We set off from the Ferry Reserve boat ramp at about 13:30 a good tide already racing homeward bound and a tailwind to assist.  We headed out into what we affectionately call ‘the lagoon’, a broad well featured area of the lower river, with lots of banks, drop offs, holes and yabby inhabited flats.  There was the usual banter with curious onlookers asking about the setup, “Fishfinder? On a kayak?”

An uneventful launch saw Marty boat a nice 30cm Bream from a hole about 7m deep, turbulent eddying water already a balmy 20 degrees.  Marty had very effectively used a piece of beach worm on his jig head!   There were some good fish, maybe tailor, bream or trevalley belting baitfish airborne up against the banks.  I flicked the old 3″ minnow about the banks where baitfish were holding. I tried several retrieves, from high speed, medium darting to  crippled  pause and twitch. No takers for my ‘imitation’ though. Another small bream for Marty and we headed off up the river a little in search of flathead near the oyster racks, a spot that has proven it’s self time and time again.

The sandflies became aggressive, the sky overcast and the air thick and humid, the clock struck three.  Time to head up towards home, as we still had a few k’s to cover yet and could smell rain on the air.   On a bit of a pause, the Ugly Stik panicked.

A tiny flathead had wolfed down the 3″ minnow. A little help from the pliers and off he went into deep with a flick of the tail. Off again we went, trolling a 6″ Qantas patterned 2m+ diver, along 5m-7m of structured bottom we call the ‘Coffee Rocks’, hoping for the fabled Jewfish that hold up along these rocky walls. No dice. We hit the paddles again until we arrived at ‘Bashie’s corner’ and ‘Bailey’s Eddie’.  These are two spots that can easily be the focus of an entire fishing trip.  We just glossed over on our way up.  Too few casts over too many good looking spots later and we were up around ‘the elbow’, a spot that has had some serious fish in it of late, although nothing doing today.  The sun was getting on the low side, so we hit the paddles harder again until the train bridge loomed.  Marty headed home, having had enough.  I was really keen to troll up to and fish ‘Noel’s Corner’ up a little further, where Hollgi has had some luck with the Jewfish of late.

There was a distinct lack of baitfish on the sounder, unlike a few trips I had done during the week. One small flathead was caught on the shallow part of the bend, where Jew often congregate on the incoming tide awaiting to ambush baitfish.  I released it and headed for home, the sun almost set over the ridge.  I landed at the Mill Street boat ramp with little fuss in almost dark and walked the 1.5km home down the main street of town in the dark with a smokey, warm Westerly wind behind me.

Having paused to reflect, the Brunswick to Mullumbimby session is nice, but too much ground to cover over such a long trip.   It’s a far better trip to target a couple of spots and fish them with time taken to find out the areas that fish hold at various times of the tide cycle.  I feel it far  better to put sixty casts into and around one hole and drop off that sixty casts on thirty holes.  The Brunswick River is a big place with so many spots for a fish.  As Mart said, It was just nice being out there.  Being amongst the birds and relative quiet of the river makes for a fantastic day away from the ‘real’ world.

Check out the video . . . here.

Eventually it found it’s way into the landing net.  I was only a sixty second paddle to the boat ramp, and had to go to work so I dispatched the catch and bled it at the ramp and trotted off home. I’ll fillet it for the char griller tonight with a roast capsicum, tomato and sherry vinegar salad, minted broad beans and a carrot oregano and fennel seed side dish.

Sunset over Tin Can Inlet

The next  two days were a bit of a let down for such a notoriously fishy spot.  I garnered information relating to a massive fishing competition.  The week prior 2,500 anglers pillaged the area, effectively gutting the entire estuary of anything takeable, according to many of the locals.  Sure there were fish busting up on the unaccessable beaches, but on the flat water there was nothing of mention to be had apart from numerous plastic shredding pike.   I did have a nice quick little session on a hardbody at the boat ramp however, one XUS (extra undersized) Trevalley and four pike in ten casts!  This was particularly funny at the time because an old guy on the ramp said “What are you using? Lures?, Nah mate, you need to use bait around here.”  First cast and I was onto this tiny trevor, who smashed this 55mm Surecatch surebite lure barely half it’s size after two cranks of the handle.

Aggro fo a little guy!

Rewards on this trip were more of the beauty variety: watching Whistling Kites smash pike from the water just meters from the yak, rare Indo-Pacific Humpack dolphins cavorting yakside, the sun setting a demonic red through thick plumes of smoke from fuel reduction burns in the Great Sandy National Park, exploring new waters.  Whilst the weather in general was fine and sunny, my three days on the water at Carlo Point were pretty windswept and hard going, even very early in the day.

Whistling Kite

I have some good advice for those planning a trip to Rainbow Beach.  Find quality accommodation.  We stayed at “The Greenhouse”. What a fantastic and family friendly place.  The website only gives a vague impression.  Brian Mallon, who takes care of the rental, is very helpful.  We had, to an extent, expected ‘shabby’ by virtue of being a small coastal village.  What we found was an impressively clean and well appointed two storey beach house with an (unheated) swimming pool, 300m from the beach through the littoral forest, complete with scratching bush turkeys and the rambunctious friar birds.  The kitchen is well appointed, even the knives in the wooden block were sharp enough for a kitchen Nazi like me to be satisfied.  There are bikes, Nintendo with Singstar for the odd karaoke session, two decks (East and South) and even big candles on a candelabra.

