October provides us with great fishing weather as the days are longer and the water temperature is on the rise.
The small tides early this month will be a great opportunity to target mulloway with big livies at the deep water off Swan Bay, Crusoe Island, Flat Rock, Giants Grave and Marks Rocks in the river. Some of the local anglers have had great success jigging large 6-8” soft plastics with 1-2oz jigheads in the deep water off Swan Bay at the slack of the tide when the current is at its slowest.
Mangrove jack and estuary cod will become more active and be on the chew with the warmer waters in any spot with a decent snag, fallen tree or rock wall. Trolling rattling lures close to the snags or presenting a small live mullet or herring will often tempt these great fighting fish to strike.
There should be some decent-sized bream around the 30cm mark getting around, but nothing to write home about. Many are well undersized and probably what has been knocking your bait off all day. If you’d just like to have fun, then down size your hook and the size bait you’re using, and you’ll find your hook up rate on these small bream will increase. Try all the usual hot spots for bream, which are the dead trees at the bottom of North Straddie, Kalinga Bank, the Stockyards, Flat Rock and Little Rocky Point.
It’s all about tailor at this time of year, with some big hauls coming from the surf beaches of both North and South Stradbroke. Most are being caught on pillies or 40-65g metal slugs on the run-in tide. A few small schools have come inside chasing whitebait and can be seen chopping on the surface. The bait they are chasing is quite small, so for better results, use small pillies or whitebait when bait fishing, or 10-20g slugs when using lures. The best time to try is early in the morning when the weather is at its calmest.
Plenty of flatties are showing for those casting plastics around Tipplers Island and the Pandannus weed banks at the bottom of the tide. Try to target weedy patches where you can see the water draining off a bank and more than likely there will be a flatty lying in wait. If you prefer trolling, then the flats across from Rocky Point have been producing some good fish near the top of the tide.
Whiting catches start to pick at this time of year, and there will be some elbow slappers out there if you are willing to be patient and put in the hard yards. They like a fast moving tide as they forage for food on the bottom, so its always a good idea to move your bait around if you aren’t getting any bites. Live blood and beach worms are simply the best baits but yabbies, prawns and squid will also do the job if no worms are available. This month the better spots will be the Gold Bank, behind Diner Island, the back of Tabby Tabby, the Never Fail Islands and near Slipping Sands.
Muddies and sandies have also fired up with the recent rains, so don’t forget your pots and dillies on your next trip out. Try to nudge deeper into the mangroves at the high tide when you drop your pots, as this area has been the best. Fish frames or off meat have been the better baits. Sandies have been taken along the edges of channels such as Jacobs Well Channel, Tiger Mullet, north Canaipa and up near the Powerlines, Redland Bay Channel and the mouth of the Logan.
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