Lots of fishing not much catching
This week has seen me spend a heap of time on the water without much to show for it unfortunately. My usual spots and techniques that have worked in the past have let me down to the point that even after 5 trips I can't show one decent keeper. I have mainly targeted barramundi and pelagics and even resorted to chasing smaller prey that did show promise only to be interrupted just when things were heating up.
Saturday 3rd Oct Victor Creek
Made for my favourite fishing location of Victor Creek for an afternoon barra fishing session and was joined by Brownie in his revo also wanting to get amongst it. The tide was the outgoing and we fished until an hour or so after it had turned. It wasn't feasible to get to my prime position as the wind was making it hard as well as the steady procession of incoming boats zooming past where we wanted to fish.
To avoid the boats we went up stream to try our luck and we both tried various lures and techniques prowling the creek and environs without as much as a touch. Between us we used about a dozen different lures for top, bottom and middle water, and I tried various retrieves fast, slow, twitching, jigging all for nothing. The fact that we didn't even get the usual pesky little rock cods really was strange and large bait schools were left unmolested by predators.
Monday 4th Oct Victor Creek/Newry Islands
Missed my Sunday session due to copping a migraine late Saturday night, so after spending most of that day in bed I was up early to catch the last of the outgoing tide. I was early but not early enough so had to fight the fast flowing incoming tide as I cast lures in the likely spots that could be holding barra. I did hook a small barracuda that did some nice acrobatics before self releasing yak side, it was good to not have to deal with that toothy critter.
When I had enough of this it was time to head out towards the island chasing pelagics in the channels and around the headlands without success. Moving further out I made my way around Outer Newry Island trolling my favourite rapala lure the CD11 in Qantas colours (redhead) that got hit by a couple of bigger barracuda but neither stayed hook for very long, throwing the lure by leaping about. I was also casting a stickbait, 'walk the dog' around the rocks and bommies without so much as a follow or a hit. The wind that was non existent early on was building steadily and by the time I was getting close to the ramp was quite strong.
Tuesday 5th Pioneer River
I had to get some chores done and bills paid this morning and was on the river just before lunch. The wind was very strong and I had the AI in full sailing mode ready to head across to Flat and Round Top Islands, making for the mouth on a very fast outgoing tide I saw some birds working and made a bee line for them. As I got closer I could start to see smaller fish busting up and once I arrived there were larger herring feeding on small fry with some small trevally thrown into the mix. I trolled lures through and around as well as cast various soft plastics and metal slices into the fray for a good ½ hour or so without a hook up. The wind was really howling now and going against the fast flowing tide it created large steep waves that made crossing the sand bar to get out a hazardous exercise. I remained in the mouth area trolling rather than going to the islands and had a heap of fun catching the waves and generally putting the AI through it's paces in trying conditions. It took a moment of lost concentration for me to nearly tip the AI when I got side on the a big wave the lifted the yak almost vertical before I could release the sail and let the wave pass underneath me.
Wednesday 6th Oct Newry Islands
Shark Day, catching the last of the outgoing tide at 5.30 am in very still conditions I had to pedal the AI again in sailing mode out through the channels with the plan to head out wide. I did cast around trying for a barra but again this was a fruitless exercise so made steady progress out towards to open ocean. Heading past the islands the wind started to pick up and soon I was able to stop pedalling and could rely on the wind to propel me forward. Today I went straight past the islands and went a couple of kms off shore only to have the wind slowly die down to a mere breath of breeze.
This is when I encountered the shark and the details of the rest of this trip are in that article.
Thursday 7th Oct Pioneer River
After my dismal efforts so far Josh recommended I try something different, so I went back to basics chasing flatties at spot X on the river. Getting on the water to catch the last of the outgoing tide I cast and trolled unsuccessfully till the tide turned then made my way on to the sand flats. The wind was now getting quite strong and I drifted into the channels that were fast filling with the rush of the incoming tide. I let the flow push me until I found a suitable position and beached the yak on a sand bar that allowed me to cast into one channel, bring the lure across the flats and into another channel. There were a heap of stingrays from dinner plate size to some real monsters the one in the pic was of average size, some skittered way at great haste but others didn't mind the yak and stayed around allowing me to get a few nice photos.
Using a smaller minnow type lure I was immediately rewarded with 2 small flathead, however the wind kept increasing and I could no longer get the distance needed. I changed to a jighead and used a soft plastic to get where it needed to be and hooked a decent sized flatty only to lose him close to the yak. A couple more casts and the jig wasn't heavy enough as the wind was now very strong, so I went to a vibe blade that I could cast like a rocket. At this point a school of herring appeared so thick they made the water look black and with them the usual suspects of trevally and queenfish were also present. First cast and I was on, a ½ metre or so queenfish burst from the water tailwalking for a few metres before getting off the lure. Checking the lure I saw that the rear trebles had been straightened, so swapped the lure over to one that I had fitted with heavy duty trebles.
I was ready to cast when the phone rang, now usually I would ignore it but I had just completed a heap of work for an important client and when I saw their number I answered it. On the other end was the PA to the director hassling me about the work I hadn't completed, work which I had finished off at 12.30am that morning. I explained that in fact the work had been done and they should check the system again, to which they replied 'no it hadn't'. I explained that I was waiting for an important customers ie Mr Flat and Mrs Queen but that didn't go down well. Seeing that this client generates a significant amount of business for me I made the prudent decision to pull the pin and get in front of a computer to see WTF was going on.
At this stage of course there is a ton of activity infront of me that I considered for a moment before heading into fast flowing tide and a strong head wind. Even though I was only about 1k from the ramp it still took 25 minutes of hard pedalling to get back. As I was tightening the SPT straps on the yak the call comes through that there was a glitch in the system and yes my work had been and sorry for the inconvenience. I stood there contemplating what to do, should I stay or should I go and made the decision to stay on dry land and visit a mate in town that makes great coffee instead. Where: Mackay: Pioneer River, Victor Creek & Newry Islands When: Saturday 3rd - 7th October Conditions: Still early through to very strong winds later Moon: Full – Waning Gibbous |
Trip Reports 
