Photos: Spero Kartanos.
BY SPERO KARTANOS
This month local fisherman Spero Kartanos shares his tips for scoring a fresh haul of whiting, squid and mackerel.
Talk about the weather changing quickly! Soon, we will be having 11 and 12-degree mornings, which is a little chilly to get up and go fishing for me. I am so glad Moreton Bay fish eat all day when the sun is up, and it’s 26 degrees. My old Dad used to get me up pre-dawn, and we had to be on the water and fishing as the sun came up. I had to recite the times’ tables on the way there, so no wonder I hate going fishing pre-dawn these days!
During May, the whiting are usually very large in size and numbers, and would have moved further into the Rous Channel, especially in the Fisherman’s and the Maroon Gutter and Amity Banks.
You should find squid in the same area as long as the water is clean. Last year, peeled prawns worked better as bait than anything else, followed by squid strips, but you still can’t beat fresh blood worms or cured beach worms.
Whiting fishing is great family fun – as you can tell from Martha’s smile (pictured) with her bucket of fish – but if this year is the same as the last, look out for the influx of sea toads. These critters love smashing squid jigs to bits in the Small Boat Channel and around Amity Banks.
School mackerel has been hit and miss with all the rain and dirty water over the last couple of months, but generally, May has been a good month for them (and a few broad mackerel as well). They should have moved across the bay, and you should be able to catch them anywhere from the Hope Banks, towards Peel and Naval Banks to Shark Spit and in front of the sandhills at Moreton Island.
And don’t forget, May should also see the cuttlefish and arrow squid move close near Wellington Point to the east side of St Helena Island.
So till next month, stay safe on the water and good fishing!
