Page 26 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine

Yabbies getting it done on Gold Coast
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wouldn’t turn on in the morning re- cently, and we still caught heaps of fish.
usually encounter more snot weed, which is annoying when fishing be- cause it catches on your hooks and line. Fish don’t like it ei- ther and it puts them
During bigger tides, get on the edge of the main flow.
During neap and tide changes, fish out in the open more.
off the bite.
The best thing to
Measure to ensure you only keep legal size fish and stick to bag limits or less, carefully handling and releasing the rest of the catch.
do if you see lots of it is to immediately move elsewhere.
If you have heaps of yabbies left over at the end of the ses- sion, you can freeze them for another day.
On Broadwater Charters we fish in the area from Chev- ron Island to Sover- eign Island.
Simply tip the water out and in a bucket pour enough methylated spirits to cover them.
The weed hardly appears south of the seaway.
Leave them for two minutes only, then drain the metho and place the yabbies in a small disposable plastic container with a lid and put them in the freezer.
When it’s in large amounts, we fish the area between the seaway and Sundale Bridge.
This method keeps the yabbies firm enough to use again, or they will shrivel up and go soft.
This area still pro- duces daily catches of arrow squid, big winter whiting, sand whiting, flounder, flathead, tailor, mackerel and blue swimmer crabs.
The idea was given to me by Dan, an experienced beach fisher who swears by it.
Water depth be- tween 4-6m is very productive for all of the above-men- tioned species.
Recently we used both the previously frozen yabbies and fresh yabbies at the same time.
To book on a char- ter with myself or Brad, or if you have any fishing related questions, SMS 0432 990 302, email fishingwithclint@ gmail.com, or find us on Facebook at Brad Smith Fishing Charters.
I was quite sur- prised when they worked almost the same!
In September, we
If it’s a run-out tide, move a kilo- metre or so down- stream to stay ahead of the bulk of it.
Large athead are a real prize when trolling, and it’s a great way to catch them.
ITips for trolling
N this month’s edition I would like to give you a
Gold Coast Guide
by BRAD SMITH
Page 26 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020
I know of many an- glers who take the lure out of the packet, put them in a compart- ment in a clear tackle box and then, with a permanent marker pen
The colour-coded braid is almost vital for success, as it al-
* continued P28 www.bnb shing.com.au
few tips for trolling our estuaries.
above the compart- ment, write the diver depth of the lure.
lows me to set my lures around 15-20m behind the boat, which I find is the sweet spot.
Most people think trolling is basic and that it’s just a matter of throwing a couple of lures out the back of the boat and away you go, churning around the river until some- thing jumps on.
Doing this it ensures you remember what depth the lure dives and you can also put it back in the correctly marked section after you use and wash it.
Before the invention of the colour coding we had to guess the distance.
I however look at trolling as a valuable art form that has very important procedures to follow in order to perfect the technique.
My trolling outfits are basically 2-4kg baitcasting rods with the reels loaded with 12lb braid with a 50cm long 6lb fluorocarbon leader attached.
These light outfits matched with light line will handle almost any fish you encounter in our local rivers, as long as you remember to always set the drag accordingly before you start fishing.
Let’s look at some of these steps that are necessary for success.
In saying this, 2-4kg spin outfits matched with the same line are equally effective for the job.
While speaking of drag settings, I usu- ally apply a very light drag setting to reduce the stress on the fish’s mouth, as there is a lot of force when they strike.
The first rule of thumb is knowing the diving depth of your chosen lures.
The key here is the fine diameter of the braid, which we will discuss later in the ar- ticle, and I also ensure the braid is colour- coded, which means different colours mark different lengths.
The diving depth of almost all hard-bodied minnow lures can be found on the packet when you buy them.
The next step is to choose the right lure for the depth of water you are going to troll in, and this means for flathead, bream and whiting, which are predominantly bottom