Nice feed, magic day on Moreton Bay

[Moonlighter]

We left at gentleman's hours this morning from Cleveland, partly to let the traffic subside from the dawn service and partly because we were a bit slack!

We went past the RSL at about 7.15 am and had no dramas getting to the Raby Bay ramp.

Then straight to our crab spot where we baited and set our 8 pots.

A quick phone call to a mate who was on the water early and confirmation that the mackerel were playing ball over near the Sandhills. We zoomed over that way with a gentle SW up our tails.

Found the bait schools and flicked unweighted piles on gangs out. Before long had a couple of runs but no hookup, then my son Brendan was winding his pilly in to check it when a mackerel hit it only 5 meters behind the boat, in full view! On light gear they were fun too.

I had had flicked a piece of squid out on a whiting rod when bam! Over it bends, bloody hell, mackerel on the diver whiting rod! Luckily had him lipped on the #6 bloodworm hook, so got him in the esky after a nice tussle.

Missed one good one when I tried to lift it into the boat rather than grab it by the tail ..... Grrrr!

At about 11.30 we had run out of pillies so headed back to the pots, sitting on 5000 rpm and just over 50kph. The bay was glassy, best I think I have ever seen it.

Lifted the pots, heaps of crabs in them but lots of just unders, but we got a dozen nice keepers. Seemed that the better crabs have moved a bit deeper, maybe in the 5-6m range.

All in all, a fabulous morning on the bay and a nice feed for the family.

After the boat was washed and the fish and crabs sorted and we were cleaned up, I came out of the shower and Brendan called me from the kitchen.

He had thinly sliced some of the mack fillets and had a soy dipping sauce blend ready. Fresh sashimi mackerel! Yummo!

[gofishin]

Sounds like a great day Grant!

A consolation for missing a couple of good days out of DI on Rascal? Heard how the boys went? Must have been a cracker few days up there!
Cheers
Brendon


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[Moonlighter]

Yes Brendon, it was an absolute cracker day today in the Bay. I would have loved to be up at Rainbow but Rod has some really big deals going down at work at the moment, so couldn't be away.

Havent heard any reports yet from the crew who went.

I am still waiting for the predicted 15-20 knot fan to turn on this evening. It is still calm here at Cleveland as I type.

But anyway, it was good to get out.

I had the 115 Suzuki serviced last Monday so I always like to do a good run after that just to reassure myself that everything is working fine. And it was. Cleveland to Peel, drop pots, then up to Sandhills, then back to pots and home to Cleveland.

Mostly sitting at 4800 but a good % of the trip back from Moreton was at just over 5K. Used 38.5 litres according to the network. Filled up, took 38.2 litres.

[gofishin]

I was down at Currumbin for the Dawn Service, which was truly great to be a part of.

However have to admit, with no breeze at all on the beach, that when enough light showed me a glassy ocean... the mind did wander (and wonder) on occasion 'what might have been' ...


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[castlemaine]

Grant
That must have been you going past after picking up your pots, around 12:30pm.
I was picking mine up in deeper water at the same time? My sounder had a loose wire and I used my gps to locate depth.
Headed over to the Peel for a fish, heaps of bait fish ... Largest Snapp went 34cm to my wife dismay. Then the smiling sargents moved in. Never seen them so big.
Plastics again, bites were so frequent with the plastics that my daughter threw out her bait and wanted a baby bass.
It was hot and girls were dying for a swim, picked up pots (4 keepers), Horseshoe Bay for a swim then home.
Need a bigger boat as the family has outgrown the boat. Suggested daughter find a boyfriend with a boat.
Dont find many nice days like that on weekends.
Cheers, Ivan

[Scott Ashe]

Sounds like a top morning mate. Well done.

[Moonlighter]

Hi Ivan

Yep, that would have been us. Didn't see you otherwise would have stopped to say hello.

Good to hear you are converting the crew to the dark side as well! You know they are hooked when they start demanding plastics and know the colours better than you!

cheers!

[BeastMaster]

Hello Moonlighter - I checked my phone messages - nothing yet saying to come down and pickup a feed of crab - What's the story , haven't cooked them yet?

Thought I'd post a photo of the old BeastMaster blasting past - leaving the Surtees in its wake .
Magic conditions out there yesterday.
Regards
BeastMaster

[Moonlighter]

Thanks for the photo's Beast! They came up really well.

The old Beast was powering along! We were cruising happily not sucking too much fuel. Curious to know what rpm was the 140 pulling at that time? We were sitting 5000.

[drpete]

I reckon I must be the only bloke in the bay who can't find the sandies! I dropped four pots off the Chain Banks again yesterday in about 4 metres and got one keeper! And it was a digger too! Whiting were hard work as well. I got heaps last weekend in the Maroom gutter (awesome quality too) but really struggled yesterday. Couldn't get them on the chew anywhere. I think the water's just too clear right now. Ended up in Fisherman's gutter (does ANYONE know it's in a go slow zone? Everyone was on the plane!) and got a couple of dozen decent ones for a feed. There were boats all over the Rous and banks, but didn't see anyone hitting into em hard. Everyone was moving a lot (and not to redo drifts).
Peter

[Moonlighter]

DrPete, you need to get yourself a copy of the Marine Park guide that shows all the different zones. Also on Navionics charts they are marked but not very clearly, so you need to be very careful.

The small ships gutter that leads to the Rous channel is not a go slow zone, but areas to each side are, and sometimes it can be hard to know exactly where the boundaries are, so keeping the guide handy and referring to it if in any doubt is almost an unavoidable need.

if you want to find the crabs, look for the pro pots and note the depth they are in, and try nearby. As long as you keep yours a respectful distance away, I have never had issues with them. Also, I made up bait baskets from gutter guard and the bait goes in there and then put into he pots with clips. Keeping the bait there keeps the crabs coming in.

[drpete]

Oh I'm aware that the small ships channel isn't a go slow zone, but I'm pretty sure that Fisherman's gutter IS.
In fact I'm a hundred percent sure it is...
ps. Thanks for the crab tips. I fear they've beaten me this season

[castlemaine]

Oh I'm aware that the small ships channel isn't a go slow zone, but I'm pretty sure that Fisherman's gutter IS.
In fact I'm a hundred percent sure it is...
ps. Thanks for the crab tips. I fear they've beaten me this season

I reckon there's a few more weeks left for sandies. Moonlighter is on the money, as the pros know what depth the sandies are feeding.

A new way of baiting up, for me, is that I put the bait on the underside and outside of the pot, makes it easier to remove the bait. Still catches crabs!