There are provisions of varying quality to be bought.  Best option is th Woolies at Cooloola, way before you get to Rainbow beach.  The Foodworks on the main street is expensive and limited.  the IGA on the way into town is by far better value and has a much better range of fresh and frozen produce. If you want decent coffee, dose up before you come or bring an espresso machine.  I didn’t, however, try the coffee at the Rainbow Beach Hotel.  Perhaps I should have, because everything else there was brilliant.  They have a bottle shop fit for any city slicker’s pallate and 300gm Wagyu steaks cooked to perfection with salad and crisp beer battered chips for $28!  It’s not a cheap pub but is proof that you get what you pay for.  It is divinely fitted out with a marble fireplace, polished boards and exstensive second floor verandah with ocean views.  The service is fantastic, with one particular pierced and super professional barman helpful with marks to find fish.  The local tackle shop has some nice gear, even though it is small.  They have soft plastics in the Brekley range in all my favourite flavours and anything else you need at prices that were surprisingly not tourist gougingly expensive.  I now have my eye on one of those new rovex reels.  Bulk pillies are better off purchased form other outlets on the way in to town.

Carlo Pt. boat ramp

Over the time we stayed, I decided to concentrate my efforts on understanding one spot: trolling and casting different lures at different features of the estuary at Carlo Point.  Three outings, I thought, was not enough time to get to know much of the Great Sandy area.  It is such a big place, so many nooks and crannies to explore, so many kilometers.  It is frustrating to paddle and not catch fish, seeing them on the sounder, seeing the local birds of prey out fish you! I was working on and a day either side of the full moon which didn’t help.  Definitely not a place to spend such a short time after travelling so far!

Looking North to Fraser

Day Two

I put in at Carlo today, with the sun too high in the sky and the tide lowish and still heading out.  I had planned to head to a marker I had been told about buy a fellow yakfisher working at the local pub (more on the pub later), a big green one channel marker that should hold plenty of fish.  I set some 3″ Gulp minnows on the drift and scored 2 pike, which was encouraging.  I headed out toward the marker and picked up 4 or so undersized flathead which was also encouraging.  Then the wind came up, a howling offshore that stirred up lots of wind chop.  Not wanting to fight 20 knots of wind and a run out tide I turned back.  The marker I thought to be too far out to tackle under these conditions alone. On the way back in, there were a few taps and twitches, but no real interest. I took a few shots at drifting downwind around the moored boats for another couple of pike.

The I thought I’d snagged up, but the snag kept taking line and shaking all about.  After a spirited series of runs, a greenbacked tailor knifed through the air.  I wasted no time getting a net out and prepared to land 50cm of potential dinner,  I think I went too fast, the fish spooked and chewed through the 8lb leader in flash.  oh well. I tied on another jig head and loaded another 3″ gulp minnow (watermelon pearl flavour) and trolled up and around the moored boats again.  My wife called as I was tying a knot, asking if I’d like to be picked up.  I said no, things were heating up and I’d rendevous at 1:30 at the Carlo Boat ramp.  Must have jinxed the session, cause the only bite I got after that was one really heavy run and spit from something on the gold 5″ hardbody.  I trolled around for a while after that for no hits so headed in.  The wind had made things impossible!

bliss

(Except the fish.  The fish were remarkably uncooperative.)

I have opted for a gunwhale mount for the finder, right where I can reach, read and adjust it with ease.  With a few twists of the adjustment knob the whole mount comes off to be stored in the centre hatch for launch and retrieve or stowed at home.  I am very happy with the placement, just need to work on all the messy transducer cables etc.  I think I will mount the transducer inside the hull eventually.  I recently moved the battery box to the centre hatch from the rear one.  It makes sense to be able to access it, especially after a bit of rough and tumble on the water.

This evening was a brief paddle  and very enjoyable, despite the distinct lack of anything fishy going on.

battery ox in the centre hatch

Rainbow Beach (i have been told)  is a fabulous part of the world, located about here:

Rumour has it the sun will shine, the swell be small and the tailor be chomping anything shiny that moves.  I am hoping to target snapper and other Lutjanids in the deeper water East of Rainbow Beach as well as the usual bread and butter species on the Tin Can Bay side too.   If all goes well maybe even a session around Double Island point to the South.  Then again, we are on a quick holiday and don’t wan’t to do too much of anything.

Stay Tuned

I flicked a Berkley Gulp 3″ Minnow (watermelon pearl) on a light jighead at the rocks and soon came up tight against a bass of 43cm! Had the 1-3kg Ugly Stick bent over double, and took plenty of line several times. She was of course released very quickly to pursue her feeding frenzy, leaving me grinning from ear to ear! One other fish found the plastic, about 37cm, but that is all to report. We trolled all the way home for not a nibble. All in all a very enjoyable day on the water with my daughter, who loves to sit on the back of the Espri and take it all in. (She even helps to wind rods in if I need another set of hands!)