What was your greatest fishing adventure? I’ve had so many over the last forty-odd years, but the best one was when I was nineteen years old – I fished my way around Australia.
I had just finished restoring Dodd’s House in the city and was cashed up.
It took me just over a year catching most species of fish around Australia and it was a life-changing experience for me exploring Australia and its array of islands.
When I returned home, I was asked by a number of friends and family, what was the best island and best beach – my reply was a bit of a shock.
The best beach on the best island where you won’t get bitten by a shark, crocodile or dingo, stung by an Irukandji or blue bottle jellyfish, swept out to sea by strong rips or fish in the trees due to very high tides is Moreton Island.
The best beaches are from Tangalooma to Combie Point. So this island became my happy place where
I still visit an average of six times per year to relax, fish and recharge my battery and my mental health.
I recently took a week off after the school holidays and headed over to Bulwer with my wife and my famous mate, Mr Steve Hunter and his partner. Steve pumped 100 yabbies for the dart and I bought $50 worth of worms for the whiting.
I’ve been fishing against Steve since I was 12 years of age as we grew up in different fishing clubs, working up the ranks together.
Steve has been captain of the City Hall Fishing Club for the last twenty years.
He is also the current captain of Queensland and President of S.Q.A.F.C.A. After settling in Redcliffe City’s Clubhouse units 1 and 2, two young men and their wives and children turned up to stay in unit 3.
Both of the men managed chicken farms in Rathdowney and needed a few days off after raising thousands of chickens to meet the demands of Christmas.
Anthony and Andre walked down to speak to Steve and me to ask us about fishing the island after seeing the large amount of fishing rods on our 4WDs.
After learning how many hours a day they worked and how many cents per chicken they were paid, I decided to take both young boys from the bush up to Combie Point for a dusk burst of dart fishing.
“Don’t bring anything but yourselves,” I said, as I had the necessary gear and Steve had given me 40 yabbies in a container.
The first thing I did was show the boys how to put a yabby on a number two hook and cast with an Alvey reel to the right with a number three sinker to be swept to the left of the drop-off where the dart school.
Well, these boys took to dart fishing immediately and in just over an hour they caught 19 dart, five tarwhine and one whiting and released 15 undersized fish before they ran out of bait.
They had so much fun and when we returned to the clubhouse their wives and children couldn’t believe they had caught these fish (pictured). Steve then took over and taught the boys how to fillet and skin their fish.
Mud crabs are on the move after the rain and combined with the big tides we get this time of the year. When we returned from Moreton Island,
I went down to the end of my street and caught my wife two mud crabs for Valentine’s Day as she loves eating crab (pictured) and you can’t eat flowers! Prawns will be on their annual run shortly.
Remember there is a bag limit/possession limit of a 10-litre bucket and a boot limit of 20 litres.
Be aware of the possession limit – and this doesn’t mean you take them home and go back and get another 10 litres!
Another point of note, you must not possess prawns with heads off or any other part removed unless for immediate consumption.
Stay warm and safe out on the water.
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