Fisho's weekly fishing report
by Fisho's Tackle World 19 Sep 2021 06:31 UTC
Good weather leading into the full moon
The past week saw a mix of northerly breezes, a band of showers and a stiff southwesterly change. Just now, the wind has lightened and turned onshore once again, and the forecast looks quite good for the weekend.
The light northerly will build throughout the weekend, so make the most of the great conditions Saturday morning if planning a day out on the bay. You can expect a light easterly tending northerly Saturday, followed by 10-15 knots of wind from either side of north Sunday.
The forecasters' reports are clashing as to the timing of a vigorous southwesterly change early in the week. Some say late Tuesday night, some say beforehand. Whenever it arrives, you do not want to be on the water, or at least not in exposed waters. At this stage, it looks as though there is a nice spell of light winds late next week.
Tuesday night's full moon would be prime for so many of our local fish species, but the building northerly and the potential wind shear that night suggests any fishing activities should be enjoyed beforehand or thereafter.
Full moon tides prime for whiting fans
Yabby pumps and worming forks will be getting a serious workout this week as whiting fishos gather their baits at low tide in readiness for the flood of whiting mooching about on the flats as the tide rises. The tides are perfect right now, with bigger highs building as the full moon approaches.
Boaties and shore-based fishos alike have access to a great "summer" whiting fishery this time of year. In fact, the best of the whiting fishing for our local beaches, flats and smaller estuaries can be expected over the coming two months. The bigger tides are best, and right on que, the north wind is building to stir up the shallows and offer the 'ting the perfect feeding opportunities in the shallows.
Those that gambled on the north wind overriding the neap tides and firing up the whiting last week were rewarded for their efforts. A bag limit of tasty little tackers up to 35cm in length was achievable for those that fished after dark with fresh baits from our town beaches.
The Torquay to Urangan stretch of beach, along with the first section of the Urangan Pier will be popular this week. Night sessions will likely still produce the fastest bags and biggest whiting, but daytime sessions will be viable now with the bigger tides and northerly winds. The odd grunter to 60cm or better is taking yabby baits along the beach after dark still, so as mentioned in last week's report, don't panic when you hook one and you could score a tasty addition to your seafood feast.
Action aplenty at Urangan Pier - just in time for the school holidays
The annual run of school mackerel has made its way into the bay in recent weeks, and as is so often the case, numbers of schoolies have turned up at the Urangan Pier just in time for the school holidays. There is also a few spanish mackerel in hot pursuit of the schoolies, predating on the smaller models as they do.
Pier regulars and visitors alike can enjoy some of the best pelagic fishing that the pier offers in coming weeks. Spinning mackerel up on spoons is super-popular and suits the energetic fisho to a tee. If you are new to this game, then all you need is a suitable spinning reel with a high gear ratio matched to a rod capable of casting metals, some Flasha spoons or similar, and a bit of energy.
Casting the spoon up-current and letting it sink to the bottom before cranking it back flat out is the age-old technique with the runs on the board. You can jig the spoons if your reel isn't quick enough, but be prepared to get bitten off on occasion. Some will tie on a short length of wire to protect their lures from the toothy macks, but many will not, knowing full well that the wire spooks the fish in heavily-pressured fisheries such as the pier.
Live baiting with herring is equally as popular as spinning, and suits the less energetic. Rigging the live herring by attaching it to the trailing hook of a set of gangs is a well-proven technique. This method alleviates the need for wire traces as the macks get a gob full of hooks and not your leader (most of the time anyway).
Live baiting isn't just a matter of sending out a herring and waiting. The more panicked the baitfish is - which is when it is first deployed back into the water - the more attractive it is to a passing predator. Plenty of slow-moving, worn-out baitfish will be ignored in favour of a fresh model tossed into the water all lit up and panicking.
Landing mackerel (and other large fish) from the pier can be a challenge. Pier gaffs on ropes lowered below the fish will soon hoist up anything large enough to warrant it, but are certainly not suitable for landing fish destined for release. Swinging the average mackerel up onto the pier with your rod is popular for those experienced in the art, but risky for those with lighter carbon graphite rods.
There will be undersized school mackerel mixed in with the better fish at present, so ensure you release the little ones unharmed. Locals like to target spaniards with live schoolies as their bait. At the risk of sounding naïve, we remind everyone that using undersized fish as bait is totally taboo and could see you stung with a hefty fine if caught. A big spaniard will soon smash a legal schoolie and it won't even touch the sides going down.
There was a big of action from passing longtail tuna in recent weeks, out near the end of the pier. Every chance there will be more passing through on the right tides over the school holidays. Live baits ballooned-out away from the pier often account for the majority of longtails caught, but they can be spun up on spoons and slugs as well.
Once our waters warm a little more, we should see the return of the big bad bruising giant trevally to pier waters. In the meantime, don't be too surprised if a few turn up to feast on the mackerel if there is a good run of fish. Queenies are also a possibility some time soon, as are golden trevally. Both these species are more prevalent later in the year, but are still a chance if the baitfish draw them in.
Big tiger and bull sharks have been frequenting the deeper waters in Urangan Channel. Pier fishos deploying large baits after dark have been tangling with them quite a bit lately, winning some battles and losing others. Targeting large sharks is prohibited by the way (which is partly why there is such an over-abundance), but it seems as though sending baits out for smaller models and ensuring any larger ones hooked are released unharmed is as popular as ever.
Full moon inshore options
Weather permitting, the southern bay should be quite productive for those seeking out a feed of mackerel or snapper. Schoolies have been wide spread, turning up along the west coast of the bay, as well as around the local beacons dotting our shipping channels. There are schoolies harassing the bait schools up the island also, as well as a few making a pest of themselves around our deeper inshore reefs.
Spaniards are also making their presence felt inshore, shearing off the occasional schoolie or taking baits or spoons meant for their smaller cousins. There have also been a few schoolies taking spoons, live baits or pillies around River Heads, with a few also a possibility in the shipping channel down the straits. Yachties and cruising vessels trolling spoons or diving lures are picking up schoolies as they traverse the straits.
Those chasing snapper inshore will need to seek out the better bait schools to find what's left of this winter's run. It would be fair to say that some of the better inshore schools of fish would be up Wathumba way in Platypus Bay, but there will still be a few stragglers hanging around the closer inshore reefs. We've had no reports of late, but experience would suggest that Moon Ledge, the Burrum 8 Mile, the Outer Banks or the Roy Rufus arti would be worth a look.
Night sessions will suit the bait brigade, but the northeasterly sea breeze tends to upset those sessions this time of year. Have a crack whilst the wind is from the south or east if you get the chance. Trollers will still be in with a chance of a late season snapper, particularly those that troll Dr Evils or the like around the fringes of the reefs and bait schools.
Sportsfishos can find a few longtails up in Platypus Bay, along with plenty of trevally. There are a few decent cobia poking about up that way, as well as out wider at the Gutters.
Cruising our inshore flats, the verges of the bay islands, or the channels down the straits could see you sight-fishing to golden trevally, queenfish and little GTs. Tailor should be a nuisance down the straits, but we have heard very little about them of late (even though they are enjoying a great run of tailor over on Fraser's eastern beach).
Those chasing flathead will enjoy the full moon period, with the flats, creeks and gutters all draining during the big ebb tides. Flatties looking to ambush baitfish forced out by the receding tide are easy targets if you can find them, and offer a swag of fun on the light gear if sight-fished in the shallows. Our flatties are under a lot of pressure and in vastly reduced numbers compared with what they might be, so when you find a few, consider limiting your take and leave the big breeders to do their thing.