# Qld 13May13 Reddy-Scarby Moonrise Turn-on…



## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

Just a smidgin of rain as I launched, but that was it for the rest of the day&#8230; overcast, but dry&#8230; wind? Just enough to get a reasonable drift, and of course, no waves to trouble kayakers at all today.

All we need now is some fish!

I said hello to one yakker in close, (but for the life of me can't recall his name) then went about my business of scaring up some fish. Saw Wayne close enough for a wave, then when next we spoke, he'd caught a snapper in the high-forties, and an estuary cod.

I'd not even registered a bite by then, and after about three drifts, was thinking that I'd finish this current drift, take a piddle, and shoot through to Queens Beach for a drift there.

Then for twenty minutes, I was busier than the proverbial one-armed paper hanger with the crabs!

First the over-head outfit dived into the briny&#8230; grabbed it and a feisty tailor was doing his level best to shake loose of the 2/0XH TT jig, and he had a most-excited friend with him wondering what the hell was going on&#8230; he succumbed finally, and I slipped him onto the spray-skirt/ work-bench and applied the lip-grips so I could slip the hook out. I can keep this feller for my old mate Billy, the wheel-chair bloke who is unable to fish any-more&#8230; he loves tailor!

As my fishing mind relates to bait-fish/predators, I immediately wondered if there were any jew about, wanting to make a meal of the tailor&#8230; but before I can despatch the caught fish, the thread-line outfit takes off! Yep, this will be another tailor, and treated it just that way&#8230; however&#8230; this fish didn't appear to like the hook, and ripped line off the reel like it was going out of fashion.

Hey! This is a good fish, and if it's a tailor, it'll be a beauty! After quite a tussle, a touch of colour&#8230; jewie! Although he'd been recognised, this fellow wanted no part of my work-bench and screamed off more line&#8230; but&#8230; after a while, there he was, mouth open, inviting the lip-grips&#8230; however he was only foxing, and it was some time before he was slid up onto the work-bench, right beside the tailor.

So, I took a piccie of the both of them&#8230; measured them both&#8230; 48cm the tailor, and 65cm the jewie.

Undersized, back in the brine goes the jew, and I'm about to despatch the tailor, when off goes the over-head outfit again&#8230; again a different fight, and pretty soon I've got a 46cm snapper on deck. So, the tailor gets another piccie taken, this time with a pinkie. Overboard goes the pinkie, and finally I wrap the tailor in a wet towel, and slip him in beside my right leg.

Just then, Wayne slides up beside me, and I tell him of the past hectic 15 or so minutes&#8230; he's happy for me, but tells me that he's only got the one snapper and two estuary cod&#8230; then he's off for another drift, and had only gone about 70 metres when I'm into another fish&#8230; 44cm snapper, this time.

All that happened in roughly 20 minutes&#8230; then the bite went off! In the next couple of hours, I had plenty of time to ponder that "bite on&#8230; bite off" scene, and the only thing I could come up with is that the bite came on just prior to the moon-rise, and shut-down just after it. I've heard that there can be a major and minor bite, but can't remember experiencing so clean-cut a hot bite.

By now, I've had that piddle, have paddled over to Queens Beach, and selected a spot for drifting&#8230; all was quiet but for one brief run on the thread-line outfit&#8230; it ran good line off the reel against pretty reasonable drag, but when I picked it up&#8230; nothing!

Whatever it was, It didn't hang around for a second go&#8230; just one hit, and gone!

By now, I reckoned that it was time I gave Trevor's little area a bit of a touch-up&#8230; as he said in one thread, "when the cat's away the mice will play", so, because his vehicle's giving him some trouble and can't go fishing, I'll sort out this monster that has been harassing him and taking home K1's best lures for the trophy wall.

I give it a bit of a go, but he must be waiting for the cat to come back, 'cos no interest was shown at all in my offerings&#8230; so I'm off South for a paddle. In the meantime, Wayne comes close and informs me he's done no better, just got one hit and miss, and was heading home. I told him it was such a beautiful day, and after all the crap weather we've been having lately, I'm going to give it a couple more hours, then head in.

