Dribs and drabs

[Little_Flatty]

Hi Raiders,

I’ve just got back from a family holiday from the Gold Coast and Brisbane. This wasn’t a dedicated fishing trip, but it went without saying that I would wet a line at several points along the way. I’m good (perhaps too good) at getting in an opportunistic trip. I had a small belt bag packed with a few jigheads, hooks, sinkers and a few plastics, along with a light telescopic outfit, with 4lb braid and 10lb leader to cover my bases.

Our first stop was Burleigh Heads, where I had strategically booked in a waterfront AirBnb on a canal. The first two mornings I threw a 75mm Hurricane Sprat around for nought. Frustratingly there were a couple of bust ups that were happening on the canal, but apart from getting bothered a couple of times by the chasing fish, I didn’t get a single hookup.

Later in the afternoon, one of the permanent resident neighbours struck up a conversation with me. Lures weren’t really the go in that part of the canals, I might be better off with bait. So a quick trip to the local shops to get some size 4 baitholder hooks and some cheap white bread and I was set.

The next morning I rigged up the bait holder unweighted and threw out some bread. In quick succession I hooked two legal bream, which were immediately dispatched and iced down for a family lunch in Brisbane that afternoon.

The family loves a feed of fresh fish. That was all I needed, so I stopped fishing at that point.

Our weekend in Brisbane was filled with family gatherings and being taken to see the sights around Brisbane, so there were no opportunities to fish. That said, I did note some fishy looking flats in the Raby Bay/Wellington Point areas. Note for next time!

Back on the Gold Coast, we were staying in the Broadbeach area. Immediately I noticed some seriously fishy territory in the canal, all the way from The Star to Pacific Fair shopping centre. Mud flats, rocky territory, bridges, mangroves, it had it all. I definitely had to have a fish here!

However, we had a kid's activity at an art gallery (HoTA) to attend first. It was a pretty good event, and a quick session outside HoTA stopped me from becoming Little_Flatty_the_Grinch. You got to love the Gold Coast; the canals mean there's water - and therefore fish - everywhere! In fifteen mins of fishing, I managed a little Moses Perch on the Hurricane Sprat, which was promptly released:

That afternoon, I finally got my chance to fish the casino precinct. I set my timer for half an hour (as that is all I had allotted myself away from the family) and I tried all of the spots I earmarked for nought, moving up and down the canal like a madman. Nothing wanted to touch my lure! Not one to be beaten, I decided to set my timer for an extra ten minutes and explored a little beach under the lights of a Casino. At that point, a nice lady and a little boy also popped down to try their luck with some bait. I told them there had to be some fish there!

Sure enough, after a few casts. I came up tight to a 40-something flatty, which was released:

On the second floor of the building behind me, you might be able to see the faint glimmer of the pokies in the casino! Alas, this fish was all I had time for; it was getting dark and I had to take the family out to dinner. Making my way out to dinner, I found out that my fellow anglers had managed a nice bream before calling it quits for the evening.

Encouraged by this little success, I just had to get out the following morning. Up at the crack of 5am, I hit the canal with a venegance. In the first five casts, I managed a little flatty also released:

After that, there was an extended lull. I bush bashed my way to the canal at various points, casting at highly likely looking structure along the way, but again nothing took my lure.

Then, when fishing the structure under a bridge, I hooked something extremely powerful that tried its best to brick me. The little ABU Revo S screamed and my rod bent all the way to the reel seat. For a moment, I was at a loss as to what to do, but thankfully I came to my senses and started putting more pressure on the fish. As much as I could with 4lb braid and 10lb leader anyway. Thankfully, it was enough. As the fish came closer, it took one last dive for some nearby trees, but I was ready and managed to turn it once again and soon a nice trevally was at my feet. I managed to flop the 2kg or so of fish up the bank for a photo:

What a ripper! My first ever GT Bigeye I-don't-know-what-the-heck-it-is-tropical-trevally-species GT!*** Returned it to the water after a couple of photos.

This was where the fish came from:

 

I was pretty happy with that and called it a morning. On our way to the airport, we visited Tweed Heads and Coolangatta, and even though I was encouraged to fish, the gear didn't even come out of my luggage! I was that happy with the Trev!

