Page 25 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing mag

Angling options Tfor Tweed region
HE doldrums of winter are behind us, but
Tweed to Byron Bay
by GAVIN DOBSON
spring definitely pre- sents its own difficul- ties.
are a mainstay for many species.
schools from reports I’ve received.
Northerly wind, off- shore currents and clear river water make things challenging.
Our resident sea ea- gles rely on mullet for raising their chicks.
A round Black Rock and the Plonk Hole you should be able to scratch up a feed of moses perch, small snapper, maori cod and tuskfish.
For river anglers the answer is simple – that is to fish upstream.
Sea eagle chicks start with sea mullet and when they leave the river for their annual sea run, tiger mullet school up and see them through the second half of their chick stage.
I know I bang on about it all the time, but it’s because I firmly believe your best bet is above Tumbulgum in the Tweed River.
Watching the eagles will tell you where schools of mullet are.
If you can manage to get out a bit wider, there should be good tuskfish angling to be had on the 32s.
Head upstream for estuary jew sh like this one caught by Toby.
Watching the eagles like this osprey can help to locate mullet schools.
I regularly drive Tweed Valley Way and naturally my eyes wan- der to the river when- ever possible.
An eagle sitting high up in a tree preening itself or with its back to the sun is just resting.
Probably the best thing you can do for a feed this month is to take the dillies out and grab a feed of span- ner crab, and from now through to Christmas is the best time for these tasty crustaceans.
During spring, I con- tinually see the same boat between Stotts Is- land and Murwillumbah, and it has Brad Smith’s Fishing Charters written on the side of it.
However, an eagle sitting midway up a tree will most likely be scanning the water where the school is.
Out from Brunswick Heads or the Tweed re- gion around depths of 45-50m should see ac- tion.
He’s up there for a reason!
Sooner or later, when it spots a weak or dis- tracted mullet, it will make its bombing raid.
Make sure you take a good weight or anchor and a decent float in case the tide is running hard.
Prawns will be com- ing down the river and eating the detritus at the bottom of deep holes.
If you are after big giant trevally or bull shark, fish where ti- ger mullet are because these big predators also love to eat this species.
Well known deep holes are below the bridges at Tumbulgum and Murwillumbah, but there are plenty of oth- ers too.
Offshore this month can be hit and miss as the East Australian Current gains momen- tum.
Use your sounder to locate prawns and then get lures down among them because where there are prawns there are predators.
Trying to pick a day where there’s little wind can be hard in spring.
Currently plenty of herring schools are travelling upriver and these are favourite tucker for flathead and trevally.
Inshore a few snapper have been caught and, while not in great num- bers, there are enough to make the effort worthwhile on most oc- casions.
With them are shoals of tiger mullet, which www.bnb shing.com.au
The odd jewfish is still around, but no big
Spanner crabs will be in good numbers for those after a tasty feed.
Bush ’n Beach Fishing, October 2020 – Page 25