I headed out past another kayaker paddling over the Shield St Reef, but was too far away to have a chat with, so carried on trolling. Past the Redcliffe Jetty&#8230; still no touches, and as I rounded Redcliffe Point, I hooked a little estuary cod, released it and not long after, all hell busted loose!

Too much line roaring off to be a snag, but I gave the line a couple of jerks just to sink the hook, then picked up the rod and hooked in! This fish just hooked back as well! Tore line off, then dived under the yak&#8230; then it seemed that this was a favoured ploy&#8230; I did most of the fighting from leaning over, trying to keep the rod clear of the yak&#8230; I'd like to get the line around the end, but there's no chance of that. I'm extremely conscious of the fact that I'm very close to serious rocks, those easily seen and plenty of underwater ones as well.

All of a sudden, up comes the lovely side of a gorgeous big snapper! It's a ripper! I strive to get a look at how it's hooked, and one of the end singles is lodged right in the scissors! Well hooked!

This ol' girl doesn't like the look of me and dives deep again, but by now has lost her puff and comes up pretty well beat&#8230; now&#8230; how am I going to bring her aboard? Not coming into the old trap of netting with all those loose hooks hangin' about, so either the lip-grips or the gaff&#8230; I opt for the lip-grips again, and her bottom jaw is almost too big to slip them over, but with a bit of manoeuvring, I secure the grip and slide her over onto the work-bench.

Wow! Some fish! First comes the photo, (can't possibly get a full body shot) so make do with a head/torso shot, then measure&#8230; 88cm! Beauty!

Righto! Billy's going to eat well tonight with the tailor, and Gawd knows how long with this snapper!

Now I have two fish wrapped in the wet towel, and I point the nose of the Acadia towards Scarby and hook in. Rounding Redcliffe Point, I come across a fellow yakker, stop for a chat, and we introduce ourselves&#8230; Tom is his name, and although he told me his tag on the forum, at the moment, I'm damned it comes to mind. He goes off to see if he can hook into a big beastie as well.

Roughly an hour and three quarters later (0244), and I'm taking a piccie of the two fish on the brag-mat, or truth mat, whichever you prefer. Although not long since caught, the big girl lost a cm in length already. And... on the spring scales, 15lb neat.

Some by-passing beach walkers took a look at her, and a few of them had never seen fish as big&#8230; a couple of them took photos themselves.

A little while later, Billy Turner was rapt! I don't often give fish away&#8230; prefer to release them if I'm not going to use them myself, but this bloke has unselfishly given half of his life to improving Recreational Fishing, and now that his body has deteriorated so much that he can't fish himself anymore, I donate the odd fish to him.

His eyes lit up when I walked in with these two fish.

Oh well&#8230; tomorrows Wednesday, and I guess I'll just have to go out again and see if they're still there and biting, eh?

Tough work, but somebody's got to do it!

Tight lines&#8230; Jimbo


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## Wrassemagnet (Oct 17, 2007)

Hooray Jimbo! what a great session and that snapper really is something special. Hope you upgrade tomorrow!


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## WhipperSnapper (Jun 2, 2012)

What a great session! I see the 3" electric chicken in some of the photos. I've been gunning to try them! Great report.


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## Sprocket (Nov 19, 2008)

Good on you Jimbo, you're slaying 'em mate.
Cheers,
Dave.


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## Foxxy (May 12, 2008)

Good to meet you out there Jim. Congrats on that fish again.. Although I have to admit some serious jealousy! I was just heading to that spot for a final drift prior to going back in! Good haul mate, I'll try to beat you to them next time!
Cheers, Tom


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## imtheman (Aug 24, 2012)

good stuff mate nailin them


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Old fart.

Beginner's luck it is. I'm sure of it.

