SE Qld fishing report - Dec 19

[Nugget]

Good news on the crabbing front this week with Eagleby locals scoring results by setting pots off the bank.
Areas in the Albert River that have produced results are behind the Beenleigh Rum Distillery and behind the sewage works and in the Logan at the western end of Eagleby Road and around the highway bridges.
Fresh mullet and an early morning run out tide will give you the best chance of putting a muddie on the table for Christmas lunch.
Tim Doherty landed four river whaler sharks around the junction of the Albert and Logan while chasing flathead with prawns over the weekend.
If he had been using pillies, mullet flesh or live bait I think he would have caught a lot more.
There are lots of garfish in the Logan at the moment, which is another good bait for them.
A wire trace and berley will give you your best chance of fish on the table, but watch your fingers as they will snap at you when caught.
These little river whaler sharks are great fun to catch and make excellent tasting flake fillets – kids love them cooked up as boneless fish “nuggets”.
There have been good numbers of big mahi mahi offshore over the past week or two.
They are hanging around the Waverider Buoy and any floating marker or object in the water.
Still very few mackerel in the northern bay but the word from up north is that they are coming this way – the Sunshine Coast run is just starting.
Your best chance at the moment is working Raiders and chrome jigs around the Spitfire Beacons off Bribie.
A fireweed warning is still present for the Horseshoe Bay area at Peel Island, take care over the holiday period.
Whiting and flathead are dominating catches on sand banks throughout the Pin and there are still good choppers being caught off the surf on South Stradbroke between the Pin bar and the Bedroom’s track but you have fish overnight for any real success.
Jack numbers are improving – Levi Downie caught and released a personal best jack on Tuesday evening measuring 58cm long on a Downunder Boomerang lure.

[Luke]

Gday Dave,
got a nice 1.5 metre river whaler off the rock wall at Alberton last weekend on a whole mullet fillet soaked in tuna oil. They do taste good but this one was released.
Cheers Luke

[aquarius]

8)Gidday Nugget....Ive been fishing along the reef at Wellington Point for the last few friday nights now....Been catching a good feed of sweetlip and squire but do you know of anyone catching big mulloway in this area?
On 3 occasions now i have had a heavy rig out with a 4 set of gangs, small sinker and a freshly caught strip of pike as the bait....3 times i have had 250 metres of 30lb line stripped from the reel....Shark or jew what do you think it was?
It wasn't running fast enough to be a mackerel but i couldn't slow it down....should i just let it go on running or tighten up the drag?....I have 500 metres on the shimano overhead reel.
Cheers Brent

[Nugget]

Hate to dampen your enthusiasm but my guess is a big shovel nose shark (ray).
I've never seen jew come from this area but heaps of unstoppable shovelies.
I half hitched a 150lb handline around the bow of my boat once determined to find out what they were.
It towed me around for half an hour before it came to surface and I saw what it was then I cut it off.
I'd love to be wrong - here's hoping you catch a big jew.

Dave ><>

[Nugget]

Hi Luke - glad you caught one - did it come to the surface when hooked? - they usually do.
There are heaps in the Albert at ther moment.

Good luck.

Dave ><>

[Luke]

Gday Dave,
I find most of the smaller ones I've caught surface and do a bit of a zig zag but this fellow stayed down deep until the very end. Yes, I thought that was unusual but he had a lot more fight in him than others I've caught around a similar size.
Cheers Luke