# QLD - Pulgul Creek Hervey Bay.



## Jeffen (Jan 18, 2011)

So I've done the seachange move, and the destination is Hervey Bay 

Loving the place, and after moving in, unpacking and working out where I managed to hide everything, I finally went for a paddle.
About 500 metres from the new home, there is a small beach that gives me access to Pulgul creek, which looks great on google maps.










This day however, it wasn't to be. I trolled a sx40 and a zman up the creek and down again, for nada, zip, zilch, nothing. Actually, it was worse than that, I lost the sx40 to a snag.
Now it's not a very big creek, but I took a leisurely couple of hours harassing every fishy looking snag I could - and there were lots of them.










Not a swirl...

I did manage to annoy about 4 turtles - I was a bit surprised by the first one scooting away, made for a bit of entertainment anyway.
Also spotted what I think is a variegated heron.



















On leaving the creek, I decided to troll to Round Island, which is a tiny island about a kilometre off the Marina.
It is in this patch of water the big turtles live I soon realised - Saw a bunch more - some probably in the 50-80 kilo range, 
these suckers are big! Interesting cloud formations on the horizon.










Again, no hits - the lost sx40 had been replaced with a rapala something, and I'd gone from a zman grub to the minnow.

Back to the beach, unfortunately there was now a lot more "beach" than previously, as I was with a falling tide. 
Ever tried to get wheels under a kayak when you are knee deep in mud? Rookie mistake 

I managed to drag the yak out to slightly deeper water where finally I could slide the wheels under and into the scupper holes, 
now for the next challenge - ever tried to drag a kayak on wheels through soft mud? Sigh, clocked up a double rookie.

Finally gave up on that before I had an aneurysm, and dragged it back through the mud to the water and paddled to the marina. Phew.

No fish, lost lure, yak and me covered in mud, but it was still a great paddle and I'll keep working that creek until it produces!










Also looking forward to catching up with a few of the local yakkers for a fish at some stage.

Cheers, Jeff


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## Jeffen (Jan 18, 2011)

indiedog said:


> Nice move Jeff, lots of good fish around there. Hope you've got a spare room for me and the family.


Heh, I'm sure something can be arranged ;-)

Really looking forward to exploring this place, despite the starting donut!
There was a 24 kilo Spaniard caught off the pier last week I hear, and the end of the pier is only a 1 k offshore.
Should get interesting. Actually I walked the pier today, and there were about 20 flatty lies about a metre long.


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## carnster (May 27, 2008)

I am sure you will catch plenty of big ones once you work it out. The marina has trevally at times.


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## Jeffen (Jan 18, 2011)

carnster said:


> I am sure you will catch plenty of big ones once you work it out. The marina has trevally at times.


Thanks Carnster, love reading your reports, hope to have some fish of note in the near future.
Certainly no shortage of fish in the area, just have to find them and land them!


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## gbc (Feb 16, 2012)

..


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## grinner (May 15, 2008)

beautiful spot indeed mate. loved the pics.
pump a few yabbies and go out on a rising tide on the flats. or a falling tide around rock walls etc.

pin the yabbie just thru the head with a size i mustad baithilder hook.

this seems to make them flick their tails like crazy.

cast in close to the rock walls and the bream trevally and cod should nail it, the flicking in particular drives em crazy.

best of luck mate


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## Jeffen (Jan 18, 2011)

gbc said:


> I just had a big old trip dowm memory lane. Where you put in was where the esplanade used to end. Back in the 70s that little lowset over the road on the corner was my uncles. We'd row an 8ft savage tern up to pulgul and fish. The dugongs would scare the pants off us when they'd silently come up to blow next to the tinny.Back then, pulgul was a holding creek for the timber barges from Fraser when they weren't in use, so always something to see and do. Try fishing the outgoing tide for the lizards.


Thanks gbc, chasing lizards on the outgoing tide was my plan that day, but I worked mostly in the creek, probably should have spent more time at the mouth of the creek.
Great info, and I'm sure a snorting dugong would have a similar effect on me 



grinner said:


> beautiful spot indeed mate. loved the pics.
> pump a few yabbies and go out on a rising tide on the flats. or a falling tide around rock walls etc.
> 
> pin the yabbie just thru the head with a size i mustad baithilder hook.
> ...


Great info grinner - I'll try pumping some yabbies on the flats and see how I go!

Thanks for the info guys, nothing beats local knowledge!

Here's a few more pics


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## JKB1 (Jun 17, 2013)

gbc said:


> The dugongs would scare the pants off us when they'd silently come up to blow next to the tinny.


Heh Heh!
I fished around Moon Point and the creeks South of there a few times and on glassed out days drifting the channels the same thing happened to me a few times. On my own in the tinny, everything was completely silent and still. I just about jumped out of my skin the first time one came up right behind me and blew!