Leave my fish alone and go back to your spot.


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## bruus (Aug 27, 2010)

Nice work Jim. Ignore Trev, if he really wanted that fish we would have landed it by now. Go for it.


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## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

You're on fire Jim.


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## sweed (Oct 1, 2011)

Great fish Jimmy you are on fire at the moment would not surprise me if you hooked up to one of those HOO out there :lol:


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

Thanks for all the comments, fellers... I reckon you've got to be at the right place at the right time... and I'm lucky to be able to arrange that at times.

Today's fortune was not as good... 2 snapper, 38 & 40... 35cm estuary cod... 50 & 65cm jewies. Had one really good fish on, but came up empty... don't know if I had a weak spot in the line, or knot failure, but leader was gone, and so was the fish!

Win some... lose some!

Cheers all... Jimbo


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## killer (Dec 22, 2010)

Good fishing again Jim, 
Just leave me some please.

Cheers 
Ron.


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## wayneedden (May 19, 2012)

Hey jim. Great finish to your day on Monday. Was good to see ya out there. Moreton bay providing.I had a great day with awesome conditions,. just after I said see ya, i carried on my way and hooked another lively snapper on my last drift. Both went for 49. Got home just in time to wash gear down and grab my girls from school.
Magic day in the bay
Wayne


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Nice one Jim. Great session


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## carnster (May 27, 2008)

Now that's a snapper!


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

indiedog said:


> That's an awesome sesh' Jimbo. What was the condition of the snap like? What time of the year are these guys at peak condition locally?


I really couldn't say, Indie... I guess that if you caught them just prior to spawning, that would be their best condition. I've caught a 93cm female in October one year, right on full moon, and she'd just spawned... weighed in at 8kg. I was disappointed... thought I'd topped the 20lb at last, but not to be. Even my 94cm weighed less than that.

Of course, it's best for the future of fishing if they're allowed to spawn before we catch them.

I've caught them at all times of the year, and probably because I release well over 90 percent of them, don't really take a lot of notice of their condition... just take a piccie, measure, then back in you go.

At times they fight pretty poorly, but that's usually when they're full of jelly-fish.

This one, however, fought well and was in pretty good nick.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help, Indie...

Jimbo


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

BigGee said:


> I hate reading your reports Jimbo ... they just make me want to go fishing more!!!
> 
> Great session, tremendous session. Well done indeed. When I'm up there next I hope you can spare some time for a fishing session. 8)
> 
> Gee


Why not, Gee... I hope the fish co-operate for you (and the weather).

Jimbo


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

Bertros said:


> I'm increasingly curious about the moon cycles, the tides, the winds, etc. and whether they do make a huge difference to the bite or not. It's no doubt a closely guarded secret for those who really get it, but hopefully a whole heap of reading, log books, and years of fishing ahead will help to unlock the code. It's always encouraging to read/hear reports like this which suggest it isn't all just poppy-cock (leaving a great excuse for those other times when the fishing is tough).


Hi Matt... Spot on! I guess that observations over the years... listening to all the theories from other anglers and sorting out which ones have any credibility (to your mind, anyway)... keeping a meticulous diary of your catches... it all adds up to your gaining some ideas of your own, and testing them out. When it all comes together... great! You have a ball!

However... the best theories don't matter diddly-squat if the fish don't want to open their mouths in the optimum time you've selected, do you reckon?

I don't know anybody that doesn't come up with the odd donut... keeps the head from growing too large. 

Cheers Matt... Jimbo


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## Darwin (Jul 25, 2008)

WOW! It is real snapper. What a great catch!

Cheers
Darwin


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

I blotted my copy-book yesterday... came up with a big fat donut... trouble is, I worked so bloody hard on the paddles to achieve it... the only thing I achieved was paddle fitness, I think.

Earlier on I said, "win some... lose some..." but I wasn't even in the event yesterday!

