the boat with lots to see and with their noses constantly in the air, they have a sensory overload. A couple of things to remember for your four-legged friends: aluminium boats get hot, so bring a towel or a blanket for them to sit on, plenty of water and a couple of treats. Pull up to shore now and again to stretch their legs. To be safe, keep them on a lead if you have one that is a runner.
Remember that all boats must have life jackets or personal floatation devices for all passengers and crew. You must wear a life jacket when crossing a coastal bar in an open boat less than 4.8m in length or if you are under the age of 12 in a moving, open boat less than 4.8m in length.
Apart from catching all of the usual fish species and pretty big ones at that, Allan and his mates decided to follow their interest in fishing for sharks in the Passage. The jewies, flathead and others will wait for a while. Using barbless hooks and singleline steel traces that have any sharp tags removed to minimise injury to the fish, they have been successful in catching a range of these animals, mostly bull sharks. However, using his newly acquired Shimano Tyrnos 2011 two-speed reel, Allan landed one that is considered to be quite rare – a Shark Ray. The app Qld Fisheries 2.0 advises that it is also known as a Bowmouth Guitarfish or Mud Skate. It describes the animal as having a large, deep body, horny ridges with enlarged horns along the dorsal midline and near the eyes, blue-grey on the upper surface and pale underneath. Other publications describe its eyes as being human-like. In all cases, the animals caught were treated with respect and care and safely and successfully released after many photos were taken. Pumicestone Passage is an amazing fishery.