How to catch a feed of fish in Moreton Bay (bait fishing)

[charleville]

With over 50 000 views, the handy fishing hints that were originally published here have proven to be very popular with Ausfish members.

For certain reasons, I have taken the original post with those fishing hints down from view in this thread.

However, I am happy to make them available to any Ausfish member who wants them if they pm me with an email address to which I can email the original text.

Don't worry, nothing malicious nor commercial will be done with your email address. The text exceeds the length that can be sent in a PM so it needs to be an email address to which that I can send the material to you.


.........Charlie

[reddybayfisher]

Charlie - you are a wealth of knowledge & expertise : and this is never to be under-estimated as a fisherman / women....while I no longer fish bait....I do appreciate the time / thought & effort in writing such a thread....I am sure this post will be viewed by thousands....you are what this 'Ausfish' forum is all about.....

THANK-YOU & MUCH APPRECIATED

[finga]

I figured out my problem...
I use a swivel.

Thanks Bruce for taking the time to put this in writing.
It should be appreciated by us all....especially those who want to party on the water and expect a feed of fish.

A question if I may Bruce.
Do you sit in a spot for hours even if the fish are not co-operating or do you shift camp every 15 minutes if the fish are not biting??
I, personally, just sit there and wait but others move every 10-15 minutes looking for 'that' spot.
Actually I don't even look for structure and the like. I usually just launch the boat and see where the tide/wind takes me. I think the anchor in 'Junior' has been used 3 times.
Seems to have worked in the past and I've found some great spots in the middle of no-where. But I will always look for that creek outlet or the like especially on a run out tide.

I agree on the gear. I have the expensive stuff and have the 3' Alvey I've had for years and the Snyder Glas rod that's years old in design and I use that outfit as I'm comfortable with it.
I usually don't even care if I catch fish or not. I'm there for the relaxation and the tranquillity more then the feed.

Again, thanks Bruce.

[PinHead]

a top article Bruce..well done.

BUT...you waited until I got rid of the boat..LOL
I won't be going out there again...bugger.

[Mad-One]

Excellent thread well done. Hopefully lots of people will take this onboard and have a much more fruitful day out. well done again and thanks heaps

Phil

[snodger 08]

Bruce that was great. Especially the explanation of structure, I have always assumed that structure meant reef, wrecks and thought jease I can never seem to find any structure in the area I have been given marks for.
Once again a great read. Look forward to the next one.
Steve

[charleville]

I
Do you sit in a spot for hours even if the fish are not co-operating or do you shift camp every 15 minutes if the fish are not biting??
I, personally, just sit there and wait but others move every 10-15 minutes looking for 'that' spot.
Actually I don't even look for structure and the like. I usually just launch the boat and see where the tide/wind takes me. I think the anchor in 'Junior' has been used 3 times.
Seems to have worked in the past and I've found some great spots in the middle of no-where. But I will always look for that creek outlet or the like especially on a run out tide.

Hi Scott, the answer depends on a number of factors.

1. The second factor is the tidal situation and the power of the current flow. (The first factor is coming later in this response. )

For the stated reasons in my first post, I will invariably go fishing a couple of hours before and after a tide change. It pretty well does not matter whether it is high or low.

In that case, I will usually anchor at a favourite spot throughout that tide change and generally not move during that time because I just never know when bite activity will erupt. Sometimes it might be some time after the tide changes so I don't want to miss it if it happens by getting too anxious and going elsewhere. (BTW, I talk a lot about a "bite period" but that is not always the case. Sometimes it is just a slow and steady series of bites but even that has to start and end at some time and I usually don't want to risk missing that at around a tide change.)

However, once the current starts running, and especially if it is a big run, there is no sense in sitting in a fast moving current hoping that the fish are really athletic and like a bit of a challenge maintaining their stationary position against a fast current.

In that case, I will go somewhere where the current is not flowing so fast. I may anchor there for a short while to see if there is any activity before moving on to try somewhere else or I may just go drifting with the tide.

There are a few favorite spots that I have well away from heavy tidal flow and I will usually find my way around to them and when the fish are there, they are great spots but if the fish are not there, there is no use in "flogging a dead horse" as they say so I will move on after 20 minutes or so.

