Bleak week at Iluka.

[theoldlegend]

Headed off to Iluka on Saturday 10th for a week with hopes high for a reasonable result. Got there at low tide, so went and pumped some yabbies and had all we wanted after about 15 minutes with 2, 3 & 4 sometimes coming out of the one hole. Not a good sign!!

Took a 4 kilo box of IQF's with us from our usual supplier to discover on opening that the quality was pretty poor compared to in the past; lots of broken ones and huge variation in the size. You could have used 2 x 2/0 on some and 4 x 6/0 on others.

Hit the wall late arvo on day one and got nothing. Next morning set off for the Bluff, but the seas were up, so couldn't get a line in there. Drove to Frazer's, but that was out of the question. Went to Shark Bay and got some pipis, and starting losing them to juvenile dart in the surf, so quickly gave up that idea as well.

What to do? Well, we just kept going from one place to the next, all with the same result, and that's how it was until the following Saturday when we returned home with our tails between our legs. Talking to locals and visitors all had the same result, very quiet.

Result for the week was 3 small bream and 1 small flattie. Can't win them all I suppose.

TOL

[MOZ]

TOL

I thought you were about due back. Sorry the fishing wasn't up to what was anticipated, but that has been my experience down there on my last few trips aswell! Sounds like you got around to a lot of the main spots, did you try in the river for whiting, bream, flathead etc.

I take it you didn't get that Jewie either?

MOZ

[Slider]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure they would have been netting mullet from the Clarence for the last 2 months or so. If that is the case then it would be difficult to find fish around the area until after the season finishes. In the river would be the most likely place to catch anything and further upstream would work better than the mouth.
I'm trying to work out at the moment where mullet netting isn't taking place so I can find some fish somewhere of my own. It's definitely pointless here on the Noosa North Shore at the moment since the 30 odd tonne of mullet that have been taken over the last week or so. Haven't spoken to anyone here in the last week that has even had a bite in the surf.

[theoldlegend]

Muzz,

That jewie is still waiting for me.

Slider,

Spot on mate. We should have realised the mullet netters would be there. Our fault. Leeann tells me there were some good bream caught upriver at Maclean during the ABT last weekend. Nothing much round the lower reaches.

TOL

[Freeeedom]

Believe me I know how you feel - see my report. I'm not sure you could blame the mullet netting alone for the total lack of fish. There were almost no bream anywhere that I tried around the headlands, breakwaters and rock walls, and I spent many hours looking for them. These structures normally hold bream at any time of year, but especially mid winter when the fish are spawning. Interestingly, the bream I did catch were not yet in spawning condition, with roes only half developed. That could mean that the winter run has yet to start.
Cheers Freeeedom