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## kingambrose (Jul 2, 2013)

Great report, a fella from work told me about that creek, was on my to do list. Pity about the donut. Never had a dugong but I've had a turtle scare the pants of me. 
I will definately use the tips put forward, I'm only pretty new the area too so any help is awesome. I always try to try a new spot every time usually because I get nada and move on.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Watch out for stingrays Jeffen. It was at Moon Point that I nearly drowned in a foot of water. The ride back in the EMS chopper to Hervey Bay hospital revealed 20,000 stingrays on the shallow flats. :shock: 

There are some big fish in there at times, and I think your observation of the flattie lies looks promising. The creek looks very much like mangrove jack possibilities.

Good luck.


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## bildad (Jun 20, 2011)

If you want to get into the Flatties head out to River Heads they are schooling up for breeding some bloody big ones too the average size out there is about 50cm.
Either you head into the Susan River or Bengstons Creek or if you are a little more adventurous go over to the South Headland there are some rocky points off the end and the bream are on atm.
I have fished Pulgul numerous times and never had much success, summertime it's full of snot weed, I have seen some good flathead lays right at the end of the beach.
I bought a stink boat a while back and haven't been in the Yak since,(I don't miss the wet bum in winter time) but they are ideal in the skinny water around here.
Look forward to some more reports, might gee me up again.
Thanx.


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## swabio (Aug 16, 2010)

I'd love to live in Hervey Bay...... I can't get enough of the whole Hervey Bay / Fraser Island area......

I watched monster GTs smashing every livebait put to them at the end of the urangan pier....and yeah there are bazillions of rays on the west of fraser! It is such a beautiful place, pity about the Ciguatera in the bigger fish... I am going to miss being in SE QLD next year.....


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## Jeffen (Jan 18, 2011)

kayakone said:


> Watch out for stingrays Jeffen. It was at Moon Point that I nearly drowned in a foot of water. The ride back in the EMS chopper to Hervey Bay hospital revealed 20,000 stingrays on the shallow flats. :shock:
> 
> There are some big fish in there at times, and I think your observation of the flattie lies looks promising. The creek looks very much like mangrove jack possibilities.
> 
> Good luck.


Ouch, and wow, must have been quite an unpleasant experience Trev!
The flatty lies were at the Urangan Jetty, they were in groups of 4 or 5 and they were quite big. Of course given the fishing traffic the jetty sees, 
it is impractical to work those areas from a kayak, off the end maybe, but not along the jetty itself.

I'll certainly be working the creek more, the weather is pretty up and down here at the moment, so maybe it will improve as things warm up a little.
The flats around the creek look great too, I'll have to try some early starts on the right tide and see what I can find.
There are plenty of other options around here though, and as I do need to improve my paddle fitness, I should probably be working on further targets anyway 



bildad said:


> If you want to get into the Flatties head out to River Heads they are schooling up for breeding some bloody big ones too the average size out there is about 50cm.
> Either you head into the Susan River or Bengstons Creek or if you are a little more adventurous go over to the South Headland there are some rocky points off the end and the bream are on atm.
> I have fished Pulgul numerous times and never had much success, summertime it's full of snot weed, I have seen some good flathead lays right at the end of the beach.
> I bought a stink boat a while back and haven't been in the Yak since,(I don't miss the wet bum in winter time) but they are ideal in the skinny water around here.
> ...


G'day Bildad, was hoping to hear from you  , River heads sounds like the place to be! Is the ramp at the end of Ariadne St. the best place to launch?
Also, I can find Susan River and Bunya creek on google maps, but not Bengstons Creek. Where is that in relation to those?
Finally, have you fished Mary river much? If so any idea what section the famous croc lives in? 

Certainly hope to be posting reports with some fish in them soon!



swabio said:


> I'd love to live in Hervey Bay...... I can't get enough of the whole Hervey Bay / Fraser Island area......
> 
> I watched monster GTs smashing every livebait put to them at the end of the urangan pier....and yeah there are bazillions of rays on the west of fraser! It is such a beautiful place, pity about the Ciguatera in the bigger fish... I am going to miss being in SE QLD next year.....


Yes, the ciguatera is a concern, so Spanish and Cobia at the least are off the menu (like I'll catch one  ).

Thanks for the advice guys.

Jeff


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## bildad (Jun 20, 2011)

Jeffen said:


> G'day Bildad, was hoping to hear from you  , River heads sounds like the place to be! Is the ramp at the end of Ariadne St. the best place to launch?
> Also, I can find Susan River and Bunya creek on google maps, but not Bengstons Creek. Where is that in relation to those?
> Finally, have you fished Mary river much? If so any idea what section the famous croc lives in?


