Catfish on the rise in the bay?

[acronin]

Headed out to Mud Island last Sunday before sunrise with thoughts of big snapper on the mind.

Arrived at the Eastern side of mud just as the sky started to lighten. First lines in the water not long after - I'm a bait man so a mullet strip on one rod, little diver whiting on the other/ A few more casts later and my first (just) legal squire in the boat. Kept it as my wife and I are the only ones to eat the fish at home, and the smaller squire suit us.

Was some time and a lot of returned undersize squire later that I hooked onto something good. Something really good. Or so I thought.

Came to the boat pretty easy but once it saw the boat it started to run hard. I'm only fishing 10lb line, so I'm letting run, playing it, letting it run, playing it. BUT theres no characteristic snapper head bumps. I'm starting to wonder if its a snapper - maybe a big cod the way its running. Finally get it near the boat and get a look and its a huge catfish. 80 cm +. Oh well, got these before - usually one a session and that's it.... Well that didn't turn out to be the case. Followed up for the rest of the day with another six catfish, all around the same size.

Which brings me to a question for everyone - is it usually to see such a concentration of catties out the bay? Or particularly near Mud Island? I've got the occasional one before, but not seven in a session. Does anyone else get heaps of catties out the bay? Is it a seasonal thing (I've only been fishing the bay for about 18 months)?

Caught another legal squire and a decent moses perch before heading home mid morning.

Not a bad day out, though hoping we don't get onto those catties again next time.

[Sandman]

Not unusual at all in fact I was wandering if they had disappeared but obviously they haven't .

[Rainbowrunner]

seasonal along with those darned big green sea toads

[manta man]

MMM... Commonly sold in shops as BASA. But they are good Mud Crab Bait.

[banksmister]

MMM... Commonly sold in shops as BASA. But they are good Mud Crab Bait.

Or Pacific dory.

[Fish_gutz]

big catties will turn up all over the place in summer. curtain , neilson , four beacons and mud and more than likely the southern spots in the bay.

[solemandownunder]

Got a couple at Green last week......cleaned and into the freezer....crab bait fer ME

[timddo]

I heard it from a friend that if you fillet it and soak it in milk. It taste better then snapper.

[hungry6]

I heard it from a friend that if you fillet it and soak it in milk. It taste better then snapper.

You are definitely sure he is a friend?

[Scalem]

Kudos to you for catching a legal snap on bait at Mud. I changed to plastics more than 10 years ago and one of the biggest reasons I could only catch catfish at Mud and it used to drive me insane. So yes, Catties are normal there.

Scalem

[Shark Poker]

A couple years ago there were heaps of big catfish in Manly Marina.
One school had around 30 plus. All 60cm or over.

I don't like them. Can anyone report anything good about catfish??

Pauly

[PeterKroll]

That's great info, Scalem.

Timdoo, I have heard that, but related mainly to the ell-tailed jewies in fresh water. It didn't work all that well. Tasted just like... well, basa.

[timddo]

You are definitely sure he is a friend?

Well
It's a mate of a mate of a mate who has a sister .

[acronin]

Well the answer to the question of whether catfish are a regular catch out the bay is a resounding YES it seems. I've been getting a few to date but not the numbers I got last weekend. Normally I use fresh, not frozen bait so maybe this was a part of the reason why I got the catties. I was fishing no sinker at the time so found it quite surprising they would rise off the bottom to a bait.

Have been very surprised over the last 12 months how well Mud actually fishes, even on bait. Been getting quite a few legal snapper over that time and even a PB at 76cm. Certainly enough to keep me believing in bait, though if these catties keep up I might need to reconsider plastics :-).

[Westytoo]

Acronin, read Grants guide to fishes about the eating characteristics of catfish from moreton bay, it surprised me what it said, although I have never actually eaten one. We used to get them in crab dillies when we were allowed to use them when crabbing in the bay.