Page 76 - BNB Fishing mag | May 2020

Changing of the seasons on Cap Coast
* from P74
fore I finally got crunched on a Zerek Live
fight. The feeling you get when metallic chrome is laying on the deck is pure satis- faction. It’s an ongoing obsession once you land your first.
then we started to get them again in the main channels by running them along the shallow side in front of the drains.
Mullet in white and chartreuse (MM).
I was always told dark colours are better for dirty water, but on this day they wer- en’t. A good lesson to keep your options
The run-off flood water is still running all the way through the Fitzroy. The Casu- arina cut-through would be worth a look because it’s starting to clean up.
It pays to move your pots around and think about where each pot is placed. By doing this, you will crack patterns a lot quicker.
open.
A nice Fitzroy run-off barra of 85cm
If we don’t get any more run-off rain, Port Almawillbeagoodspottoo.TheConnors area will clear and you should be able to secure a feed of fingermark from the rock bars using live baits such as mullet.
Coorooman has been producing nice fish, with a variety gracing the deck of most boats. Fingermark have been caught in numbers on the rock bars.
soon hit the deck. Hours and hours of searching and persistence had finally paid off. It makes it all worthwhile when you finally get that bite.
The rock bars right beside the ramp are a good place to start. Just observe the ‘no anchoring’ signs around the pipeline. Big barra have been caught here too.
I persisted in this area for another hour or so, going through multiple lure changes. I got back around to the same Zerek Live Mullet and it was once again crunched on the slow roll.
Vibration lures jigged on deep bommies with bait and fish holding on them will present another go-to technique. I have heard reports that Reidys and Inkermen creeks (head right from the Port Alma ramp) have had good water clarity during the neap tides.
With cooling water temperatures, blue salmon will start to move in big numbers. I haven’t heard too many reports yet but they shouldn’t be far away.
I think that’s why barra are so addictive – problem solving and trying to get them to bite that lure. The bite is exhilarating too, with a big thump usually rumbling down the rod.
Barra and king threadfin salmon are wor- thy targets through this area. Make sure you take the crab pots with you because the reports have been the best in this area out of the entire net-free zone.
In my opinion, May is one of the best months to head offshore. Going back through many years of notes shows May has been a consistent month when heading wide.
They also jump and put up an amazing
If you’re chasing crab pot bait, Keppel Bay Marina and Glenmore Seafoods gen- erally have fish frames for sale. However, if you’re a bit time poor, just grab a few whole mullet or mullet heads from the ser- vo, as they work almost as well.
The weather for offshore hasn’t been great, as the southeasterly wind just keeps blowing. Only a few quick opportunities have enabled boaties to slip out between the high-pressure systems.
Coorooman Creek just outside Emu Park has recovered nicely from all the rain. The crabbing there has been a bit tough but the rewards are there for people who put in the time.
I spent a couple of days in Coorooman just before the movement restrictions came in. We got our boat limit of 14 muddies but it took us two days to get there.
Large-mouth nannygai has been the most consistent species filling Eskies over the past few months. Some absolute horses among them have gone over the metre mark – they certainly have the wow factor!
We were getting good numbers by leav- ing the pots right up in the drains on the mud flats just before dark on high tide and then coming back the next morning to collect them.
In my opinion, the nannies around the 50-60cm mark are the better eating ones. They have such sweet, white flesh. They would be up there with my favourite fish to eat at this size.
The majority of the limited reports have been really good, with most boats bringing home a cracking feed. Spanish mackerel have been in strong supply on the outer side of the Keppel Islands and also around Manifold, Flat and Perforated islands.
Young Quinn Warren caught and released this nice little mangrove jack.
The numbers dropped off doing this and
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A cracker run-off barra coming in at 122cm. Braden with his PB 90cm barra caught on a live mullet.
Page 76 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2020 www.bnb shing.com.au