Brisbane Waters

[Hutcho1]

Hi Raiders,

Hit the Brisbane Waters pretty hard over the last couple of days starting with a plastics session around Half Tide rocks and Ettalong on Friday. There a still quite alot of small flatties around and I released about 8 and kept 2 bigger ones for the pan. I spoke to a guy and his wife bait fishing near the boat ramp at Ettalong and he held up a monster bream. I have seen many of these around lately so I thought I would take kids out yesterday morning to chase a couple. As usual I played deckhand as my 11 daughter, (fanatic rabbitoh supporter, god bless her!!) and sixteen year old son landed three big bream in 30 minutes. However, the fish would only take peeled prawn and turned their nose up to everything else. We headed back in at 10am pretty happy for a short session. My son said he loves Bream better than Macca's!! Although he does work there.

Not to be outdone, after mowing the lawns and stocking up the browny points I headed back out at 4pm to have a sunset session. This is where the mystery fish comes in. I have been fishing Brisbane Waters since I was 7 and last night I was stumped!!. Unfortunately I only had servo bait and put out some small squid, a hawksbury prawn and a whole pilchard. I was fishing in a hole over near Hardy's Bay when BANG, the big rod goes off, (whole pilchard) and I'm on and this was a big fish. After a few minutes it's up to the side of the boat and it bites me clean off, ##$$#@@. I'm thinking this could have been a very large taylor but it went straight through a 20 pound leader. I then lost a couple of more pilly's and finally hooked up to something big again, this time the fish picked the bait up very timidly and move off quite slowly, I set the hook and off it went like a steam train. I had my drag set way too light and ended up with a birds nest the size of a football with fish still on. SO rod thrown to floor of boat and I'm handlining faster than a virgin fowl and the fish spits a 5/0 right at me and I'm out of bait, there was noone on my boat so I gave myself an uppercut and headed home, NO FISH. Was it a taylor, was it a jewy, or was it a bream? The fish would only take whole pichards and nothing else got touched, including pilchard tails, prawns etc. My best guess it very big bream by the size of the bite marks in the bait but there's something out there and it doesn't play fair.

Hutcho

[searabbit]

g'day hutcho 1

good to see a fello rabbit supporter (your daughter) getting into the fish, go you mighty rabbits.

the first bite off could have been a tailor as i have caught some big ones in brisbane water & the dropped

fish sounds like it could have been a nice jewie seeing as the hook pulled. its hard to pull a hook on

a ray or port jackson. sounds like you had fun with plenty of action well done.

Edited April 14, 2007 by searabbit

[Blackfish]

We were fishing up at Woy Woy Bay at the inlaws over Easter and caught 2 huge Stout Long Toms, they did jump a bit. They went like the clappers and had a head full of teeth.

Maybe yours was a Tailor or a Jew...... Orrrr

The one that got away.

B.F.

[livo]

My guess would be big tailor. Same thing has happened to me not far away from where you were fishing and also down towards Blackwall Boat Ramp. The time it was happening at Blackwall we had some wire and managed to boat 6 good fish.

Up near Hardy's Bay I just kept getting these big hit and runs followed by bite offs.

Second fish could have been a jew as tailor aren't known for their timid bites.

Sounds promising though so I might have to head out this arvo late with some pillies.

[Hutcho1]

My guess would be big tailor. Same thing has happened to me not far away from where you were fishing and also down towards Blackwall Boat Ramp. The time it was happening at Blackwall we had some wire and managed to boat 6 good fish.

Up near Hardy's Bay I just kept getting these big hit and runs followed by bite offs.

Second fish could have been a jew as tailor aren't known for their timid bites.

Sounds promising though so I might have to head out this arvo late with some pillies.

Good Luck Livo,

I was using 30lb leader in the end and this seemed to do the trick, I was flicking around the leases there earlier on in the day and I have never seen so much bait fish in the small channel just at the eastern end of the rip. I was using just enough sinker to reach bottom and a single hook 3/0 to 5/0 should do the trick, the fish started biting quite frequently between 6pm and 7.30pm near the top of the tide I guess in about 22 feet of water. No fish but a heaps of fun, heading off to see the rabbits beat the knights so all the fish for you. Let us know how you go.

Regards, Hutcho

[Brad Duffell]

man how many times have i had that aye bloddy hell and its allways as they get to the boat they love to get ya all excited and then they spit the hook but yea my guess is a taylor for sure the bigguns chomp rather hard

cheers,

Brad

[jewnut]

my guess would be hairtail, they take the bait ever so slowly until you have them hooked.and no its not too early for them.

[livo]

my guess would be hairtail, they take the bait ever so slowly until you have them hooked.and no its not too early for them.

Hairies sure have sharp teeth but do they come right in to Hardys Bay? I know they are caught at Iron Ladders and up the River but I've never known of any caught inside Little Box or Half Tide Rocks.

By the way I didn't get out this arvo. Car overheating problem for the bringing 3 horses home from a Pony Club interclub day on the F3 right on dark. Not much fun at all but we're now all home safe and sound.

Bloody car was only repaired on Thursday.

[jewnut]

im not too familiar with the bwaters system but they go right up cowan so i dont see why they wouldnt go up brissy waters.

[mark*]

i have fished brisbane waters for bout 12 years and

ive never heard of a hairtail caught in there but i dont

see why they wouldnt come up that far, still never heard

of it before though. the first bite off would of been a tailor

or long tom me and my parents have caught both of them,

tailor to 3.5 and 4 kilo and long tom to 4 foot long. they would

be my guess for what bit you off.

a jewie would of been what spit the hooks in my opion. there

are alot of them around, to 6 kilo. the timidness of the take

suggests that and they often spit hooks. in saying that though

there are alot of silver trevally schooling through the rip. they

have extremely soft mouths so pulling the hooks on one is

quite easy to do. they pull extremely hard and if you were to

get one of 50 cms that would be a big fight like you desrcibed.

well done on the bream and flatties though good to see a feed

of fish caught.

regards mark

[mcownage]

that really sounds like a flatty to me they pick me up all the time and just keep moving. I would expect a jewie to have a good run first... thats my opinion... and ther are some jewies around in BW latley my father in law catches them all the time ...

Wish i could catch one lol

[grantkingfish]

wow, thats a very dishartening thing to go through and it happened to you twice.

yea my guess is i was a nice size tailor.

well, better luck next time.