G’day folks we hope you are all well and been out there catching a feed.
A little late we know but thought we should let everyone know that the winner of the September $500 Golden Ticket was Jonathan Mallard. Jon came in and picked up some safety gear a new Live Fibre combo for his son & a few other bits and pieces with his winnings. Well done mate and thank you for your support!
She’s been a hot one the last couple of weeks that’s for sure and summer is truly on the way.
With the warmer water temps, we have seen the Mangrove Jack on the bite. There have been some great catches of solid fish in our local creeks getting up into the mid 50’s. Jacks are a great table fish but many of our local anglers choose to catch and release the highly prized and tough fighting fish. There is plenty of bycatch when chasing Jacks so there is always an option for a feed of Bream, Grunter, and Cod, AKA Estuary Trout I like to call them. Do not forget that it is closed season for Barra now, so if you are lucky enough to hook a Barra it must go back. Closed season is from the 1st of September to the 1st of February.
A good place to start looking for Jacks would be creeks that have deep gutters lined with mangroves or a nice hole with a bit of structure, like a rock bar & fringing Mangroves. Small live bait, Poddy Mullet or Herring will work well but fresh cut Mullet strips have been working well for most anglers lately. Rigged on either a suicide hook or a circle hook your choice. But if you opt for a circle hook don’t forget to not strike on the initial bite. Try to go as light as you can with your line, leader & sinker will see your hook up rate increase.
The flats either side of the mouth of Snapper & Norman Point have been producing some good catches of Whiting on Worm & Yabbies along with some nice Flathead.
The Kingfish seem to have left The Bay now but if you are chasing a feed of Mackerel Big Mick & The Bluff has again been producing some nice fish on trolled lures. Throwing poppers will also see you get stuck into a few big Queenfish.
The Charter Boats getting offshore, when the weather has played the game have had some pretty happy customers the last month. Red Emperor have been a welcome catch and there are plenty of Tuskfish, Hussar, Moses, Cods & AJ’s in the mix.
Competition time!! We are running our Christmas Flathead Fishing Comp for the month of December 2019. There are three prizes up for grabs; Largest Fish, Mystery Length. & Lucky Registration Number. Winners will be announced in early January 2020. Prizes consist of Loads of Fishing Gear and The Chandlery Bait & Tackle store credit vouchers. A total prize pool of over $500!
The comp is open to all ages.
The rules are simple.
1. Register (Free) in store and collect your comp number tag.
2. This is a catch and release photo competition, Flathead only.
3. Photograph your Flathead on a brag mat to show the fish length, with your comp number tag at the head of the fish.
4. Fish can be entered at any length.
5. You can fish anywhere from Mullen Creek Cooloola Cove to Urangan Pier Harvey Bay.
6. Post your photos on our Facebook page, email or bring them in store for the boys to get a copy.
7. Fish entered the competition will be judged on the “Time of Entry” NOT time of capture. Note: This is to distinguish a winner in the event of a tie. In the event of a tie the earliest entry will be the winner. So, make sure to enter your photo ASAP
We would like to wish everyone a safe & very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year and hope to see you in store over the festive season
Find us at the Tin Can Bay Marina, Emperor St for all your boating and fishing needs.
Cheers & Tight Lines
Chris
