Photos: Spero Kartanos.
BY SPERO KARTANOS
The weather has warmed up nicely, and it’s time to get the crab pots in the water, as there will be plenty of crabs around. You’ll be able to tell it’s a peak time for crabs because there will be many more crab pots to dodge on the way to your favourite fishing spots, and some folks just drop them anywhere – even in the channels where all the boats have to travel!
You’ll find crabs all over the bay, from close to the foreshore and the islands of Green, St Helena and Mud, and all the way in the deep and fast-running water on the eastern side of the Hope Banks and Amity Banks. I personally love to eat crab, but I hate the mess I have to put up with when there are crab pots on the boat, so I’m happy to buy some from the pro-fishermen. Fresh-boiled crabs and chilli crab will be on my menu over the coming summer months.
The whiting fishing will be as good as it gets this month, so try the Rous and Chain Banks, Amity Banks and Fisherman’s Gutter. Squid strips and blood worms top my list for baits, but I have been trying to save a few dollars, and have been salting frozen pippies, which is working a treat and is very economical, and I find the paternoster rig works the best.
The school mackerel are having a break close in, but there are plenty in the shipping channels. I am hoping the spotty mackerel season starts this year as the water is warming up nicely, but we need it to warm to around 74 – the ideal temperature for the spotties to come into the bay. My concern is that it does not get too hot like last year, when the spotties bypassed the bay. All we can do is get the spinning gear and chrome slugs ready and hope for a good season.
The squire and snapper season does not stop because it’s summer, and this year should be a very good one, with Mt Cotton Reach in the Rous Channel and Harries artificial reef being two of the best spots at the moment, and the close-in drop-offs near the islands. Whole whiting is by far the best bait, or whiting heads.
Until next month, good fishing and good luck in the Melbourne Cup (Zardozi is my long-range tip).
P.S.: What a great month October was for whale watching in Moreton Bay. It was one of the best for many, many years!