Now I've been home for a few hours, de-holidaying (yuk), cooking, shopping and getting set up for the rest of the week at work, here I am typing this report! I had thought I had only caught dribs and drabs of fishing here and there, but looking over the photos and reflecting on the sessions make me realise I actually got quite a lot of time on the water. Happy days! Goes to show you don't have to allot 6-12 hours to get a decent amount of fishing...piecing together half an hour here, and half an hour there can add up to a lot.

Thanks for reading!

***ps. My first call was that the fish was a GT. Then a mate (a gun Townsville saltwater fly angler) called it for maybe a bigeye. Then my brains trust of 3 called it 1 for a bigeye and two for a GT! On closer inspection, I still think it could be a GT. @Blackfish - help! Here's another photo for more positive ID:

(now confirmed as a GT by @Blackfish and @dirvin21)

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Little_Flatty
Confirmed fish ID

[Yowie]

Looks like a few good days out when you can fit it in.

Not a trevally expert, however, it looks like a G.T.  A great effort on light gear in the location.

A few years ago, I was at a big shopping centre up that way (cannot remember the suburb, maybe Broadbeach) and was looking into the water near the food court. The water was full of bream, feeding on the bread and other scraps thrown into the water. Plenty of legals, and some good sized bream in there as well. 

The diners may have been upset if you dropped in a line and hauled up a few bream to be flapping about on their tables. 🤣  There were many fish in the water.

[XD351]

Awesome report and some great fish there ! Bet you wish you could catch trevalley like that at Meadowbank ! 

[big Neil]

A top report with some lovely fishy photos Mike. A chance that I MAY be able to head to the Coolangatta/Gold Coast area in the near future so your post is timely. Looks like a bit of fishing gear will be going on holiday too. Cheers, bn

[Blackfish]

Great report LF with a couple of more tropical species thrown in which are not seen at Meadowbank.
Also you could have called you post “ Under the Bright Lights” and I recon you had more success outside the Casino than in it to.

Yes I recon that’s a GT.

[bessell1955]

A great example of how to fit in fishing whilst on holidays, well done!

 

[Little_Flatty]

10 hours ago, Yowie said:

Looks like a few good days out when you can fit it in.

Not a trevally expert, however, it looks like a G.T.  A great effort on light gear in the location.

A few years ago, I was at a big shopping centre up that way (cannot remember the suburb, maybe Broadbeach) and was looking into the water near the food court. The water was full of bream, feeding on the bread and other scraps thrown into the water. Plenty of legals, and some good sized bream in there as well. 

The diners may have been upset if you dropped in a line and hauled up a few bream to be flapping about on their tables. 🤣  There were many fish in the water.

Certainly prime bream territory in those canals! If I didn’t have kids who wanted half the day in the pool, I’d probably be fishing while my wife shopped😎

4 hours ago, XD351 said:

Awesome report and some great fish there ! Bet you wish you could catch trevalley like that at Meadowbank ! 

Thanks Ian, I sure would love some GT action at Meadowbank! Never say never though, remember that I once caught a Barra at Meadowbank!

3 hours ago, big Neil said:

A top report with some lovely fishy photos Mike. A chance that I MAY be able to head to the Coolangatta/Gold Coast area in the near future so your post is timely. Looks like a bit of fishing gear will be going on holiday too. Cheers, bn

Sounds good Neil. Definitely bring the gear and go for a walk/drive scoping out likely territory.

1 hour ago, Blackfish said:

Great report LF with a couple of more tropical species thrown in which are not seen at Meadowbank.
Also you could have called you post “ Under the Bright Lights” and I recon you had more success outside the Casino than in it to.

Yes I recon that’s a GT.

Thanks for the ID @Blackfish. Always amazed where one can find fish.

39 minutes ago, bessell1955 said:

A great example of how to fit in fishing whilst on holidays, well done!

 

Thanks Bessell, it sure was fun.

[kantong]

fantastic report on being the opportunistic fisher. Trevs on light set up always fun. What is that travel rod you have and how do you pack it in the suitcase?

[Rebel]

Great holiday & top report.

Super photos.

Well done.

[Isaac Ct]

Good stuff LF, nice fish.

Well done.

[Little_Flatty]

59 minutes ago, kantong said:

fantastic report on being the opportunistic fisher. Trevs on light set up always fun. What is that travel rod you have and how do you pack it in the suitcase?

Thanks @kantong. The rod is a shimano maikuro 3-5kg telescopic. I just wrap it in clothes and throw it into my checked baggage (I’m terrible I know…). I think I might pick up another heavier one at some point. They are no loomis but are perfectly adequate for holiday fishing and to keep in the car.

