Lesson in wild waves
chilling in the icebox, my boys showed maturity beyond their years, choosing to leave the mackerel biting, rather than catch their entitled three-fish each bag limit.
Anglers are reminded that spanish or narrow barred mackerel are protected by a minimum size of 75cm; an individual “in-possession” limit of three fish; and a maximum boat limit of six spanish mackerel with two or more anglers on board.
Now, we feast
The roles played by moon and tide couldn’t have been any more evident w when on Wednesday this week, Tim Wilson, father Don Wilson and family friend Peter O’brien fished near S Salamander Reef and other Cape C Cleveland hotspots to find spanish m mackerel AWOL.
Schools of bait type species had also disappeared and it seemed, all marine life had gone missing in action.
The trio found their way to slightly deeper waters at the popular Mack Patches about 14km wide of Cape Cleveland and, joining a small flotilla of other recreational anglers, trolled wolf herring baits in the hope of snaring a mackerel.
Within minutes the rod set in the port stern holder buckled and Tim was first to wrestle it from the holder, all the while the reel screaming in protest as 30-pound class braid line was ripped from the spool.
The battle was a proper kneebuckling stoush and it was only after 10 or so minutes, the trio realised they had not hooked a mackerel, but a sizeable cobia or black kingfish.
In typical cobia fashion, the fish provided most resistance when close to the boat, yet Tim remained faithful to a rhythmic pump and wind routine that had drawn the fish from the depths. It was only a matter of a few minutes more though, before the boat erupted in jubilation as Tim’s prize catch was swung aboard on the pointy end of a gaff.
“That’s the best and my biggest fish so far,” Tim declared, the cobia measuring close enough to 120cm.
“Tonight, we eat cobia!”
Perfect timing
Townsville restaurant worker Steve Meurant took full advantage of calm weather conditions fishing a favourite spot near Magnetic Island’s West Point early this week.
Meurant was braver than most, undertaking an overnight vigil after setting live and fillet baits from the stern of his tinny.
It was colder than he had expected and a lonely trip as his mate didn’t show at the coastguard boat ramp as planned and his phone remained unanswered.
“I used herring for bait and some old mullet – nothing special but the fishing was fantastic,” Meurant said.
“From 9.30 to 11 on Tuesday night, herring went berserk. I cast well away from the boat and started a slow retrieve and every time I dragged it past a weed bed, I got a nice fish.”
Meurant said he counted five grunter or javelin fish and one fat gold spot cod a shade over 7kg when he tallied his catch.
“I released a lot of smaller grunter and a few other cod and the best grunter was a bit over 50 (cm),” he said.
“It doesn’t happen very often but I must have been in the right spot at the right time with the right bait.”
Reel them in
Improving tidal influence this weekend might find favour with land-based and estuarine fishers while forecast light winds and slight seas will be greeted with a degree of suspicion by inshore, bluewater and reef anglers, following last Saturday’s blow.
Bream, whiting, flathead and grunter are worth pursuing near the mouths of northern creeks when fresh baits are pinned on small hooks and attached to fine lines.
Crystal Creek continues to give up reasonable catches of most bread and butter species while grunter seem to dominate catches at the mouth of Rollingstone Creek or Balgal Beach.
Small giant trevally and tarpon excited southern visitors when they fished for whiting among the shallows of Althaus Creek and a half dozen sand crabs proved a bonus.
The Bohle River and its tributaries continue to fire for an array of species including barramundi, fingermark and mangrove jack, with live mullet and large whiting the baits of choice for experienced anglers.
Meanwhile, anglers dragging shallow running lures like Bombers and Old Dog Mutts are happy with efforts fooling both barra and salmon near the Bushland Beach side of the Bohle River mouth. The same lures cast in the Stoney Creek tributary near the top of the tide have been bitten by mangrove jack and flathead.
Bream and grunter, both of legal size, continue to be a creel filler when fresh prawn baits are used near the rock bar at the mouth of the river and in the deeper hole near the mouth of the Bohle’s Hospital Creek.