poddy mullet and their behaviour

[jasonthomas]

I started a thread over a year ago wanting to find poddy mullet for live baiting. I was at the time trying to use plastic bottles as traps as seen on countless you tube videos and having no success. About 75% of the responses said to get a cast net and although my ability were quite poor I was told to practice practice practice.

A year later my cast netting is pretty good. I can throw good casts but am still not having the greatest success locating them. I have since discovered the ease of jigging for herring but my quest began with wanting poddies and I have purchased and taught myself to throw cast net so the quest continues.

I am currently chasing them in the north pine. I can see them in the shallows often. This is during the day. On approach they spook easily before within castnet range. Burleying is really not an option as the current runs so fast that any burley put in water is soon 200 meters away.

Seem to get closest when stalking them by having sun behind me as it must put the most amount of glare on the water at the angle.

My next idea was to anchor the burley?

Does anyone have preferred tides or time of day that they have better luck? Any other techniques that brings results. Any other info on their behavior and therefore the tides/times/locations that one is likely to have most success.

Entirely Landbased angler.

Thanks in advance.

[cuzzamundi]

During the day can be tough.

Depending on the territory you're fishing, sight casting them is usually best. Try stay back from the bank a bit and wait for the schools to present themselves. You'll see flickers of silver from the sunlight. Find banks that aren't wind exposed, as they will be more visible with no chop on the water.

I've never bothered burleying due to current, but if you have some still water, it may work.

Also, banks at high tide will usually hold them - just gotta find them. Look for flats that are dry at low, as these will always attract fish at high. Try using the cast net out of the current, too, to save it bunching quickly. Don't be afraid to go really shallow when blind casting, as often they're right up hugging the edge away from predators.

As is often the case, though, they are just not around/in deeper, harder to access water.

Cuzza

[cuzzamundi]

Also, low tide will be a better option in tighter country. And they quite often disappear the last two hours before high water, once again depending on where you are. I've seen them burrow into the mud and disappear. Never thought they did this, but have seen it countless times. Also seen them emerging from the mud well into the ebb.

Cuzza

[chris69]

Dragnet for them or when you cast with your castnet cast it in the same spot when the bottom get disturbed it brings the mullet and other things.

[Chimo]

We seem to get them most easily in the gold coast canals when the water is dirty from run off so they don't spook as easily when the net is headed their way. They seem to jump most then too.

There are nice schools that hang around under pontoons until anyone gets close and then they disappear. That is with clearish water, don't see them when the water is dirty but as above thats when cast nets seem to work better.

Cheers
Chimo

[Sheik]

You throwing from a boat or from the bank. If in a boat, drift, put Polaroids on and throw ahead of a school, you'll get the odd one. Also, throw into the drop off where you can't see the bottom, remember they can't see you either! At high they go up into mangrove swamps, throw close to the roots. On the run out, at the mouth of gutters.
throw, throw, throw!

[jasonthomas]

Cheers fellas.

Taking it all on board and already having some better luck today.

[kizza1]

try around drains and pontoons. During night time i usually spotlight for them. ive also found that if you idle up to them most of them are scared off before you can get a net on them and you tend to keep scaring them. i find it better to hammer up to them and then ambush them.

[Still_Dreamin]

Used to go to Sweeney's reserve on the north pine river when I was a lot younger. Probably changed a hell of a lot but used to do alright at low tide. The western end (away fro rail bridge) in the shallows where the rock bars dropped into deeper water always saw my bait bucket full. As everyone else has said cast cast cast. Looking back we probably only averaged a fish every second or third cast. When you consider that if you hit a school you might get up to ten there were a lot of empty casts. The upside is you get a good set of biceps and deltoid muscles from all that casting!! My wife asks why my arms aren't like when we met and I tell her I need to go fishing more!! The poddy mullet were gun bait for big bream down at the Rocks at Dohles rocks. Biggest went 40cm.

[jasonthomas]

Sweeney's reserve

That's the spot I was trying to get a few to start with. Heaps in there but not able to get close enough to them in shallows although I did notice the deeper gutters on edge and will give them a try.
I have been getting a few in Pine at Brighton but they are bit big for Bream and Flatties I would guess. They're all around 8-10 inches so prob good for Jewies. The ones I saw at Sweeneys looked smaller but wouldn't know until I get them in the net.

When at Pine I was getting a lot of small bream and another small fish by the truckload each cast that I'm guessing were silver biddy. They were a pain in the ass in the end with 20-30 in net every cast. Can you use them for bait/are they any good?

[cuzzamundi]

I never have much luck with biddies around the Bris region. Funnily enough, though, have done well on them up north. Even as far south as Sunny Coast, have used them with success. That's my experience, anyway.

Cuzza

[Still_Dreamin]

Pain in the arse to keep the herring/silver biddies alive. One dies and the whole tank of them dies. Been told they are gun flathead bait but never had much luck. Winter whiting make excellent flathead bait.

[cuzzamundi]

That's interesting, mate, as I seem to have no problem keeping the biddies alive. They seem to be more spritely than even the poddies for me. But yeah, the herring are a disaster. Even handling them and brushing off a couple of scales can be the beginning of the end. I don't have an aerator, but still, they're too bloody fragile.

Cuzza

[tunaticer]

As Still_Dreamin says, Sweeneys Reserve at Petrie is the go for poddies, run out tide is best.
Get your requirements in a few casts, whack em in a live tank and take them to where you want to fish.
Pine rivers Park on the Bald Hills flats is another spot with several locations that work well, but a lot longer from the car to the bait area.....mebbe 4oom at the furtherest.