2. The third factor is that it depends on what I am fishing for. If I am fishing for flathead at the 'Pin. I will pretty well always drift. Of course, that means that every now and then, I will have to climb out of the back of the boat to push myself off a sandbank but that, in itself is part of the fun.

In somewhere like Cobby Passage, likewise, I will always drift. There is not much structure in there except for the deep hole and whilst I know that there are some big fish to be caught in that hole, there are also a lot of butter bream which test my patience. Besides which, Cobby Passage is such a scenic and peaceful place to drift that I enjoy the drift as the boat winds its way around the bends, just needing an occasional start of the motor to keep it away from the banks.

When fishing on the outside bank next to Swan Bay, where some pretty decent flatties can be caught - well anything really because it can really come alive there on the turn of the tide - I will anchor up during the tidal change but it is a lottery as to whether you catch something when the tide starts running there so that is when I shall go elsewhere in slower moving water and drift.


3. However, most importantly, the first factor is knowing what my primary objective is for the fishing trip.


If my freezers at home are full of fish, as they often are, and fish has been on the menu just one meal too many for my wife lately, then to some extent, it becomes a nuisance to even catch fish.


If I do, the conversation on arriving home usually goes like this, "There is the good news and the bad news. The good news is that I caught fish; the bad news is that I shall have to go and clean them."


A fishing trip in those circumstances is more about exploring new territory with a bit of drifting around.


QUOTE=finga;1151155]I figured out my problem...
I use a swivel.[/QUOTE]


Swivels should really be used on Alveys but as I said, the replacement cost of line these days is not the major cost in fishing so most times, I won't bother with a swivel except when I am using a trace such as for whiting fishing or often I will put a swivel the eye of the first hook in a ganged hook series but in that case only one knot is involved as the other end of the swivel is held in the hook eye.

No matter how well we lubricate knots as we tie them, the deformation of the line that happens when we tie knots is a "stress raiser" as mechanical and civil engineers would say and is therefore a point of weakness in the line. ie the less knots the better.



.

[haggis]

charlie great post , given me a whole new out look to my fishing .
cheers jimmy

[caster226]

comment removed

[theoldlegend]

You've done it to me again Charlie!!

In future, when I see a post of yours, I'll get the Pocket Oxford out before I start to read.

"Verbosity". Yes, I'd be guilty of that.

I'll have to read your report in full when I get home.

I'm just about to head off to the cop shop.


TOL

[charleville]

You've done it to me again Charlie!!

In future, when I see a post of yours, I'll get the Pocket Oxford out before I start to read.

"Verbosity". Yes, I'd be guilty of that.

Ah - sorry, TOL. I shall have to curb my loquaciousness and be less garrulous.






.

[finga]

You both are giving us a plenteous supply of ca-ca in the last 2 posts.
ie your both full of poo...and it just keeps coming.
But I say that with the respect you both deserve.

[tug_tellum]

Thanks heaps for that Bruce, you have encouraged me towards trying fishing one more time,I had given up. With all the expert advise (which is also helpfull) we tend to forget the simple basics of fishing & it all gets too confusing. I will now do a search on some of your other posts to find more words of wisdom & try all over again. tuG tellum

[Haji-Baba]

Great information Charleville.

I am sure we have all benefited from your wisdom.

I can't agree more about some fridges being over full of fillets and on some occasions I think we should refrain from fishing to allow the supply to run down.

Also I think we would all agree that not all fish freezes well.

Generally the only fish we will keep for any length of time is whiting, and although fiddly to clean etc. do keep well and are in my opinion are the best eating.

In any case fresh is best.

For relaxation I like nothing better than to sit on a log beside a freshwater stream and bob for a yellowbelly, or watch a child catch a fish and let it go.

I still have a 3 inch alvey reel I bought when I was 13 and caught 21 yellowbelly and black bream at Archers Crossing, Chinchilla, Easter 1951.

I was using frogs at the time and flogging them back from the far bank with almost every cast resulting in a good fish.

That was a time when we used frogs and the bite came on for no known reason for that afternoon only. Nothing for two days before, or the next day.

Heading off for that area tomorrow.

Thanks again for a well written informative post and good luck in the future.

Have fun Haji-Baba

[tropicrows]

A top thread Bruce, I don’t have the eloquence to write such a thread. You have done a great job and this is what this forum needs more of, the average fisher person sharing their knowledge with the less experienced.