Where have all the Bait fish gone?

[paulez2]

For the second time in as many weeks I have left completely empty handed after spending considerable time throwing a cast net from the pontoon adjacent to the boat ramp next to the southern end of Sundale bridge coming into the Gold Coast.

12 months ago I collected live bait from this same spot many many times and not once did I ever leave empty handed. (until the last 2 trips)

Has anybody got any ideas?

What's going on? Is it just one of those things or is there something else happening. A decline????????

It's a worrying sign.

Maybe I am jumping the gun too soon.

I was still able to find bait fish else where, just not at this spot.

[SWANY22]

maybe the wrong tide always clean up on low tide.but have to work my but of on high tide

[paulez2]

When I used to go 12 months back I have been all tides. I must admit there were times I didn't get anything for half an hour but I eventually got at least something. I won't give up. I'll keep you posted how I go next trip.

[gonecasting]

Hi,

I live in England. I have read several articles about Australia, they suggest fish might be moving further down the coasts as the water temps rise.

I am ashamed to say I am not very hot when it comes to the geography of Australia, so I am not sure if this idea might apply.

Hope this helps

[kingtin]

Hi,

I live in England.

It's a pity eh?

Welcome to the site, gonecasting. I've done a fair bit of that down your way at Dungeness.............when the cod were there, that is.

kev

[kingtin]

For the second time in as many weeks I have left completely empty handed after spending considerable time throwing a cast net from the pontoon adjacent to the boat ramp next to the southern end of Sundale bridge coming into the Gold Coast.

12 months ago I collected live bait from this same spot many many times and not once did I ever leave empty handed. (until the last 2 trips)

Has anybody got any ideas?

What's going on? Is it just one of those things or is there something else happening. A decline????????

It's a worrying sign.

Maybe I am jumping the gun too soon.

I was still able to find bait fish else where, just not at this spot.

Dunno mate, but it's the same up here. A couple of years ago, I could guarantee 10 litres of herring for an hours work on Shorncliffe jetty at any state of the tide. I would fill the freezer and that's be me set for months.

Nowadays it takes a couple of hours to get enough for one fishing session.

The same down the Pine...........the mullet are still there in numbers but the herring aren't.

There's also a big decline in size. I used to catch 'em big enough to fit on a gang 6/0 and they'd be sitting in the pocket of the cast net. Nowadays they're all gill netted and would likely fit a gang 2/0 at the most. Hopefully it's due to the dry and we'll get 'em back when the wets come..........if they come

kev

[gonecasting]

Hi Kev,

Only Dabs, Whiting, Bass, Dog fish and a few sole at Dungeness these days.

The Cod are few and far between.

Interestingly the spring run of Codling has been very good further up the country in Suffolk this year.

Might be back to water temp again as Suffolk is further North!

[kingtin]

Hi Kev,

Only Dabs, Whiting, Bass, Dog fish and a few sole at Dungeness these days.

The Cod are few and far between.

Interestingly the spring run of Codling has been very good further up the country in Suffolk this year.

Might be back to water temp again as Suffolk is further North!

I'd give my right arm for a taste of dabs mate..........lovely and sweet. I think Aussie whiting are the nearest things to 'em but they ain't nothing like UK whiting.

I doubt that the spring run will ever be the same again mate, thanks to Common Market fishery policy The UK gov't buys back all the pro licences and then lets foreign trawlers into the waters............good one!............NOT! Oooops! sorry! They're not foreign are they? they're your European brothers

I'm hoping to pay my fist visit back in 13 yrs next year, and it'll be interesting to see how my old haunts fish, (Fylde Coast & West Coast of Scotland) compared to how they used to. Not that I want to pay a visit, but the kids need to take a look at their heritage...........the deckie reckons!

kev

[Marlin_Mike]

Plenty of bait fish off the Raby Bay ramp. Mainly poddy mullet but alot of herring still.

Mike

[geoff72]

have no troubles getting livies around the goldy,try the creeks and cannals.

[paulez2]

It's true, they are getting harder to find. I was at my usual spot this morning. First cast and I totally filled the net (with mainly gilled Herring) and then nothing.

I got lucky with 1 cast, but then they just dissapeared.

At least I finally found them again.

[Joshstarrr]

I had a spot in the coombabah creek (end of turana st), where up untill 8months ago was filled with them. Would only need 2 casts with the net to bag enough for a big session... but they are now gone I can only assume it was water temp?

Either way theyre gone and I'm stuck using dead bait
anyone know where on the gold coast I can get some herring??
Every spot Ive tried has NONE.
Runaway bay bridges, none.
Coombabah Creek, none.
Coomera River, none.
HELP!!

[FNQCairns]

They will be back, even 20 years ago the story was the same. When the water heats up and lower order productivity increases so will the bait fish.

Just gotta wait I am afraid.

cheers fnq

[the gecko]

Im getting herring ok in the coomera, but not much mullet. Sundale bridge is just hit and miss, but Ive done OK there last summer in warm water.

I hear we need more SE winds to blow the plankton closer to shore. As weve had a bit of SE lately, they might be there today?

Andrew

[loophole]

tried just on sunrise sat morn at sundale boat ramp 25mins of casting got me

a few unidentified
a small pike
a cuttle fish (which turned my live well black!)
and a biddy are they ? not sure like a cross betwen a herring and a bream?

but i no what ur mean about not consistant a year ago 1 cast got me 30-40 herring and yeah most were gill raked