Photos: Spero Kartanos.
BY SPERO KARTANOS
Local fisherman Spero Kartanos shares his tips for finding the best fresh feed of fish this month in Moreton Bay.
The weather in August should be great – apart from the westerly winds this time of year – and the fishing should be good with plenty of all our local species in abundance.
The whiting should now have moved throughout the small boat channel, the Rous Channel, Amity Banks, the Sand Hills and the Blue Hole, so there’s no excuse not to get a feed for most families!
Bait-wise, my favourites are blood worms, beach worms, peeled small prawns and strips of squid, and a paternoster rig works the best. Another tip: a good run in the tide is best.
School mackerel will be in the bay, especially the small boat channel towards the Rous entrance. They’re usually undersized this time of year, but there will be plenty of bigger fish mixed in. Wait another few weeks; come September, it should a cracker month for school mackerel. Try using floating pillies or diving boards with spoons.
The squid and cuttlefish numbers tend to slow down a little in August, but judging by the results in July, there could be a bumper season ahead for these cephalopods in the bay. For jigs, I’m finding the dull colours work best on cloudy days and the bright colours on sunny days. I’ve included a picture of the three best jigs.
The snapper season has been closed since July 15 but restarts in the bay on August 15, but there’s plenty of other fish to catch until then.
A thank you to all my readers – it has been great to help you to catch a few more fish, and it has been lots of fun reading your emails about your catches.
So get out there on beautiful Moreton Bay, catch a fish and remember to be safe and be careful in strong westerly winds. It feels nice and calm close to shore, and you don’t see the whitecaps until you turn to come home, so it’s better to put off a day’s fishing than put yourself and others at risk.
Until next month, good fishing, and check out my weekly updates on fishingmonthly.com.au for Moreton Bay reports.
