LuckyFil

Love the detailed report and also your tip on leader length, will definitely give that a go. cheers Fil

The smile says it all!

Hi @kingfish101 I'm trying to replicate your poddy mullet trap and just had few questions if you don't mind: Apart from the main hole in the top do you put any holes in the sides to allow the fish to swim in? I assume the turned down edges of the main hole are to prevent the bread from floating out and make it harder for the mullet to escape once inside? Do you place the trap just below the surface i.e. so the lid is only a few centimetres below the surface? Thanks in advance Fil

Ash thanks for your post about Bruce and explaining the family relationships re the Weipa trips . Funny we had a similar experience with the guides when we’ve beaten them to the spots at Red Cliffs. Very sorry to hear the cause of your Dad’s passing. I recall thinking he didn’t look well in one of pics in a recent post. Appreciate your warning about asbestos, it’s in many houses still and a timely reminder for us all to be careful when dealing with it. All the best and hope to see you one day in Weipa. Phil

Great story and pic @Campr. I'll echo Yowie's comment as sharks are capable of bending around enough to bite you if you tail grab them - no backbone which makes them very flexible buggers.

I really enjoyed reading your detailed report. All the information helps anyone else know what they need to do- especially the persistence with many hours repeating what you know works until you got the well deserved results! congratulations on another cracker jewie Fil

Before I start this post can I just acknowledge @Hookerbruce a great Fishraider who passed away last week. I only just saw the post from his son @Oscarthebeagle who wrote a magnificent eulogy in the Fishing Chat forum. Back to the fishing as Bruce would want. I had a short fish this arvo in the lower Brisbane Waters near Hardys Bay. Lots of boat traffic with the school holidays and also lots of murky water and slimy weed in the water (bottom of the tide) which looks to be dieing off as the warmer weather starts. Caught 5 flatties all on the same plastics - a five inch wriggler tail in black and gold glitter on a 1/8th jig head. I was flicking the weed edges in 1-2 meters of water on the start of the rising tide, which is not my usual preference but that was when I could get on the water! Three of the fish went back as they were in the 35cm range, maybe a touch bigger but too small for me. The keepers were both exactly 50cm, one quite light coloured and the other quite dark, reflecting the patches of bottom they were on. All fish hit the lure hard and were quite feisty which made for a fun little session . Fil

Ash I am very sorry to hear of Bruce's passing. I met him a couple of times at Weipa including this year when we waved to each other briefly when he and possibly you and the grandkids were fishing Boyd Point and I watched Bruce bring in a very respectable queenie. I learnt about Weipa from his posts on Fishraider and he gave me plenty of helpful information to get me started in that first year (2009). I've been coming every year since (except the covid years). I sent him a message after this year's trip and was wondering why he hadn't responded then I saw your post of your recent trip to SWR and assumed he was up there still and hadn't been on the web. I always enjoyed his informative posts even though I'm on the Northern Beaches and not familiar with his usual fishing spots. He was clearly a good fisherman and he shared his knowledge with others . I know he was very pleased to be taking you and the grandkids to Weipa this year and he spoke of the kids excitement during the planning stage. I'm glad you had one last trip with him on the blackfish up north and it sounded like a good time was had by you both. I'm sure you will look back on those happy times for years to come. Phil

Sounds like you compressed many years of knowledge and experience into a morning's lesson - good on you! It seems Ryan is well on the way after that lesson and with some natural ability already he'll be posting reports in no time. Fil

I’m pretty sure they are snook not pike which are similar but shorter. But I’ll leave a definite call on that to the fish ID experts on this forum. This may account for the lack of smell. Years ago I knew a local fisherman who regularly caught snook in Brisbane Waters and rated them as good eating. Fil

Great story and pics Kit! Was there an opportunity to do any blue water fishing from the lodge? Fil

We all have plenty of dud trips but don't lodge reports of them, so its a good reminder for everyone that its not always easy Fil

Well said

Hi @kingfish101, Do you strike as soon as you feel the take or give the fish some line before you hit?

Nice report and some good results with tailor, snapper and drummer. Was it north or south Curl Curl you were fishing?

Yes the silvers aren’t so good on the plate but they fight even harder than the black drummer.

Nice sized reds there Bob especially given your fishing close to a big city - and great fun catching them on plastics.

Yes you know there's a fair chance they can beat you if they manage to get under a ledge then its all over. So it's by no means an easy fight - which adds to the challenge

Yeah my mate couldn't get over how you could catch them on plain white bread. And the other bonus is you can always eat the bait if you get hungry while fishing 😀!

Did a quick dash up the far north coast to visit some friends travelling over from NZ. So not really a fishing trip but couldn't help but pack some fishing gear and include a stop at Crescent Head/Hat Head on the way back. Turned out to be a good decision as the drummer wanted to play. I managed three nice ones off the rocks near Crescent, all in the mid forties. Some friends joined us next day at Hat Head and while my mate didn't know much about drummer fishing he was keen to give it a go. The swell had dropped right away so I wasn't optimistic. It seemed the pigs didn't mind the calm water and we brought five home and dropped a couple more at the waters edge. My mate also scored a good sized bream and tarwhine. He couldn't get over how hard the drummer fight for their size, although one he caught was up in the 50cm range and at that size you know it when you hook one. Most fish caught on white bread with a couple on peeled prawn. Been eating drummer for three nights in a row and loving it! Cheers Fil

Some great jewies and fingermark. Did you travel far from Weipa harbour for these? I’ll pm you later about which guide you used. cheers Fil

A great story. You are no longer allowed to say “I’m not a good fisherman”! 😀

Great report Kobi. That’s a beauty coral trout! And a good sized cobia- where did you catch that? Is the pic of Bruce with the queenie the one he caught off Boyd Point when we saw you? Jealous of those mud crabs, I must ask your grandad for some tips on catching them. cheers Fil

Thanks Donna my pleasure

Given the comments about having Weipa on their bucket list /jealous etc I thought I'd say I'm happy to pass on whatever I know about the place if others are interested . I'm no expert but have been going since 2009 so have picked up some things. I use the houseboats and their tenders as it's the most economical way of doing it with a few provisos: its not guided so you have to figure out where and how to fish it, you need to get a crew together to share costs (and housework), you need to have boat licenses (and some common sense) to manage driving the houseboat and tenders and to stay out of trouble (shallow reefs, sharks, crocs, stingers, sea snakes etc)- you're a long way from help. So PM if you have any questions. Cheers Fil