Yep just follow the road to the end, on the left you have a ramp, also where the ferry is, but most launch on the right hand side, Timing the tides is pretty critical unless you have a sleeker Yak compared to my Outfitter (barge) I usually catch a bit of an incoming tide to get me to where I want to be then fish the outgoing as the tide movement around the ramp is pretty fast in the middle of the tides. If you follow the shoreline from the boat ramp to your right the first big creek entrance you come to is Bengstons but working any of the island flats where it drops into the channels produces well.
Haven't fished Mary River except the entrance at River Heads, the Croc lives at Beaver Rock but I wouldn't mind betting there are a few more around there were 3 different Crocs spotted in the Mary River before the last floods, I have been into some pretty far reaches of the Susan River and they must have spotted me first cos I haven't even seen a slide mark on the banks.
The hardest part of fishing River Heads is the limited parking unless you get there early enough, funny there is more parking for boat trailers then there is for cars considering it is the major Ferry point for Kingfisher Bay (should never have taken it from the Marina). I usually drive down to the 15 min parking area on the left side where the ferry loads set up the Yak then if no car parks available head back up the hill do a Uturn and park on the side of the road, (I have never had anything stolen to this point, touch wood).
Hope it helps somewhat. ;-)


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## JKB1 (Jun 17, 2013)

kayakone said:


> Watch out for stingrays Jeffen. It was at Moon Point that I nearly drowned in a foot of water. The ride back in the EMS chopper to Hervey Bay hospital revealed 20,000 stingrays on the shallow flats. :shock:


Yep - I fly fished over there several times for goldens. Sometimes the rays and sand sharks were so thick it was incredible. You had to really shuffle and make a big commotion to clear a path through them - particularly if the water was mudded up. And we learnt to also keep an eye on the deeper water behind us as we saw a couple of big bities cruising just off the sand bars :shock:

One guy I knew got zapped by a numbfish in front of Kingfisher Resort. Not pleasant, but by the sound of it, far milder than your experience!


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## giblet (Sep 1, 2013)

i have fished pulgal countless amount of times in the yak, caught nothing but lizards on plastics and only at the mouth on the left side heading in.
Iv had alot more luck at eli creek catching lizards cod and a nice jew.
Used a hobie and went out of the harbour around the peir and beached at torquay and caught nothing trawling, tides are a must here in the bay as i got nailed with current leaving the harbour and had to walk the yak over the sandbar past the peir :/ 
Before getting a sounder for my new yak i fished gategas bay and have picked up trout cod and a few other reef species but you will have to cruise around to find some good structure.
should get together sometime for a day out on the yaks


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Jeffen said:


> Yes, the ciguatera is a concern, so Spanish and Cobia at the least are off the menu (like I'll catch one  ).
> 
> Thanks for the advice guys.
> 
> Jeff


Don't be too stressed about ciguatera. As long as you avoid the worst species and don't eat a stack of fish in one sitting, you'll be fine. Most cases are from people eating a huge amount of fish in a single sitting.


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## Jeffen (Jan 18, 2011)

giblet said:


> i have fished pulgal countless amount of times in the yak, caught nothing but lizards on plastics and only at the mouth on the left side heading in.
> Iv had alot more luck at eli creek catching lizards cod and a nice jew.
> Used a hobie and went out of the harbour around the peir and beached at torquay and caught nothing trawling, tides are a must here in the bay as i got nailed with current leaving the harbour and had to walk the yak over the sandbar past the peir :/
> Before getting a sounder for my new yak i fished gategas bay and have picked up trout cod and a few other reef species but you will have to cruise around to find some good structure.
> should get together sometime for a day out on the yaks


Eli creek sounds great  - have sent you a pm.



Junglefisher said:


> Jeffen said:
> 
> 
> > Yes, the ciguatera is a concern, so Spanish and Cobia at the least are off the menu (like I'll catch one  ).
> ...


Just want to be careful as HB is the Ciguatera hotspot - a lot of people seem to take pot luck with it up here (from reading other forums).

There is a good document discussing the toxin here http://www.nt.gov.au/d/Content/File/p/Fishnote/FN41.pdf

"the most extensive ciguatera poisoning incident in Australia took place in Sydney in
1987, when 63 people became affected following the consumption of* Spanish mackerel from the Hervey
Bay region* of Queensland"

Also

"Fish species implicated in ciguatera outbreaks in the Northern Territory and Queensland, including
outbreaks in other parts of Australia that have imported fish from these regions mostly include:
Barracuda Sphyraena jello
Chinaman fish Symphorus nematophorus
Cobia Rachycentron canadus
Coral cod Cephalopholis miniata
Coral trout Plectropomus spp.
Flowery cod Epinephelus fuscoguttatus
Groper Epinephelus lanceolatus
Paddle tail Lutjanus gibbus
Queenfish Scomberoides commersonnianus
Red bass Lutjanus bohar
Red emperor Lutjanus sebae
Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus commerson
Spotted mackerel Scomberomorus munroi
Sweetlip emperor Lethrinus miniatus
Trevally Caranx spp."

As I understand it, the main ones to avoid here are Cobia and Spanish. Some on that list are no-take, and some aren't affected until they are quite large.

Cheers, Jeff


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## MickOnTheFlick (Jan 10, 2014)

If any of you Hervey Bay guys need someone to come for a paddle shoot me a msg, I have been hitting eli creek and beelbi creek some good fish but then some days with zilch too. gatakas seems ok I got onto a mactuna there a couple of months ago. I take the kids for a swim at the beach near pulgul creek a fair bit and fish the flats every time but never hooked up there yet. Im going to try drifting the rock wall when the wind dies off


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