Cracking Moreton Bay species

This time of year is welcomed by many fishos because of the variety of species we can chase – snapper, longtail tuna, cobia, mackerel, tailor and so many more.

June is also an awesome month for getting rugged up, filling a thermos, grabbing the family or a friend and searching for a feed of snapper.

A few spots including shallow reefs will produce a good feed of snapper and these are reasonably easy to access, either by land or in a boat or kayak.

The only real problem with this species is finding out what they’re eating on the day.

As with most species, snapper will change their diet.

One day they’re smashing squid heads and the next yellowtail fillets or pieces, or whole large prawns.

I guess it is a good problem to have, unless it’s your turn to buy the bait!

Even though a lot of people target snapper on Scarborough Reef, it can still produce quality fish.

It really depends on how you fish it, and the size of the terminal tackle you send to the bottom.

 

We see many people buying larger sinkers to fish the shallower areas of Moreton Bay, when actually at times a smaller sinker may help produce better quality fish.

A few years ago, I started to downsize my range and style of sinkers, most of my fishing is now done weight free.

When I do need to use a sinker, I rarely go above a #1 and more often gravitate to a #000 or #00.

Mind you, this is generally in shallow water and with light lines for creek, river and pier fishing.

Out in the Moreton Bay grounds, obviously a larger sinker will be required to combat the run.

Next time you take the boat out, have a crack at reducing the sinker size you would normally use and utilise the current to your advantage a little more.

Floating a fresh bait down will cover more ground and will look more like a tempting meal.

Most of the fishos I talk with swear by getting that berley trail working – be it old prawn shells, left over pillies, mullet chunks or even pellets mixed with a good grade tuna oil – and keeping it well maintained.

It will produce rubbish fish as well unfortunately, but that’s the price you pay for a shot at taking home a cracking snapper.

 

For those new to making your own berley, a little trick I use is to add two or three good handfuls of sand to the mix before adding the tuna oil.

When mixed, the tuna oil will stick to the sand and once the berley is released into the water, it will disperse the scent down through the water column.

And add the sand after the blender!

Even though there were small passing storms and plenty of rain, Jack and Dan hit Moreton Bay chasing a feed and some reel-screaming fun.

The fishos certainly found the right spot and it wasn’t long before Dan was hooked up and doing battle with a 15kg cobia.

Well done Dan, this fish came close to being well matched to you.

Our local piers – be it Bongaree Jetty, Woody Point Jetty, Redcliffe Jetty or Shorncliffe Pier – can certainly produce some great action, particularly on light gear.

From bream and flathead to mackerel, cobia, longtail tuna, tailor and sharks, these are great locations for all ages and plenty of amenities.

Fynn certainly found out how good it is fishing from Shorncliffe Pier when he hooked up with an awesome mackerel.

 

On the piers, these fish hit hard and fast and, as a result, many rods and reels have been lost over the railing, so we like to remind people, if your line is in the water, your fishing rod should be in your hand.

Max and his crew love to get out and have a fish, no matter what the weather, land based, on the jetty or in the tinnie, they’re out there.

Always with a smile, their priority is family time and enjoying the moment.

Well, Max and his friends picked the perfect day to hit the Brisbane River to have a crack at species a little bigger than they’d normally chase.

And it wasn’t long before Max had hooked up to a 1.12m threadfin salmon.

From the initial hook-up, Max knew that whatever it was, it was a keeper and, after a bit of give and take on both sides, this cracking gold beast was in the boat.

I think Max’s smile – though he may have been trying to catch his breath – tells the whole story.

It was a cracker and one to be proud of.

Now the crew have to step up to stop his bragging rights.

Well done Max! species

 

Bobby has been a very keen fisho for as long as I have known him and with a great mentor in his dad BJ, I’m not surprised.

From the day that he came in and bought a Backpack Tackle Bag which was a bit big for him (he has since grown into it), he hasn’t lost any enthusiasm when it comes to catching a feed!

Bobby nailed a cracker of a flathead in the Pine River and, judging by the photo, I think he was slightly excited with it.

Well done with your achievements Bobby, and well done BJ for helping him grow into the respectful young fisho he is.

To finish off, I thought I’d share the cracker 6.3kg 88cm Moreton Bay snapper caught by Dan on the same trip as the cobia he boated!

There are more beasts such as this waiting to be caught, so don’t waste a great weather window and make sure your gear is up to the punishment it’s going to receive.

Well done Dan and Jack, your efforts certainly paid off.

Maintain the passion. species