Jimbo


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## outbackAl (Oct 8, 2011)

I feel ya pain Jim, I too had a rare donut on Thursday, and it bought me back down to size real quick, didn't get a single hit the whole session from 1 pm till dark.
Did well earlier in the week on Monday and Tuesday bagging out convincingly on both days with fish in the 55-70 cm range with a few jew for good measure and interestingly the peak bite was within 20-30 mins either side of moonrise, might just be a coincidence but you could be on to something there.
The quality and quantity of fish this year (until Thursday  ) has been awesome, I don't think I have caught anything under 45 cm and have bagged out more often than not, even had a couple of freak sessions (right place at the right time) earlier in the year when the water was filthy dirty from the floods where I boated 20 plus quality fish ranging from 45-60 cm.
That 88 cm job you got is a cracker, haven't got one like that off Redders yet but it's not to far off I feel, pretty sure I've hooked a few over the years but 10-12 lb fluro leader doesn't appreciate being dragged through the reef too much 

Cheers,
Al


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Beekeeper said:


> I blotted my copy-book yesterday... came up with a big fat donut... trouble is, I worked so bloody hard on the paddles to achieve it... the only thing I achieved was paddle fitness, I think.
> 
> Earlier on I said, "win some... lose some..." but I wasn't even in the event yesterday!
> 
> Jimbo


Don't stress Jimbo. I was blotting my copybook of donuts ... BIGKEV and I were catching tuna!  (and Salticrack and Sprocket).


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

salticrak said:


> Bastard.


Salti... crack taker... me not bassard... my mother borned me... she tol' me we were too poor to have a father. 



kayakone said:


> Don't stress Jimbo. I was blotting my copybook of donuts :lol: :lol: ... BIGKEV and I were catching tuna! 8)  (and Salticrack and Sprocket). 8)


Well done fellers... tuna steaks for weeks! veeeerrry tasty!

Jimbo


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

outbackAl said:


> Did well earlier in the week on Monday and Tuesday bagging out convincingly on both days with fish in the 55-70 cm range with a few jew for good measure and interestingly the peak bite was within 20-30 mins either side of moonrise, might just be a coincidence but you could be on to something there.
> That 88 cm job you got is a cracker, haven't got one like that off Redders yet but it's not to far off I feel, pretty sure I've hooked a few over the years but 10-12 lb fluro leader doesn't appreciate being dragged through the reef too much  Cheers, Al


the peak bite was within 20-30 mins either side of moonrise Al... I've been told by old-stagers in the fly-fishing game down South, that there can be a good bite come on around moon-rise or moon-set, and have witnessed just that... problem was that my mate (who I told about this) hooked a lovely brown and I cast into a submerged black-berry bush and became hopelessly snagged... was not at all impressed!

I (and one particular AKFF'er) am of the opinion that moon has a definite bearing as to switching fish on to bite... one extremely good angler, Billy Turner (fellow in a wheel-chair that I gave the tailor and snapper to the other night) swears by the moon above, and some even go as far as the moon below... ie when the moon is directly below on the other side of Earth. Fascinating stuff!

 but 10-12 lb fluro leader Gotta tell ya, Al... you might catch lots of fish on the fine stuff, but the fish of a lifetime can be lost fishing fine. Of course, you'll keep fishing fine if that's really what you like doing, and I'll fish 30lb braid and 30lb fleuro leader. Sometimes the leader comes back to me all scarred and almost sliced right through, but the fish (not necessarily a big one) was landed... if that was 12lb, it would have been just another lost fish story.

Different horses, different courses, eh?

