Greenbackathon

[Slider]

Nice to have something to post again MD though don't have much to report this morning. I beached 4 choppers and nobody else managed to get a strike. Distance on the cast is the main difficulty the other guys are having - if you don't land the slug in the white water at the back of the gutter, then prospects diminish a lot. Was to be expected that they would go off the chew with a 1.29m high today. Will have a spin this arvy as there are a fair few expecting me to, but I wouldn't think there'll be much happening - especially with low tide falling after dusk. Guess we can always suck on stubbies and spin crap.

lindsay

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4 choppers this afternoon - conditions fairly sloppy with SSE on it and water a long cast to get to. Used a 90g TT trolling head which can be used as a slider and very useful in heavy conditions.

[chisel]

Lindsay, just been into Mossops at the Gabba ( went over especially to pick a couple up). Tol said to me that he has not had any from you since last season and he has been calling you and emailing you with no response. He told me to give you a nudge to contact him so he can get more stock as he has none.

I think I'm down to my last one I think .... I'd pick up a couple more from Mossops at the gabba if I knew they had some.

[Slider]

No joy at all this morning - wet and cold for no strikes.
Have taken a couple of pics of gutters and hope that they may help id tailor water. Not a great morning for photos but the best I can do atm.

This pic is of the gutter that virt all the tailor have come from over the past few days. There is a shallow gutter in front of the gutter itself which is where we've been standing to cast from - uncomfortable but worth it. The white water out the back where a wave is just curling in the pic is where the fish are and where the cast must reach to. The rock is more or less directly in front of my Hilux and is the target area.

[Slider]

Gutter at 2nd cut - nice bank out the back to create white water, full of rock.
Target area is the corner where it opens to the sea and to the right of until gets too shallow. Landing lure in the white water as usual - nice comfortable gutter but perhaps too nice.

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Gutter at 'Dry Creek Bed' (which hasn't been dry for a while) between 2nd and 3rd cut.
Same situation as 2nd cut gutter.

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3954 is of gutter in the channel half way between 3rd and Teewah with scattered rock - good water but low tide only.

3956 is just north of 3rd cut - excellent bit of water with lots of rock and opens to the sea at both ends. Did get a few choppers from here around last full moon. Would be good jew water.

Lindsay

[nigelr]

Hi Lindsay.
Interesting point you made earlier re mullet netters.
We had been getting the odd nice greenback down here, albeit at night.
Lots of whitebait around at the time.
Only choppers of late, although the mullet boys have been hanging around for a couple of weeks now, they have tended to shoot at night through the week over the last couple of years, possibly to avoid local attention and increase the level of mulloway by-catch.
Don't know whether they've had too many shots this season, the beach conditions aren't too favourable for them atm, but the greenbacks seem to have dissappeared for the moment at least. I think they've had a trawler down to get into the action after the mullet get off the beach a bit, on one or two occasions.
The couple of choppers I caught on tailor strips yesterday morn both spat out large pillies, and we've had a water temp drop of a couple of degrees locally, might all be contributing features.
Fascinating subject, I've found your previous posts very informative, extremely interesting and highly enjoyable.
Cheers.

[keenfishr]

Gday slider...just curious to know if you can only use them during daylight hours...are they effective or less effective at night time???cheeers.trav p.s great session that you had....well done!

[Slider]

I have no doubts Nigel that tailor and other species have learnt over the years that nets are active at this time of year and they actively avoid inshore feeding on their spawning migration. The choppers (1 - 3 yr old fish) may still come in as they haven't learnt like the greenbacks to stay away. There is a massive amount of info on the internet about 'net avoidance' and how fish learn to do so - engine noise recognition, learning to stay away from static nets etc. Research in this area overseas is finding behavioural changes in fish due to netting, causing migratory and feeding changes in targeted species. The same situation would be occurring here.
I believe, and there is no other explanation for it, that fish in nets emit distress signals. These signals are relayed on by other fish not in the nets and 'area abandonment' occurs. (Netted pacific salmon distress signals have been recorded with a hydrophone and their altered migration tracked.) So when you get a couple of tonnes of mullet, tailor bream or whatever species - it doesn't matter - in a net, all screaming, then the other fish abandon the area. It takes 1 - 2 weeks for fish to return and the process repeats. But when the mullet keep coming out of the rivers to spawn, then the 1 -2 weeks doesn't apply to them, as they can't hear the signals due to land obstructing the sound and they have to come out of the stream to spawn - otherwise the netters would only get fish every couple of weeks. What the pros do is - hit the mouth of the Noosa for mullet when a school comes out, then move to Rainbow or D.I. as they know there won't be any fish near the river mouth. A couple of guys then net Sandy Cape before returning to the mouth of the Noosa by which time the fish ( bream, dart, tailor etc) are starting to return and more schools of mullet would be coming out.
An example of this situation that I've seen many times - Late season mackerel and tuna feeding on the surface in Laguna Bay. A net gets wrapped around a school of mullet and when the mullet realise their predicament, they start to panic. As soon as the panic starts and the mullet are visibly agitated, the schools of mackerel and tuna for as far as the eye can see, simply disappear in an instant. You can often still see the bait they were feeding on and the gannets are still diving into them, but the macks and the terns have gone and it is 1.5 - 2 weeks before they may return and in lesser numbers. Seems silly to have closed areas for terns when the fish they are totally dependent on (pelagics), are being dicked around like nobody's business. But that's another issue.
Note: sound in water travels at 5 times the speed that which it does in air. Over 700 species of fish have been recorded by hydrophone in the US alone.

So when migrations are affected and feeding patterns, then so to is recruitment. - fish are spawning in locations that are less conducive to maximum reproduction and the breeding fish are smaller which results in fewer and less robust larvae. It's a double whammy - taking the fish on a commercial level and causing spawning difficulties. It won't work for much longer.
I've been watching this whole scenario my entire life and I can go into far greater detail with examples and exactly how it all works. But that is the gist of things in a nutshell. As many would know, I've been writing about this for some time and as yet nobody has found fault with the theory. I would appreciate any feedback that does question it which is the only way for me to develop these theories further. By the way, Fisheries are well aware of this situation and the Fed Fisheries Research Centre in Canberra agree that this is occurring. Qld Fisheries don't want to know and I have yet to have any communication with them despite repeated attempts to do so. Have spoken to countless marine biologists from around the world and specialists in the field and all are in agreeance that what I'm saying would be correct.

Lindsay

[Slider]

Trav - have had quite a bit of success at night using spinners for tailor and has been a few 4kg fish taken along with lots of smaller fish at night. Mainly calm moonlit nights is when I try but if the water is good enough with lots of rock and has fish in it, then less conducive conds work also. The fish register the lure landing on the water through the lateral line and by sound and use sight sound and lateral line to track it from there. Remembering that tailor are effective night feeders and have abilities enabling this.
Have struck golden trevally more at night than during the day and big tarpon.
The gutters between 1st and 3rd cut are perfect for night spinning and with the full moon next week would be worth a go.

[keenfishr]

cheers slider!! what you have to say is very informing, appreciate your time!! all the best!!!!cya

[84mick]

Thanks Lindsay for all the info! Can a released tailor scar the school like a dropped one??
Going down to the Goldie for a session and might give the sliders a go at night! also how well would you rate surf poppers?

Cheers, Mick.

[RayDeR]

G'day Slider!

Are there any outlets on the northern Gold Coast (Southport etc) ?

Ray de R

[Tangles]

Slider, thumbs up for your sliders mate, love em but the old stocks are getting low.. noticed that your now whacking on trebles on your sliders, you finding this more effective?


Mike