Page 48 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine

WMidweek opportunities a good option
ITH the win- was not a shark but a cially his achievements ter weather cobia! with flathead.
pattern pro- Burnett slow I’m hoping Joel might
Bundaberg Region
by BRAD YOUNG
viding good offshore Our local rivers and target tailor around the
conditions, anglers able to head out for a mid- week sortie have en- joyed consistently good fishing.
me anyway – and were able to fish one loca- tion anchored overnight and across three tide changes without being sharked once.
ever, we also fished for trout in a shallow area that I’d identified and where we hadn’t fished before, with the same zero shark result.
creeks have been fish- ing OK, though good mate Spider reported a disappointing result on his last trip.
mouth over the next month or so, as they’re certain to be around, and that he will ‘work them out’ given some time on the water.
There have been re- ports of red emperor from deeper water, as well as coral trout from the shallows.
In this time, we landed four red em- peror, a number of large redthroat emperor as well as other less- sharked species.
Again, I believe this may be due to fishing an area not targeted by many, so no sharks awaiting a feed.
Spider knows the Bur- nett pretty well, so with his dad and his com- bined knowledge, if they’re having trouble catching a feed I may as well skip fishing there.
Joel has been slowly building up his knowl- edge and understanding of when, how and what to fish for in the Kolan over the past few years.
The challenge in many cases is to get your fish to the surface before being ‘sharked’.
My hypothesis regard- ing the lack of sharks in the area we were fish- ing was that it was not regularly fished and so sharks were not waiting there ready for an easy feed.
I will share the re- sults of my future trips to these areas and whether sharks have made their appearance felt or not.
He fished his regular target tides for whiting and came home with only three fish – two bream and a whiting.
He has successfully targeted mangrove jack and grunter, and now flathead.
There appear to still be an overabundance of sharks, at least in pop- ular fishing locations, and these ‘taxmen’ are impacting negatively on both productivity and enjoyment of trips.
On my next trip I’ll fish this spot again and will be able to test my theory.
Cobia, or black king- fish, a popular eating species, have been fea- tured in a few catches and are more common during winter months.
He also noted that the whole system seemed quiet with no other boats and pro fishers out.
Developing knowl- edge and skill in many ways, but mostly by simply spending time on the water enjoying his fishing, Joel has been learning and add- ing to his knowledge bank with each trip.
On a recent trip off- shore, we fished an area where I’d located some new marks – new to
On this outing how-
The use of a berley trail will often see them lingering or loitering behind your anchored boat while bottom fish- ing for other species.
While he and I shared a couple of theories as to why this might be, we didn’t come up with a concrete reason. Kolan lizards
Which is similar to Spider’s experience on the Burnett and also re- flected in the success I enjoyed fishing a newly found offshore location.
Dawn offshore is a special time.
Exploring new country produced this lovely red emperor and a few more spe- cies.
Page 48 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, September 2020
Last month I touched on the success of Joel who fishes the Kolan regularly, and espe-
Until next month...
They are a tough fighting fish and very good eating, but they can sometimes initially be mistaken for a shark with their broad head.
Nice flathead have continued to be landed as well as some bream around the rocky areas, especially a little fur- ther upstream.
I am looking forward to another opportunity and the chance to tar- get new ground when the next break in the weather occurs.
Nearly fooled, I went to cut one free while anchored up for a sleep before realising the fish
Mangrove jack are much quieter dur- ing winter months but may still show up on a late night low tide ... particularly with fresh mullet strip bait pre- sented to them.
As always, I can be contacted via the Bush ‘n Beach website, by email at fishnboat@bigpond. com or post at PO Box 5812 Bundaberg West Queensland4670.
TURKEY BEACH
for the boat
• Undercover carport
• Close to boat ramp
• Linen available
• Outdoor BBQ and pergola
• Fish cleaning facilities
• Large yard with room
For enquiries and bookings phone 07 4974 2153
www.bnb shing.com.au
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