Fishin’ Maggie
With great forward planning Council are closing the Horseshoe Bay carpark accros the road from the boatramp to start working on the new toilet Block. Yes right in the middle of the holidays when it is being used flat out. Good Planning as usual.
We have hundreds of sifnatires now to put pressure on council to keep Picnic Bay Boat Ramp, thank you all. The loss of any services in a small community should be by full consultation with ALL interested parties.
Crazy season is here and the evidence is everywhere. Cars parked sideways in parking bays, cars on wrong sides os the road on Horseshoe Bay hill, and my favourite, a car parked on the boatramp so the kids can fish in the A/C comfort because its too hot. On the water we are seeing freen zone fishing, like Geofrey Bay last week and Radical on the weekend. Please come and get a Green Zone Map. Fis zize limits can be downloaded on the Playstore or App store and is called QLP fishing and is a free App.
The offshore fishing at the moment is second to none with Spaniards in massive numbers out wide. In between the Spannys, are massive lure stealing freight trains to big to stop. They could be big Tuna, and also present are massive schools of Cobia. Cobia are great fun powerhouse fish and great eating. Add the big Coral Trout and hungry Nanagai and you have the perfect time to go deep. Top Fishing Reefs are Keeper, Arab and Lodestone.
Island fishing on the other hand take some finesse, fish are everywhere, you just have to work for them. This week I want to focus on the often underfished Nelly Bay.
The harbor rock wall external affords relaxed fishing for Coral Trout, Estuary and Gold Spot Cod species, Trevally, Queenies, Flathead, Sharks and many reef species. Try to float a line or use a paternoster style rig to fish (sinker on the bottom. Favorite baits are Pilchard, Poddy Mullet, Mullet fillet, Squid and Prawn.
Soft Plastics are a winner here, light and floated across the top of the coral Bommies and rubble. Also use 20 gram Twistie Chrome and Gold. Shallow suspending Divers in blue and gold go well in the early evening as the fish exit their shelter to start feeding.
Nelly Bay Beach is very shallow and rubble strewn, so fishing at high tide will usually get the best results. Coral reef fish Queenies, GT’s and reef sharks are most commonly caught in the middle section. Bartail Flathead, Whiting, Trevally are common on the Harbor end whilst reef fish, Bream, Dart and more Trevally are caught at the Base end. Favourite baits are Poddy Mullet, Mullet fillet, Squid and peeled Prawn. Top Lures are mainly Halco Twisties and large soft plastics fast retrieved.
In Nelly Bay Harbour you are not permitted to fish on Marina side on walkways or pontoons at any time or around the ferry area during operational times. You can fish in many other places such as the public boat ramp, bridge and the southern beach, plus rock walls and Gustav creek. These are all top fishing in the right tides and times. As a safe place the harbour has a huge range of juvenile fish plus bigger predator fish sweeping through. Also present are Trevally, Queenies, Tarpon, Flathead, Cod, and Mangrove Jack. Smaller fish schools include Dart, Bream, Silver Javelin, Emperor and many Barracuda’s. The harbour is a good place for kids on windy days. Both sides of the public launching ramp are great kid fishing spots, with rocks holding hundreds of juvenile species. Favourite baits are pilchard, squid and especially small and large prawn. Soft plastics and small Halco’s are great, blue, gold and caviar. Night fishing with Prawns, Ballista LED lures and squid Jigs can score prize Mangrove Jack, massive cod and our northern squid, not huge but very tasty. Last week we say a visit of dozens of huge blue Salmon, who came in for breeding purposes. Quite the spectacle.
When the winds come up again, as always head to the Jetty.
Happy Holidays.
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