LuckyFil

I had a look at a pic of the Oystercracker and I agree, but then I googled the permit and it looks the same 🤔. I must be missing the difference? Fil

A guide will definitely short cut the learning process . You’ll have a blast!

Due to smoke from local bushfires plus the full moon we had some great sunrise and evening scenery too

Yes @Isaac Ct the permit are on saltwater fly fishers trophy list and Al who caught this one got another only 10 minutes later! Both on a soft plastic in less than 2 meters of water. Yeah @61 crusher we staid on the houseboat for the week and crossed paths with @hookerbrucebriefly who was onboard the other houseboat. Its a great fishery and even when one species isn't available there's always others to target, you just have to be flexible. And yes tuskies are very tasty!

A few more pics mainly from the creek action including a permit which is fairly rare. And the pic of Pat on the groper.

Just back from the annual Weipa trip (less the last 2 years lost to covid!). We also had the cold weather up there, although 28 degrees daytime and 18 at night may not seem cold here but it's unusually cool for Weipa at this time of year. The colder weather and water seemed to shut down the pelagic action this year with no tuna or Spanish caught . We did manage plenty of queenies with a couple over the meter. The pic of one her is a high nineties caught in a creek on the light flick sticks. As a consequence we spent a fair few sessions on the reefs catching some tusk fish , grassy sweetlips and other reef dwellers. As usual the really big fish were just too strong even on the strong gear and smashed us on the reefs or broke knots. There's a pic later of son Pat working hard on what we figured was a massive cod or groper, never got to see it as it took 15 minutes to get it halfway up on 80lb gear then it broke off just as we saw the leader knot. Probably just as well 'cause we would have had to cut it off at some stage anyway. If you want to know why they are called tusk fish see the pic with the blue teeth! Cheers Fil

Flatties like the plastic to bump the bottom every now and then so small lifts of the rod tip then let the plastic go back to the bottom - that's mainly when you get the fish as its sinking. Also try for the lightest jig head that you can cast and relative to the depth of water. You'll catch flatties in a foot of water at times so you don't need to be casting 50 meters to get them. Look for weed edges and changes in water depth as they often sit just over the edge waiting for small fish to wander out of the shallows. Nothing like a fresh fillet of flathead lightly fried! Well done on your first report. Fil

Sounds like a lot of fun! Yes the big one pull hard and take a while to get to shore but if you're going to eat one go for the smaller models. The big ones get pretty chewy so I don't usually bother with them other than catch and release. Fil

Looking like you've got a system worked out given your recent captures as well as this beauty! Congrats on another stonker and thanks for the info re hooks, bait, sinker etc. Fil

Great to catch fish on a lure you’ve made yourself! Im interested in how you made the plastics, would you mind posting some details on that? Thanks Fil

The water temp hasn’t dropped much yet so haven’t changed technique a lot. The main thing I do differently as it cools is slow down my retrieve speed and longer pauses. The fish are still there just takes a bit more to get them to bite.

That's a cracker mack tuna especially off the rocks. I haven't caught one for a while but I still remember how hard they fight and never give up. The reddie is a nice bonus too, just shows you never know if you don't have a go!

I chatted to one of the guys catching them and he said they are all estuary fish still (but quite a few good sized ones I noticed). He said the bronzies will be another month or two away. that wharf only works for luderick on the run out and best on the bottom half of the tide.

Had a couple of sessions on the water around Ettalong and Hardys Bay over the long weekend. Saturday was windy as everyone knows and today was quite still and balmy. Saturday fished the run out tide along weed edges flicking plastics and a soft vibe. First cast on the plastic and I was onto a nice flattie that went 51 cm. I continued casting there for another 20 minutes in different directions and switching to the vibe but that was it for there so I moved to another favourite spot using the same techniques. Picked up another fish that went 52 on the SP and a while later a third at 48cm on the vibe. One more move resulted in a dropped fish from very shallow water who had got wrapped in the line but not hooked. Called it quits then and went home happy. Tried again today for zip. Went out too late and missed the tide so dead calm with no current . Very pleasant on the water but no fish. For the luderick fishermen on this site I saw plenty at the cleaning table on Saturday and more being caught from Wagstaffe wharf this morning on the run out tide. Cheers Fil

Lovely mixed bag and those Reddies are perfect sized to be good eating. A big snapper is impressive to look at (and to catch) but those pannies are great on the plate .

Great pics and an interesting report. I wonder what turned the fatties on like that. I had a similar session in Brisbane Waters last year when I caught 15 fatties in a couple of hours on plastics (most returned) after previous sessions when I struggled to get a fish in the same areas?! Apparently scorpion fish (red rock cod) are lovely eating if you're game to risk the sting from their spikes when cleaning them.

I'm with you Yowie 30cm is tiny for a dusky. I don't keep them under 40cm , but at least the Mexicans have introduced an upper size which I think is a good thing for the big breeders. I was expecting to hear NSW would introduce a 70cm upper limit after the survey last year but silence so far. Fil

Had a short dash to Hat Head with my son Pat over the weekend just passed. Luckily it was ahead of the wild westerly wind that hit last night . Cold mornings but sunny days and the remnants of the big southerly swell still hanging around. Pat had an early spin off the point on Saturday for one Watsons Leaping bonito and dropped another lifting up the rocks. A few of the same caught by guys near him but nothing else. We had hoped to fish the rocks for drummer in the arvo but the swell was still too big so we drove down to Point Plomer which can handle a big swell. Pat picked up a nice tailor spinning a metal and I dropped one. I managed a good drummer of around 47cm on my second cast with bait . We thought this looked like it would be good session but that was the only one. The swell had dropped enough for our last session to allow a fish off the rocks at the Hat yesterday morning. This produced an array of species starting with a baby jewie taking my cunje bait meant for a drummer, a couple more tailor, another drummer similar size to day before, a legal sized tarwhine and a small blackfish. We called it quits around 8:30 as we had to be out of the cabin by ten but it was a nice little session and welcome escape from Sydney for a couple of days. Water temp up there is still 22.5 degrees. Cheers Fil

I love those Gillies white bait lures especially the 40 and 60 gm they catch a lot of tailor, bonito and smaller tuna but I hate the way they lose paint so quickly. Gillies need to look into this for their production process.

Congratulations MrsISO, at 60cm that is a fish to be proud of. I do some drummer fishing and have caught a few around 53-55cm but never one that big. I agree it may be a while before you better that PB! Cheers Fil

A great day’s fishing. Looks like you’re wearing the big man out 😀, needed a snooze on the way home?

If you are looking for an alternate location (doesn't look like you need to though!) Wagstaffe wharf used to be a top spot for luderick. Not sure if it still fishes so well now that the baths are no longer there as they provided a good stand of kelp for the blackies to hide in and there's a strong current flow especially on the run out. Yes I'm gong back a while I know since the baths were there, ha. Fil

Always interesting when you see a school of fish leaving the water. Gets the blood pumping! Maybe it was a Noah that pinched your fish?

Great report and pics Kobi. Fil