Page 44 - BNB Fishing mag | May 2020

Allan with an 81cm estuary cod caught and released on live whiting during an evening charter before COVID-19.
Soft vibes such as this Samaki Vibelicious in White Bait colour are very effective on hun- gry flathead.
Tips for using vibes and lures
* from P42
Remember you need a drift that’s not
braid. Its thin diameter helps get your lures deeper easily, tied with an improved Albright knot to about a metre of 10lb flu- orocarbon leader.
ering fresh bait. Fresh is best, particularly when it comes to bait.
too fast or too slow otherwise the action doesn’t work. The right wind and tide an- gles are essential for this setup.
The best fishing times are a week leading up to bigger moons especially a full moon, and after rain. Bites are more frequent when there’s a tide running and you can drift quite quickly – but not too fast.
After heavy rain and flood, the fish tend to be closer to the river mouth and in deep- er holes. Lure colours depend on water clarity and weather.
In the right conditions, it’s possible to catch cricket score numbers of big and small fish, and a large range of estuary and reef species in the Broadwater in the cooler months, including heaps of squid. If you do find a patch of fish, anchor and cast then hop your lure along the bottom. Summary
Look for shelter from wind and out of the main tidal run if the drift is too swift. Fish- ing can be tough with the biggest moons, and neap tides. The drier the weather, the further up river fish will be.
Generally in clear water, more natural and clear colours work best, while char- treuse works well in clear water over a muddy bottom.
We use Shimano Sonic pro rods and Shimano Sienna FE 2500 reels with Yam- atoyo Famell PE Resin Sheller 0.6 10lb
If you don’t want to use lures, a cast net and yabby pump are very useful for gath-
In dirty water, flashy colours especially gold prove successful, and for darker wa- ter bright colours work well. Smear SAX Scent on your lures to encourage fish to attack aggressively.
The ideal fishing times are when there’s
* continued P45
An 87cm flathead hooked on an Ecogear ZX40 vibe in colour 440, the author’s all-time favour- ite lure and colour. See video of this fish being caught and released by Jan on her birthday.
Page 44 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2020
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