Disillusioned...

[johno68]

Hi folks,
Well here I am at maroochy river and have not caught anything in 2.5 days. Brought canoe here but have not used due to wind.

Have tried flicking blade leading up to high tide in pm, but no luck. Tried off picnic point, round chambers island - nothing. This pm under big bridge - lost two blades.

Am thinking going to use bait as I only get up here once or twice a year, and don't get the opportunity to learn techniques with blades or plastics.
Hopefully wind dies down do I can try canoe

Hmmm
John

[nautimax]

Mate, I have caught Whiting, Bream, Flathead and Trevally off Chambers island including the Pedestrian Bridge! Not sure what you're targeting but I have caught some good feeds off that island! I have used bait, lures and plastics but I kept my blades for Point Cartwright....
Have you tried the areas around Twin waters...? From the hotel jetty downstream - you get lots of bream, whiting and flatties... with the occasional tailor...

[johno68]

Mate, I have caught Whiting, Bream, Flathead and Trevally off Chambers island including the Pedestrian Bridge! Not sure what you're targeting but I have caught some good feeds off that island! I have used bait, lures and plastics but I kept my blades for Point Cartwright....
Have you tried the areas around Twin waters...? From the hotel jetty downstream - you get lots of bream, whiting and flatties... with the occasional tailor...

Thanks mate, I think I was referring to my own ability, rather than the number of fish in the river.

Chambers island-some questions if you don't mind. Have you found the time of tide to matter, does day/night make a difference? I assume you were land based.

Targeting fish, is this done with technique or type of bait/lure/plastic?

Maybe I read too many magazines and over think things rather than keeping simple.

I have been trying up here for years without much luck - toadies and small bream are the rewards.

Cheers

[nautimax]

Hi Johno68,

Before I answer your questions you must know that my experiences were between 1996 to 2003. The Maroochy river may have changed since but if I were to fish the same spots again today (land based), I would still start with the following:

1. Tide is important. I would fish a couple of hours either side of the top or bottom of the tide. Night fishing is good but I generally do it with the running tides. I always try to fish with a bit of run in the tides.
2. Fish targets; for Bream I may choose to use bait, lures or plastics. The technique for each method may be found in this forum or other web site so I won't elaborate. Whiting I normally use the appropriate style hook with bait (fresh worms or small yabbies)...alternatively a soft plastic or small hard body lure may be used - normally quick retrieve with hard body and various speeds/retrieve method when using plastics during the daylight hours (never tried night fishing for Whiting but might be interesting). As with everything...The simpler the better
Now, are you land based or on the water? I haven't had any experience fishing the Maroochy off a boat/kayak but I would imagine it can't be too much different...?
Hope this helps. Have fun

[tunaticer]

Actively fish lighter and you will get the results, less lead, use the current to your advantage and you will catch fish. Don't just throw the bait in the water then rest the rod up against something and wait for a bite.
Target spots where the fish will be, not just pot luck casting.
Changes of current speeds or convergences are typical spots to play to. Rocks, dropoffs and bait beds as well.

The Maroochy River is well laden with fish, a fairly well educated group too. Actively fish and you will be getting the feeds to seek.

[johno68]

Thanks Jack,
I try to fish as light as I can and always with rod in hand with finger on line to detect bites etc (when using bait). With lures/plastics they say make sure the plastic gets to the bottom, is this the same with bait? I have always used a running sinking with a 40-50 cm trace, maybe I need to shorten the trace to get the bait closer to the bottom. Your comment - using the current, are you referring to casting so that the retrieve is against the current, or have the retrieve with the current, whch I suppose makes more sense (such as a flathead waiting for the feed to come).

Convergences - can I ask what you mean by this? Is this when current/tide is running differently, or things like eddies around pylons?

Thanks, and sorry for the basic questions...

John

[Noelm]

I guess you will need to be a bit more specific in your target species (well I reckon) certain species will be in the same places at different stages of the tide, to blindly take a tackle box full of "blades" and toss them everywhere in hope will result in pretty poor catches. Probably the easiest of all species is the Flathead, easy to catch, and pretty common in almost all locations, however, they will not be all lined up in the channel waiting for your lure, they are ambush feeders, so you need to think like a Flathead and you will get results (trust me) a flathead will lie along a weed bank or some sort of structure, especially at a "drop off" when the tide is falling, they wait for all the small baitfish and prawns to be forced off the flats and down over the drop off, straight into their mouth, this is where you fish on a falling tide, on a high tide, they will be right up on the flats (along with the Whiting) eating nippers and small Whiting and Mullet, you need to target these areas then, get the idea? You will need to adjust your approach according to what you are chasing, use the right lures in the right way, casting way out in the middle of a channel and winding in may produce a small Tailor now and then maybe, but the lure will be well away from a lurking Flathead (say) you need to actively try for a single species and fish where they will be.

[nautimax]

"Convergences"...interesting term it could mean a convergence of currents from two different directions? Similar to "Pressure Points".
A pressure point under water is caused by the action of current pushing onto an underwater structure (a sunken tree stump or reef etc). This creates an area where there is a pressure differential to the immediate surrounding and this is generally where larger predatory fish hang around to strike the unsuspected bait fish...when you fish pressure points, you are trying to get your bait/lure near or past these zones to entice the fish. A bit of a long winded tip but...
...To simplify: If you find an underwater structure, suss out what direction the tide is running then fish the side/end of the structure where the tide hits first.
Noelm and Tunaticer posted some excellent advice...have a go mate! and remember to post some photos when you get 'em fshies

[fishinwahbee]

Sending PM for Jewfish, trevally and flathead keep info secret

[nathank]

Try the weir over near twin waters/pacific paradise when i lived there a few years back it was pretty hard to not catch something.. trevally, flatties, bream and Jacks.. a big high tide on dawn is just awesome there. I only fished at night or the first 2 hours after false dawn though. try little 10g halco slices for the trevors and skip them across the surface.

[johno68]

Gee - thanks guys. Very encouraging words of advice. When I get home, I am going to print out - just to keep it handy. Pity today was wet. Hoping to get out on river Friday and hopefully will have some pics to share.

Thanks again for your time to write the info!!

Cheers
John

[tunaticer]

Nautimax has pretty well nailed the convergences of currents, add to his description where a channel and a flat with another channel on the other side meet. Each of the tree bodies of water will have different speeds and where these speeds join together there is usually a slower spot in the current or a pressure wave, both hold fish because it is easier to hold station feeding on what the current brings to them than trying to feed in the main currents.

Go for a walk up a shallow freshwater creek with lots of little holes and gravel beds and snags and watch how the waters behave, plus take special attention to bubbles coming down the stream, they flow on particular current lines, not randomly spread. A great learning tool studying how waters flow.

Fresh water carries bubbles a long way, salt water does not, hence the reference to learn in a freshwater stream.

If the waters are fairly shallow (less then 6m roughly depending on currents), try removing the sinker and trace, use a hook and bait and a small split shot (1/20th to 1/8th oz) just ahead of the hook to get the bait down into the feed zone. Cast up current and fish back towards you removing excess line as it comes then feeding a little line as the bait passes you. As soon as the currents throw a belly in your line reel in and recast upcurrent again. Cast a long way up current but out minimally, good fish hang along the edges as a rule. Do not try and feel the bite, concentrate on the line as it is leaving the water, those first few feet of line will do something odd every bite you get. Simply control the amount of slack to be constant as best you can.

Plastics are fished similarly without the split shot.

The same tactics are used by both fresh and salt water fish so the lesson is entirely applicable.