G’day Crew,
Hope you have all been staying dry the last few weeks with the downpours we’ve been having. But honestly how good has this rain been, good for the sea and great for the land, bring it on!! On the topic of rain didn’t TCB cop a proper washdown at the start of the month 350mm+ in the space of a couple of days and then there was follow up rain for the rest of the month. Now that the creeks have received a good flushing out things should start to fire up again.
Rain hail or shine the Mangrove Jacks have been on the chew and the local Jack fishos are saying this is one of the best years they have seen in the last four or five. Fresh Mullet strips and smaller live bait seem to be the key for most anglers in the dirty water. We have seen some good fish coming from the heavy structure in Snapper Creek, Teebar & of course Kauri has also been producing. As I write this there are still a couple of weeks of fishing left in our 2020 Mangrove Jack Fishing Competition. The comp is in full swing and competitors have until midday the 29th of February to enter fish. Most of the anglers have been able to upgrade their bag quickly and get extra points. The competition for top spot is close at the moment and looks like it’ll be won on time of fish registration. So stay tuned to find out who takes out the comp.
Those who did braved the weather got stuck into a few and not just Jacks. Up the creeks we have seen an explosion of small Poddies & Gar getting around and this is a welcome sight. Cod and Bream seem to have been around in good numbers and sizes. Grunter have still been on the menu for most Fishos and the better catches have come from fishing the evening tides, with Squid baits working the best.
February has seen the Crabs getting flushed out too. Plenty of customers have reported good catches of Bucks, the flats and the drop-offs have been the places to catch a feed. Fresh bait and a good soak over a tide is the go. Mitch got out in the middle of the down pour with a couple of mates and managed to get a good feed over a few days at the start of the month.
Don’t forget that the bag limit changed for Muddies on the 1st of September 2019 and is now 7 per person or 14 per boat with two or more people on board. In the coming weeks we are due a run of Prawns and the rain will have only helped the cause. Sounding around the deeper water should see you come up trumps in places like Browns. We did get a few reports of some nice Prawns coming out of Crab Creek in the middle of the month.
The end of January and the start of February saw the offshore fishing producing the goods. There were some ripper Snapper around, in good numbers and good sizes. Most of the Snapper that have been getting caught have been well over the 800mm mark.
The charter guys also found some quality Reds not too far from home mixed in with the Snapper. Good catches of Tuskies, Pearlies, Red Throat & Spangled Emperor, Cobia, AJs & Spanish kept the rods buckled.
Schools of small Tuna have been popping up everywhere out wide so it would pay to have a Halco Twisty rigged and ready on a 20lb spin outfit. I am a big fan of retro fitting a single hook off the back instead of trebles. I find the hook up rate higher and if you are releasing the fish, a little more humane and quicker to get out of the fish and yourself, if you’re that unlucky…
That’s about it for now Crew so till next time tight lines and we will see you on the water or in the shop.
Find us at the Tin Can Bay Marina, Emperor St for all your boating and fishing needs.
Cheers & Tight Lines
Chris
