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Floods have fired up the fish
  |  First Published: May 2017



The floods that caused so much damage in South East Queensland mainly flooded the Albert and Logan rivers. These two rivers feed directly into the southern bay and estuaries that make up the Jumpinpin area.

The flooding was terrible for many people, but there is an upside; there has been a huge influx of freshwater into the system, which will only help to fire up the fishing as it did after the 2011 floods. That turned out to be one of the best fishing years we’ve ever had and this will be no exception.

Expect mud crabs to be about in good numbers from the Logan River all the way north to Redland Bay and south to Cabbage Tree Point. Run your pots along the edges and drop-offs near the mangroves in these areas and you’ll be sure to get a few quality bucks.

Bream will be the main species that make up most fishers’ catches at this time of year. While they are able to be caught all year round, you’ll notice that there are a lot more quality fish showing up as the water temperature cools off. Try fishing at the top of the tide along Kalinga Bank, the deep hole off NE Crusoe Island, Short Island, Tipplers Island, the beach off South Straddie, the Powerlines and the north wall of the Seaway. The best baits to try are prawns, yabbies, herring, whitebait, chicken, mullet gut and flesh baits.

You can expect the flathead catches to pick up this month, as they have been very quiet for the first part of the year. Now that the water has started to clean up the flatties will fire. I’ve caught flatties on plastics using cast and retrieve techniques, twitching them along the bottom to imitate an injured baitfish. You can also drift using a lifting action straight up and down to look like a rising baitfish or try the laziest method – just stick the rod in the holder and drag a hardbodied lure around the shallows. You’ll be surprised how many flathead you can catch in a day.

If bait fishing is your go, live mullet and herring are the best, followed by prawns, pillies and whitebait. You’ll find good lizards at the last of the run-out tide when banks start to get exposed and drains appear where they lie in wait for an easy meal to come off those draining banks. Try from Kalinga Bank to the bar, the Stockyards, west of Short Island in the shallows, Cobby Passage, across from Slipping Sands and the mouth of the Logan.

Decent whiting should be available from the Green Bank, the Bedrooms, Tiger Mullet Channel, Tabby Tabby, Tipplers and the Never Fail Islands. Stick with live bloodworms, beach worms and yabbies as bait, or small peeled prawns or squid.

Tailor have shown up finally, but still not in the numbers of previous years. If they aren’t schooling up on the surface and busting up the schools of white bait, a few fishos have had success dropping pillies to the bottom and slowly retrieving their bait through the water column in the deep water just before the breakers of the Pin.

Another good method when bait fishing for bream or whiting is to throw an unweighted pilchard way out the back away from your other lines and let it sit just under the surface. I’ve had great success doing this and there is nothing like a feed of fresh tailor.

• Thanks for all your reports and keep those fish coming in. If you’d like any advice or up to date fishing information drop us a line at Gem Bait & Tackle on (07) 3287 3868 or email --e-mail address hidden--

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