Fishing Warehouse

2 days ago

THE FORWARD CAST - An extended spell of good boating conditions is certain to lure anglers to deep-water reef grounds and beyond this weekend, forecasts suggesting light winds and slight seas to hold well into the new week.Headland, bay and estuary waters are also set to host plenty of boat traffic with gentle tides offering easy fishing conditions and the advice for weekend fishing options from our Warehouse lads is all good.👍✅TEDLA gets excited just looking at a tide chart and he reckons the ebb and flow this weekend will keep him committed to landbased fishing options.“From flathead right through to barra… they’re all good possibilities this weekend,” Tedla said.“The beachside flats – water will be clean, and along the breakwalls will all produce, but the conditions are just screaming ‘shallow waters.’” Tedla says he really likes the promise of barramundi throughout the afternoon flood tide following the late morning low.“A drive north to places like Toolakea could be on the cards; using shallow minnows and soft plastic paddle tails around the rocky foreshores and near the mouths of the creeks for anything from flathead to barra,” Tedla tipped. “And the bait guys should know that there are plenty of yabby beds at the mouths of most of those northern creeks and that’s a perfect and obvious bait for whiting, flathead and grunter – almost anything really that tends to forage shallow waters.”If you find yourself in the far northern beaches area and there’s a bloke waving a flyrod – his preferred weapon of choice – it’s likely to be Tedla doing his thing. Give him a wave.✅Garry "Crumpet' Dunkley is all about doggie mackerel this weekend. He says Cleveland Bay conditions couldn't get much better, except for perhaps a little more run in the tide, but a little berley should fix any hesitancy that mackerel might show this weekend.“The Alligator Creek weed beds and deeper waters wide of Long Beach, anywhere in the bay this weekend should be a chance at mackerel,” Crumpet said.“Pillies, that’s the bait, and fish them under a float or keeping it simple – unweighted except for maybe a short wire trace to stop being bitten off. That’s how most mackerel will probably be caught in these conditions.”Crumpet said he especially liked the self-berleying properties of baits like pilchards. He says the soft fish tends to break up when hit by a fish and the morsels dispersed in the water column not only keeps other fish in the school interested, but also does something for other species like grunter, trevally and even cobia and larger Spanish mackerel.“The nice part about fishing the bay for doggies is that larger species like cobia and Spanish mackerel – even large GT’s and queenfish – will all come in at some stage chasing the very bait schools that entice the doggies. Sometimes you’d be correct in thinking that those predators are in fact chasing the doggies!” Crumpet said.Crumpet did remind anglers to be aware of precisely where in the GBR Marine Park they are fishing.“A good portion of the bay is covered by a yellow zone, so that means only 1 line and 1 hook – a gang of hooks is classed as a single hook – per person, unless you are trolling,” Crumpet said. “So, if you’re drifting a bait in a yellow zone, that’s it. You run the risk of a big fine if caught also throwing a metal slice at the same time.✅Heath agrees with Crumpet suggesting that anglers might want to elevate mackerel to the top of the angling options list this weekend. He says though, that he’d contemplate traveling further afield to put fish in the boat.“The markers in the shipping channel, Middle Reef, West Point, Burdekin Rock and back inside the bay like Crumpy has suggested… they’re all promising spots for a mackerel catch this weekend,” Heath said.“My tip is to be prepared to travel and find your own little piece of mackerel paradise. I think boat traffic plays a significant part in spooking doggies in shallow waters so less traffic can equate to more fish.”Heath says baits are often the GO to put numbers of fish in the icebox, but he’d be prepared to throw metal jigs or slices around once numbers of fish are found.“Trolling barra size minnow lures is also an excellent way to catch doggies and you get to covers heaps more territory too,” Heath said.“And in the yellow zones, you can troll up to 3 lines per person.”✅Dale was busy with a tackle rep trying to nut out the best possible deal for our Warehouse CUSTOMERS, so we let him be and pre-empting his Forward Cast contribution, we’ll suggest Spanish mackerel and billfish options this weekend, particularly with the fast-approaching Townsville Game Fishing Club’s Billfish Challenge.Dale has years of experience in gamefishing circles and we’re pretty certain he’d be up for a spot of billfishing this weekend, both marlin and sailfish showing in good numbers in Bowling Green Bay waters.Skipping gar, swimming mullet and switch baiting techniques will all work while some experienced gamefishers will prefer to troll skirted lures to good effect.Billfish are pretty much a sport and gamefish only in these parts, rarely kept for the table and as such, mostly released.Spanish mackerel are a different story with the tasty critters usually swung aboard on the end of a gaff.Dale doesn’t mind mackerel battered, crumbed or any which way and we’re certain he’d choose large baits like 5-spot gar to fool a fish this weekend. He’d likely rig it as simple as it gets – pinned to one of our Chin Guard rigs and trolled at any number of headland, island and shoal hotspots, the Mack Patches wide of Cape Cleveland and Twelve Mile shoals out from the Haughton prime spots in recent weeks.This week’s Forward Cast delivers mostly mackerel options given the superb conditions forecast, but we’re expecting plenty of reef and deep-water reports along with some landbased tales early in the new week, so keep your baits soft and please let us know how you fare. Perhaps take a photo of your catch and enter it in our popular FISH OF THE MONTH competition?📸 Have a fishy weekend everyone🎣 ... See MoreSee Less

Fishing Warehouse

5 days ago

This winter has been unusually good for mudcrabs - probably one of the better 'off-seasons' for several years - so if you're not into the mackerel thing, why not set a pot for a feed of the tasty crustaceans⁉️ 🦀In stock NOW - COUCOM CRAB POTS✅Aussie made. ✅Split legs for easy assembly and hassle-free storage.✅Several sizes/models available.✅Bait holder standard in all models. ... See MoreSee Less