Page 60 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing mag

Cold water temperatures and hot fishing action
* from P58
past the bridges to hang
has been chock a block full.
stand why it messes with them.
the boat, being vented and released.
targeting school mack- erel haven’t had to work too hard to put a feed in the boat.
on the rocks chasing the warmth.
I have seen a few im- pressive 2kg specimens from the Port Alma re- gion.
There were a few comments regarding wind from the land be- ing an unnatural wind, and other comments that a westerly wind will push bait further out to sea.
We didn’t put a keeper in the boat until almost midday when the wind started to shift south.
The good old floating pillie technique while you’re bashing the bot- tom has been very ef- fective.
Low tide around mid- day will heat those rocks well, so late af- ternoon might be the best option.
Recently, an inter- esting topic came up on our Facebook group Fishing Central Queensland, ‘fishing during westerly wind’.
We had a short bite window on top of the tide where we got a nice red emperor, a few trout, sweetlip and a cracker goldband jobfish.
Even heavily fished places such as the Pin- nacles, which is around 40km north of Keppel Bay Marina, have been turning over some top school mackerel action.
Mud crabs have slowed, which is typi- cal for this time of year.
It most certainly does affect the fish.
What was really inter- esting were the number of anglers who said a northerly land breeze in South Australia and an easterly in Western Australia have the same effect that our westerly wind does.
A number of boats headed out a few days before we did and did really well.
Fishers that have been putting in the hard yards have still been getting a few and what they have been getting
There’re plenty of the- ories, but I’m not sure we’ll ever truly under-
Most of those fishos scored their fish late af- ternoon after the wind had dropped.
Rumour has it that bigger spanish macker- el have been picking off smaller macks as well.
Barramundi and a few king threadfin stacked on a drop-off in the Fitzroy River spotted on a Humminbird Helix G3N.
Mud crabs are in prime condition.
The author with a solid Fitzroy River winter barramundi. Even when the tem- perature drops they still have to feed.
Page 60 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020
A very impressive session.
If you’re heading past a wreck, make sure you have a drop.
Just remember that winter is the time of year we’ll experience a heap of westerly wind, so a little extra thinking around bite times and trip planning would be a good idea.
My good mate Dan Baker anchored on a patch right on dark and put 21 large-mouth nannygai in the Esky in an hour.
Recently the local wrecks both north and south have been on fire, producing a large list of different species.
We recently had the pleasure of fishing the closer ground about 40-60km offshore from Yeppoon.
I saw a few of the pho- tos and it was bloody madness.
Mackerel, amberjack, grunter, fingermark, nannygai, trout and the list goes on.
Southwesterly wind was forecast.
Tiger squid have been about, but reports are patchy.
Fishing pressured ar- eas similar to wrecks will occasionally need a different approach to get quality fish on deck.
I have fished these conditions before so made the effort to get fresh bait and also live bait.
Earlier in the year we had a couple of unbe- lievable sessions when the water was warm.
Anchoring and send- ing down a paternos- ter of squid and pillie might get you a few fish, but how about if you tried something like a slow pitch jig or maybe a Zerek Live Shrimp with an ounce jig head?
We had a moderate 10-15 knot southwester- ly blowing most of the morning.
July is generally a very reliable month for them.
We struggled big time and only a few hefty gold spot cod reached
The best thing about winter tiger squid is the size.
For summer squid- ding I generally put two thirds straight into the bait packet because there’re heaps of small squid around.
A little thinking out- side the square can of- ten be all it takes.
During winter the big breeders will show up.
Well, I’m hoping we get 5-knot variable wind that winter is sup- posed to be good for.
A good number of the larger squid will be full of eggs.
My last offshore trip certainly didn’t scratch the itch.
It’s always a great idea to limit your kill and not kill your limit.
I’ve got a score to set- tle with some of the Cap Coast red popu- lation.
Mackerel have been on the chew in close when the bay clears, and on inshore grounds.
Stay safe, fish hard and I’ll catch you next month.
Most anglers who have been specifically
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