3 minutes ago, Rebel said:

Great holiday & top report.

Super photos.

Well done.

Thanks Rebel

1 minute ago, Isaac Ct said:

Good stuff LF, nice fish.

Well done.

Thanks Isaac

[Larkin]

Some good fish Mike!

Good fun catching new species - love the trevs, bet they pulled hard!

[jenno64]

Great report Mike! Always good to take a travel rod and even better to get a few new species! That little GT would have gone hard:)

[dirvin21]

Some great fish there Mike 

Cracker of a Gt.... I'm 120% certain it's a GT

[Little_Flatty]

8 hours ago, Larkin said:

Some good fish Mike!

Good fun catching new species - love the trevs, bet they pulled hard!

Sure did pull hard Chris! Not used to fish that pull that hard! 🤣

7 hours ago, jenno64 said:

Great report Mike! Always good to take a travel rod and even better to get a few new species! That little GT would have gone hard:)

Thanks Rob. Love my travel rods, they open up so many opportunities for impromptu fishing.

20 minutes ago, dirvin21 said:

Some great fish there Mike 

Cracker of a Gt.... I'm 120% certain it's a GT

Thanks Dave, when you confirmed it, I was much more confident in the ID. Shame I didn't have the brag mat with me, I'd have better photos otherwise. It fought like nothing else I've caught before. Next time I'm up there, I'll need to catch a Bigeye and then a Jack!

[Pickles]

A great report Mike - what a blast to hook and land a tropical Trevally - great job.

[Little_Flatty]

Just now, Pickles said:

A great report Mike - what a blast to hook and land a tropical Trevally - great job.

Cheers Bob, was certainly a blast!

[Yowie]

10 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Certainly prime bream territory in those canals! If I didn’t have kids who wanted half the day in the pool, I’d probably be fishing while my wife shopped😎

 

I have never done that before, or had a swim in the surf either. 

[Bluebenbomb]

Well done, @Little_Flatty on managing to fit a few sessions during the holiday. Would love to catch a GT. Just wondering, what setup did you use in the report?

[Little_Flatty]

7 hours ago, Bluebenbomb said:

Well done, @Little_Flatty on managing to fit a few sessions during the holiday. Would love to catch a GT. Just wondering, what setup did you use in the report?

Hey Ben, I used a shimano maikuro telescopic rod 3-5kg coupled with an ABU Revo S 20. 4lb Berkeley X9 braid with 10lb fluorocarbon leader. The braid obviously breaks at way more than 4lb.

This is one of my outfits I keep permanently in the car and it gets a fair bit more use than one would think, given I have a number of good outfits at my disposal while at home. The telescopic rod means I can keep it fully rigged, which means it is super quick to start fishing when an opportunity arises.

[Bluebenbomb]

3 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Hey Ben, I used a shimano maikuro telescopic rod 3-5kg coupled with an ABU Revo S 20. 4lb Berkeley X9 braid with 10lb fluorocarbon leader. The braid obviously breaks at way more than 4lb.

This is one of my outfits I keep permanently in the car and it gets a fair bit more use than one would think, given I have a number of good outfits at my disposal while at home. The telescopic rod means I can keep it fully rigged, which means it is super quick to start fishing when an opportunity arises.

Oh ok, thanks @Little_Flatty. I just wanted to get a good quality telescopic outfit for quick sessions to areas via my bike, which makes telescopic outfits very useful. Is the 3-5kg too heavy for throwing light plastics around?

[Little_Flatty]

6 minutes ago, Bluebenbomb said:

Oh ok, thanks @Little_Flatty. I just wanted to get a good quality telescopic outfit for quick sessions to areas via my bike, which makes telescopic outfits very useful. Is the 3-5kg too heavy for throwing light plastics around?

Hi Ben, It’s a tad too heavy for my ultralight luring but still perfectly workable. It’s not going to be the best for 1/32oz jigheads but 1/8oz and upwards will be fine. In any case I’ve started fishing bigger lures lately anyway so it’s fine. Being telescopic its action isn’t perfect but it still is fine. No complaints on its handling of the GT. I think these days we can be too perfectionist about our gear anyway. In the 90s when I started fishing with a vengeance we couldn’t dream of getting a telescopic rod this good; they were all rubbish back then!