Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
This would have to be one of the best times of the year, with such a variety of species being available to both on and offshore fishos.
In saying that, if you are new to the Moreton Bay area or if you are only starting to venture out into the bay, be very mindful of the weather.
Moreton Bay is notorious for its changing weather patterns – one moment it’s as flat as a tack, the next the wind rips through and being on the water is a seriously dangerous and life-threatening scenario.
Never take Moreton Bay for granted.
Before hitting the water, double check the serviceability of your safety equipment – check the dates on your flares and make sure they are in good condition.
Test your bilge pumps – most models can be unclipped and dropped into a container of water for testing.
Never assume that your gear runs okay – if it fails when you need it most, it can add to an already bad situation.
When you finish checking your pride and joy, set some time aside to check your fishing gear.
It has been a long and hard year, your fishing rods and reels may not have seen much time on the water, so they too may need a little tender loving care.
Most gear gets put away without much thought, so check for damage from the last trip or damage from being put away without being serviced.
We see a lot of ‘roller bearings’ on the reel’s bail arm – these must be able to roll freely.
A seized bearing can cost you both a great fish and will damage that expensive braid!
The average timeframe for reel repairs is about two weeks, with an influx around the Christmas holiday period, so you can anticipate this blowing out.
Remember that many of our suppliers will close for Christmas or may have only an exceedingly small crew on deck to send parts out.
While our rod repairs should stay on schedule with weekly pick-ups and drop-offs, remember that our rod repairer will take time off over the Christmas period.
So don’t take the chance and wait – get those guides checked and repaired sooner rather than later!
Now to the fun stuff!
Two anglers who know how to get out there and have fun are Jack and Dan.
They put so much time and effort into learning the Moreton Bay area – when and now where to fish – and are really producing the goods.
Ducking out for a quick session, they landed an 8.5kg 92cm beast!
Using local cuttlefish and heading to one of their marks in the bay, it wasn’t long before they put this brute onboard and called it a day.
Well done team – I don’t think there’s a much better way to start the day!
Early one morning, Eric also found the opportunity to get in a quick flathead session at Cabbage Tree Creek and he too took home a great feed.
Plenty of good flathead have been caught in Cabbage Tree Creek, the Pine River, around the swimming pool at Brighton and near Pelican Park as well.
Hays Inlet has always been bit of a performer when it comes to producing decent numbers of flathead, bream and grunter.
Lures, soft plastics and bait are readily taken but, as for other places, some days you have to work a little harder for good results.
You know it’s a great day when you see Harvey break out his crab pot and head down to the creek.
Like a trooper, before and after school he is down there checking and rebaiting his pot.
Harvey is starting to produce nice crabs a little more consistently and loves to be able to contribute fresh local crab to the dinner menu.
Well done Harvey, we hope you have a cracker season – don’t forget us and our Christmas seafood dinner requirements.
If we had a flathead of the month award, it would have to be presented to Joel.
On light gear, Joel had a battle on his hands but, with patience and persistence, he managed to land this beast of a lizard.
Being a big female, she was treated with kid gloves – a quick photo and she was safely and very quickly returned to the water.
This was an awesome very healthy-looking fish, which tells us that our waterways are starting to thrive too.
Well done Joel, you deserve to wear that smile, this was an awesome flathead that you’ll remember for a long time to come!
We had the privilege of helping a few of our local female anglers out recently with some fishing basics tuition.
We’ve run a couple of small classes for absolute novices with Donna, who runs the Cabbage Tree Creek Fleet page on Facebook.
A need was identified, so Donna approached us to see if it was something we would assist with.
Being right up our alley, we were very keen to jump aboard.
After running a couple of test sessions to make sure we’re getting the right information out there, we’re now looking at running a few more ad hoc classes over the next few months.
Who knows, it may become a more regular event if the need is there.
I would like to thank Donna for all her efforts in putting it together and helping out our local community.
I know that Ian Nye and I have had a great time teaching these keen female anglers and watching them catch their first fish.
Get out there and have a great time!
