No Fish - Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast beaches

[Black N Blue]

Mullet netters have been on Goldie for months they fish mainly at night check out tire marks on the beach, its not surf life savers!!!!!

[rabbi]

The same thing will be going on here soon, if not already happening.
The south ballina beach gets a nice run of fish early in the season then its all over pretty quickly and most of winter its a fish desert.
Nothing like wiping out schools of spawning fish for a few bucks, then the river is next.
Soon as the winter cold sets in we should see QLD netters in the middle of the night hitting the Wardell Bridge area and wiping out the school jew.
Just great!!
The only time we get some fish off the beaches is when the weather is bad most of the winter and the sea is too rough for the beach haulers to launch, but there is always the Salmon to fall back on I guess, bugger!!

[bondy99]

Yeah, I know the buggers operate at night, I used to be a commercial fisherman many years ago. It's a wonder the Hollis Brothers are not chasing them, unless the old fella past away.

These beach haulers suppose to be after their target species and the other by-catch released. I'd like to know where and to whom they off load their tailor catches, never seen any tailor in the coops I had frequented.

Bondy

[nigelr]

pretty short-sighted isn't it? great fisheries' management all round......f'n unbelievable.

[bondy99]

pretty short-sighted isn't it? great fisheries' management all round......f'n unbelievable.

Yep, not wrong there.

[Heath]

Berty reckons there's heaps out there off the beaches???

[robvee]

Yip ... I concurr.
Dad and I fished 4 weeks solid over April/May when I took annual leave. Went from Talle Creek, all the way down to Wooyung over that period ...
Water looked awesome / gutters were superb, and in all our efforts we managed a handful of choppers, 2 flathead, a few bream and 4 whiting!!
Not a single Jewie bite, not a single tailor over 42cm !! I could not believe it!!!
I am accustomed to getting a feed more than 80% of the time from the beaches .... FRUSTATING !!!!

[bondy99]

Heath ,

Heaps off the beaches Burt says hey!!

Must be accessible by boat then, I've been to Wooyong beach many times and recieved sunburn and pruned feet and hands for my effort, obviously not there where I was or as the saying goes..."mate you should have been yesterday" I'd like a dollar each time I heard that said to me. I'd be a millionaire plus by now and still be out trying my luck on these tasty critters.

Robvee, all the big tailor must be either offshore or still further south making their pilgrim up to Fraser Island i.e. the netters don't get them first.

Bondy

[Maccawx]

Had a decent session on the dart at Kawana last Saturday afternoon (on beach worms). 1.5hrs and about 20 dart between 2 of us ranging from 15-35cm. Pretty fun session. Same time, same bait, same place the next afternoon produced less than a handful of dart and a small flatty.

[nigelr]

Bondy there was the odd good greenback starting to show down here on the rise of the last moon, since then the beach-haulers have been active and things have gone quiet.
Hopefully the waxing moon will bring the tailor back again, will be interesting to see. Water is still warm, 23 degrees or so.

[bondy99]

Nigeir,

Good to know that about the Greenback, would be nice to see and catch a couple. Haulers would no doubt spook the fish. You in Coffs Harbour?

Ocean water still warm, that's not too flash. I wonder what the ideal temp is for tailor.

Bondy

[Freeeedom]

I'm just back from a week fishing the beaches, headlands and rock walls at Iluka. Had one of the leanest weeks down there I've ever had. Tried a few times for tailor with baits and lures - never got a touch. Fished the headlands and breakwater for bream (and tarwhine) on many occasions for about half a dozen reasonable bream and about thirty tarwhine over the whole week.Tried for flathead a few times and managed only two. The seas were calm and clear so I didn't bother trying for luderick, but a couple of the gun locals weren't getting any - so I was no chance. Although it was an enjoyable week I didn't catch a single memorable fish. On my last dawn session I slipped and fell face down with all my gear in a rock pool on the front of the Bluff. That happened to be the only day I was carrying my camera with me - so no pictures this trip - just a few scrapes and bruises.
The mullet netters are out in force down there. I was able to but 10 kg of whole mullet for $15. I've just finished smoking the lot!

Cheers Freeeedom

[bondy99]

Freeeedom,

Sorry to hear about your fishing expedition, lucky about the scrape, could have been worse.

About the mullet you smoked, How did you prepare yours? What type of wood and how long for?

I've got an old keg converted into a smoker.

Cheers, bondy

[Lucky Loz]

Keep the photos to show your grandchildren .

[Freeeedom]

Freeeedom,


About the mullet you smoked, How did you prepare yours? What type of wood and how long for?


Cheers, bondy

I fillet and skin the fish and then brine it for about 3 hours in a mix of 2 parts salt, 1part brown sugar to 10 parts water. While they are brining I light the kettle barbecue and let it get a nice bed of coals. At the same time I'm soaking some hickory chips in water to make them smoke. When everything is ready I lie a few fillets over the coals, brush them with a little brown sugar, soy sauce and water mixture, throw a few wet chips onto the coals and put the lid on. After a few minutes the edges of the fillets start to brown and I turn them over, brush a little of the soy mix on again and close the lid. When there is good colour on both sides of the fillet I remove them and place them on kitchen paper to cool. More fillets are added and more wet hickory if the smoke starts to weaken. I vacuum pack the smoked fillets and store them in the freezer - they are still good after six months.
Cheers Freeeedom