So, how did you go taking your kids or grandkids out for a bit of a fish over the school holidays? With bad weather and strong northerly winds, the Brisbane River turned out to be the best option for fishing.
The freshwater had flushed schools of small prawns out to a number of structures along the Pinkenba side of the Brisbane River. Those anglers that ventured out in the wind and the rain all got a respectable feed of squire and bream.
The best bait was whole green prawns on a 3/0 hook casting around pylons, walls and any structure that holds live bait. We don’t use a sinker when using whole prawns, but if we use yabbies we use a small sinker like a 00 sinker on top of the hooks.
Squire are small snapper and as such they have a bag limit of four, a boat limit of eight, a limit of one over 70cm and a size limit of 35cm.
Bream have a size limit of 25cm with a bag limit of 30. I’ve always found the best time to fish the Brisbane River is March, especially if fishing the old sunken wall. Check out the five squire and three bream that Nathan Perkins and his son Ted caught off Pinkenba (pictured).
There has also been good whiting caught in Hayes Inlet and the Pine River. There were a number of whiting more than 40cm long caught in Hayes Inlet during the school holidays. Next time you drive over the bridge, look towards the mouth of Mullet Creek and you will see a number of pelicans there. They are feeding on schools of whiting fingerlings.
This is also why there are so many flathead in the inlet and the odd tailor in winter. For those who ventured north for the school holidays, there were whiting all the way up the coast.
This is why Redcliffe City Amateur Anglers has now made all trips other than S.Q.A.F.C.A. trips, ‘go as you please’ trips from Double Island Point to the Nerang River.
This GAUP boundary is regarded as the best fishery in Australia with a large diverse number of species in this boundary.
This also helps with Queensland Fisheries possession limits and members who may have a 4WD and not a boat and vice versa. Ten-year-old Liam Coffey from Narangba proves this with the cod he caught at Noosa North Shore whilst on school holidays (pictured).
I’ve had a number of phone calls about the planned closures of commercial fishing in the Great Barrier Marine Park. I can tell you that UNESCO and the federal government put pressure on the state government to implement this closure as the federal government overrides the state government.
The Queensland Government has scientific research that states fishing has minimal impact on the health of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
The bulk of the damage happening to the reef comes from runoff from farms during flooding. I spoke to a number of commercial fishermen and most are reasonably happy with the $160 million on the table for the buyback of licences.
The cost of fuel and maintenance on equipment is so much that it is very expensive to be a commercial fisherman. Even here in Moreton Bay, a trawler can use 300 litres of fuel to trawl for prawns over a number of days.
The freight truck on the MICAT is $1250 over to Moreton Island and back and there is also a delivery charge on top of that for large eskies full of ice. Most commercial fishermen I know average the age of 60 and over so most are approaching retirement age.
The big news is that we have just released the dates for the 2024 Moreton Island Classic. The dates are 28-31 August at the Bulwer Fire Brigade, Moreton Island. Follow on Facebook by searching for Moreton Island Fishing Classic.
Don’t forget Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday, 3 March.
Stay warm and safe out on the water.
Meade Murphy
Publicity Officer
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