Species

IT is that time of year when we are spoilt for species to target offshore. On the shallow grounds we’ve seen a lot of offshore mulloway or jewies as they are affectionately known. Most people associate them with inshore estuaries, rock walls and structure close to river mouths, but they certainly aren’t limited to those areas. The range of these …

JEWFISH and tailor dominated catches during June here in the Clarence Valley, which is to be expected. I’ve been writing about it for 27 years now and it was happening long before Captain Cook touched down, so it amazes me the number of people still surprised by the yearly event that happens right along the coastline. Winter equals a lot …

IN the build-up to winter, the Bundaberg area was experiencing little to no good weather for offshore fishing, and when a weekend finally arose, other commitments prevented me from heading out. But at long last a weekend came along when nothing stood in the way and once Friday night arrived, the boat was packed and the alarms set for the …

THE land-based longtail tuna and mackerel season came to a grinding halt mid-May after a couple of days of howling westerly wind followed by large 3-4m swells that lasted for several days. Sure, you may still be in with a chance of a land-based longtail tuna off the walls and headlands during June, however I would take a good supply …

SNAPPER, come on down! June is an awesome time of year for getting rugged up, grabbing a mate and searching for a feed of snapper. A few spots reasonably easy to access either land-based or by boat or kayak will produce a good feed. Traditionally, we like to start at the mouth of the Brisbane River and work our way …

As the day went on and we continued landing many more grassies and other smaller reef fish, we decided to head off to see if we could land a tuna before pulling the boat out of the water. With no luck in hooking a tuna, we both stopped fishing for a second and took in the awesome glassed-out conditions. While …

Cast the jerkbait up to the weed edge and crank it down a couple of winds, pause it and then begin a series of twitches as you wind. Remember that when fishing close to the weed you will contact it regularly, so just give the rod tip a quick flick to get the jerkbait free. Be patient with this technique …

The good news is the goldbands were still there, as were huge pearlies and big snapper. George made another spectacle of himself with a great double hook-up of the largest redthroat of the trip and a big snapper. We were impressed by the consistent size of the parrot and redthroat out deep and the quality of the pearl perch was …

I have managed to nail a couple of good fish including jewfish, snapper, cod and my mate even managed one cracking bream at 44.5cm. Every one of these fish has come on 95mm Zerek Fish Trap vibes. Another interesting thing I’ve learnt is running a good-quality, abrasion-resistant braid is very beneficial. My mate Liam learnt this very quickly as he …