Where to get Live bait???

[lanceinator]

I want to start using live bait just to try something new! I am particularly keep to get mullet and/or slimmy mackel..... living in Brisbane I would like to know where (and how ???) to get these live baits!
Any locations South of Noosa but North of Byron would be appreciated.... (please keep in mind that I only have a 3.9m tinnie so off shore is no good! )
GPS marks would be very handy!!!! Thanks to all in advance whom can help out! 8)

[Cheech]

Lance, get a hold of a cast net, and with your tinnie, it will be more a case of where don't you get live bait. Herring particularly, but also prawns and mullet are pretty well everywhere around jetties, pylons, piers, mangrove banks, even sheltered beach areas usually hold something. Need to be prepared to try different spots. ie, make a couple of casts and then move a bit along and try again.

Here is a good example. Last week I made a cast off a the end of a pier I had not been to before and got nothing, then had a cast off the other side not more that 3 metres away and had about 200 Herring in the net.

Won't take long to find some productive spots.

For slimies and yakkas you probably won't find them in the same places you will be fishing in your tinnie so I would be chasing Herring, prawns and mullet if I was you.

Besides, these are the baitfish that your target fish are probably eating anyway as they are in the same area as your target fish.

Cheech

[flattymattyb]

Hi lance,

Heres a couple of spots well worth trying if your down the gold coast way, Coomera river: Old Koala Town pontoon across from the boat ramp for mullet & herring. Soverign Island, Ephriam Island Bridges at this time of year you can't miss the herring here you don't even need a sounder just look for them on the suface or just under around the pylons, also the pontoon at paradise point out infront of the shops you don't even need a boat for this one. Other than that just keep your eyes open and look for likely areas that offer protection from the current and you can't go wrong. Just be careful where you throw your cast net

[jeffo]

a 3.9m tinney is plenty big enough for offshore out of mooloolaba!! i used to have a 3.9 with a 6hp on it when i was knee high to a grasshopper, and fished everywhere from coolum to currimundi in it!! biggest fish landed in it was a 15.7kg yellowfin, as well as bugger loads of mackeral and other tunas!

if you plan on having a go out of here sometime gimme a yell and ill let you know where to get some live baits.

[Heath]

What do you plan on fishing for?

Your 3.9 tinny will get you to the close reefs on good days. Just have to use your common sence thats all. Often see boats smaller than that fishing Palm beach for the mackerel.

Slimys you will only find offshore or maybe up around Moreton Somewhere.

Mullet, well any creek or backwater, especially down here on the Gold Coast will see you with enough mullet to last a life time.

[smerl]

Heath,

I gather that you use a cast net to get your mullet? I have had a go in some of the creeks along the brissy river but only seem to end up with a hand full each time (nowhere near enough to last a lifetime ). Do you berly them up at all before throwing the net? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers

Smerl

[Maria]

Mate get yourself a cast net, learn how to throw it and then head as previously stated, to anywhere that provides shelter for baitfish. Usually shallow draining areas such as creek and river mouths, canal entrances and small tidal flats are the go at low tide. Where you have deep water, fish tend to get out from underneath the net before it has a chance to get over the top of them. Good thing in your favour though, is that you'll find small mullet in pretty much any creek mouth at low tide in bugger all water.

You don't really need to berley up much, but it won't hurt to. Most times you can throw the net over mullet, pull them out, then throw the net over the exact same area and the fish will still be there.

Good luck.

Ben