Weird but rewarding week at Iluka

[Freeeedom]

The first thing I always do when I arrive for a week at Iluka is unload the car and then head for the main wall to catch a feed of bream so that I can feed the family or the rellies when they arrive. So, lastTuesday by about 2.30 p.m., I was settled in at my favourite bream spot ready to load up. About three hours later I quit on sunset with one just legal bream in the bag, and a couple of wirrahs returned. What was a bit worrying was that in all that time I had hardly had a bite, even though the tide was pretty good –no undersize bream, not even any rubbish picking the baits apart.

At dawn the following morning I’m out the front of the Iluka Bluff ready to pull some nice bream and/or tarwhine from a number of my favourite spots. Conditions were close to perfect with a flat sea, low tide and just a slight northerly breeze. For the next hour or two I worked about 5 top spots and could not get a touch on my baits except for a couple more wirrahs. Finally, when I was close to giving up, I got a solid bite and hooked up on a reasonable fish. As I palmed the spinning spool of the Alvey I decided that it was better than reasonable - it was at least a decent fish. The area I was fishing was shallow and rocky and I was struggling to keep this fish (which I had upgraded to ‘good’ by this stage) away from the rocks until I could get a look at it. At last I brought it up and was very pleased to see a jew of about 4 – 5 kg. Now my troubles had just begun as the fish was too big to lift and the rocks along most of the Bluff drop vertically into the water. For just this occasion I had brought a two piece gaff with me – which was still in the car, since I was expecting to catch bream. With more than a bit of luck I was able to lead the fish about twenty metres to a bit of sloping rock and wash it up on a small wave. ‘That’s better than a few bream’ I thought.

Five minutes later I hook a similar fish and bring it to the rocks but lose it before I can land it – remember the gaff next time, you idiot! After another hour, which only yielded one good bream, right on 40cm, I quit and went back to the cabin for breakfast.

About an hour later I’m back on the wall for the change of the tide at the top – a good time for bream. Again I cannot give a bait away - to anything. This is very strange! The highlight of this session was a southern right whale and her calf playing around just north of the wall for a couple of hours. I’ve never seen a southern right whale so far north before. They usually frequent the Great Australian Bight I thought.

Next morning (Thursday) I’m back at the Bluff (with gaff) at dawn to try again. The northerly has picked up but it is still fishable. I hook three jew and land two of them – nice fish around the 3.5 – 4kg mark. Guess what I’ll be doing tomorrow.

By Friday the northerly is absolutely howling and the Bluff is virtually unfishable. I stick it out in one spot for about an hour, hooking and losing one jew(?) and landing one good bream before giving it away.

Overnight the wind moves through the west and drops and by dawn Saturday conditions are perfect again. I land three more school jew around the 2.5 – 3kg mark and two bream. By this time my daughter has arrived with her camera, so she gets a few ‘action’ shots.

Sunday morning sees me at the Bluff again with the wind moving to the south and freshening. The swell has increased but it is still fishable. I get only the one jew of about 3.5 – 4 kg and another bream.

By Monday the swell is up to a couple of metres and fishing the front of the Bluff is impossible. I try a couple of my favourite lizard locations for one undersized fish, and conditions were never right for my luderick locations – but who cares?

My weeks fishing produced only 13 legal fish – 6 bream and 7 jew. But that’s what I call a result! I wonder if there’s a cabin free nextweek!
Cheers Freeeedom

[Freeeedom]

Some pics of the whale and Saturday action

[alleycat]

Gday freedom, nice jew for eating, what bait did the damage?, and i was there in may and the local bait shop fella was telling me that the last few years they have not really had what people used to know as a tailor season, just a few random fish through but no run as such as we are all used to in winter..

[brock13]

Thanks for the report mate. Can be hard work around the wall and bluff at times. Good on ya for stickin it out and getting a good feed

[Goodoo haven]

Nice report Freeeedom and some nice fish caught too. Thanks for the good read and for sharing.

[IRMC000]

Don't know how you do it?

[kingcray]

Freeeedom, nice effort with the jewies. I wish i could find 40cm bream !!
i am still here in Iluka, been here since saturday, leaving this saturday. I have found the fishing tough going also this time around. I had a walk along the bluff on sunday just for a look, was pretty blowy but fishable.
The locals here are saying the flathead are pretty scarce, and i have to agree. We are getting nothing but average sized bream and zilch at our usual flatty haunts
They were catching blackfish down behind the anchorage this afternoon at the old ferry park.
Tomoro is looking like the only decent day before we leave so hoping luck changes. Tossing up between bluff or a couple of our spots in the river.

cheers

[Freeeedom]

Gday freedom, nice jew for eating, what bait did the damage?, and i was there in may and the local bait shop fella was telling me that the last few years they have not really had what people used to know as a tailor season, just a few random fish through but no run as such as we are all used to in winter..

I agree totally Alleycat. The best eating size for jew is around 3kg. Shame that a fish of that size is undersize in Queensland. Most were caught on green banana prawns, head off but shell still on. You're right about the tailor. For many years I would go to Iluka with tailor as the number 1 target fish. These days I always take some pillies when I go out, just in case there might be a tailor around, but I fish for other things until I see some surface action or someone else catch a tailor. Otherwise you can waste a couple of hours good fishing time looking for tailor when they just aren't there.
Cheers Freeeedom

[Freeeedom]

Don't know how you do it?

Have you emptied your PM box yet Robert?
Cheers Freeeedom

[Freeeedom]

Kingcray, I did have a look at the old ferry crossing a couple of times to see if any of the locals were fishing it. Both times there was only one guy fishing and he was trying near the dirt boat ramp. He stopped a couple of times while I was filleting fish at the Anchorage filleting table and had a chat. He hadn't been getting much lately he said. I think part of the problem is the water clarity due to lack of recent rain. I've found in the past that as the salt works its way up river the fish, especially the bream tend to disperse further up the river too. But you'd think that the tarwhine (which are more a surf fish than the bream) would still be around - but i did not catch a single one. Last year at this time I was catching heaps of big tarwhine - go figure!
Cheers Freeeedom

[kingcray]

haha yeah makes sense. The river water is so clean. The seafood shop dude tells me tailor up to 1mtr as far as Broadwater.
I got smoked twice on ganged pillies in the browns rocks area 2 days ago.

That was probably the same guy you spoke to as that is where he was and standing out about thigh deep.
Well its dead calm here right now so im heading out to the middle wall !