Jimbo


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## outbackAl (Oct 8, 2011)

Yeah Jim different strokes for different folks........I'm sure some of the fish I have lost over the years may not have been lost if I had of been using heavier leader, some have been lost to just plain bad luck with pulled hooks half way through the fight. I have tried going heavier from time to time but find I get less action so go back to what I'm confident with.... damned if you do and damned if you don't when it comes to the lighter versus heavier leader debate.
Kind of like lure pattern and colours I guess, everyone has their confidence colours and patterns, some blokes I know swear by curl tails but I can't get a sniff on them and always go back to a paddle tail or jerk shad.....I also like to cast and work my plastics with/towards the drift where as others may prefer to drag the lure against the drift or dead stick etc....nothing wrong with either technique they are all productive, it comes down to the individuals choice and what they are confident with........variety is the spice of life ;-)

The moon thing is definitely fascinating stuff, not something I have paid much attention to till you mentioned it in this thread which prompted me to go back and check the peak bite period from my sessions at the beginning of the week against the moonrise times and it seems on those two days at least the bite period coincided with moonrise.
Like most people I have always gone by tides and moon phase etc.. but neglected moon position, I will definitely pay more attention to the moonrise/set position in future to see if any patterns form.

Cheers,
Al


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## mangajack (Jul 23, 2007)

You been getting any quid on your trolled lures lately Jimbo?? 
I caught 3 this morning one on a koolie the others on a storm deep thunderstick.


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

mangajack said:


> You been getting any quid on your trolled lures lately Jimbo??
> I caught 3 this morning one on a koolie the others on a storm deep thunderstick.


I haven't seen a squid in about 2 years, MJ... reckon some of the funny little bites/pulls would be squid, but have never hooked them on either hard-bodies or soft-plastics. I used to take a hand-line loaded with a jig with me for them, but not for a few years, now.

On a koolie? what a lure, eh? and the storm lures are great as well.

Jimbo


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## carnster (May 27, 2008)

When i hook a big jew, cobe or snap on 30lb flouro trace and 30lb braid, it is seriously tense moments just letting them run around at will with a fairly light drag. They know how to find structure on the pinnacle, but i would say 50% are landed on that gear which i would call light considering the size of the fish. I have recently started getting dusted by brutes on the 80lb lock up drag and it is frustrating. If they want to go back into the hole with their mates it is extremely tough to stop them. Sometimes they just cruise around until they get tired and come to the surface. I rate the solunar peaks also. I recently caught some squid which is typical for this time of year and i think means the cobes will not be too far away.


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## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

This is all crap. I've always found the best days for fishing is on my day off.


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

carnster said:


> When i hook a big jew, cobe or snap on 30lb flouro trace and 30lb braid, it is seriously tense moments just letting them run around at will with a fairly light drag. They know how to find structure on the pinnacle, but i would say 50% are landed on that gear which i would call light considering the size of the fish. I have recently started getting dusted by brutes on the 80lb lock up drag and it is frustrating. If they want to go back into the hole with their mates it is extremely tough to stop them. Sometimes they just cruise around until they get tired and come to the surface. I rate the solunar peaks also. I recently caught some squid which is typical for this time of year and i think means the cobes will not be too far away.


Carnster... the fish you handle seem to be much bigger than those I catch @ Scarby, but you are fishing in open water, whereas I'm doing my thing in the Bay. With that in mind, my big gear (30lb flouro trace and 30lb braid) rates as light gear to you. My reels are tiny compared to those that lots of others use, but at the moment I have no bother landing the fish that stay hooked. If I were to join you where you fish, (but I won't) I guess I'd have to upgrade all round.

I did note on one of your threads, that you called a jew (the same size as the biggest that I've caught) small, and I realise that this would be true. I guess it's all relative to where and how you fish.

No hassles... I'm extremely happy with where and how I fish, plus the sizes that come over the side. Surf and me don't mix... No guts, no glory, eh?

Good fortune on the cobes...

Jimbo



BIGKEV said:


> This is all crap. I've always found the best days for fishing is on my day off.


Ever thought of wagging it one day Kev? If you do, make sure you plan it around the moon phase! 

Jimbo


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## carnster (May 27, 2008)

Yeah Jim any jew is gr8 fun on light gear. I used to catch them up to 6kg on sp.'s using 8lb and they are a blast on that gear for sure.


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