South East Queensland

Kayak Fishing

Pumicestone Passage and associated creeks

Date:3rd February 2007
Time:5:30am - 10:00am
Tide:High at 10:53am (Toorbul)
Launch site:Ningi Creek (Toorbul)
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lures
Report:It seems that every time I've gone fishing lately there have been big tides and today was no exception. Still, it did make it easy paddling upstream to our target area under the power lines.
 This was the maiden voyage for Ross's new Howe Extasea SOT. But more on that some other time.
 I gave my new SX40 (Bluegill) a swim and before long hooked up and had a serious tussle before landing a 26cm Bream which had been foul hooked in the side of the head. It was quite some time later, just when I was thinking the water was a bit dirty and I should change to a more visible lure, when I hooked another 26cm Bream -- this one hooked fairly in the mouth.
 Ross christened his kayak with an undersize Bream before we headed back. When we were nearly back to the launch site we paddled in among the now flooded mangroves and I caught a 35cm Flathead that ungratefully spiked and sliced my fingers as I released it.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:6th January 2007
Time:6:00am - 10:00am
Tide:Low at 6:50am (The Skids)
Launch site:Roys
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lures
Report:We'd been hoping for a Mooloolaba offshore session but the forecast wind ruled that out and even made the waters of Moreton Bay a dubious option. Instead we sought shelter from the wind amongst the islands in the centre section of the Pumicestone Passage.
 Ross started off with an undersized Flathead from a channel between two islands not far from where we had launched. We tried similar spots with no further success.
 Out in the main channel I decided to have a look around the Bribie Island side, while Ross stayed put for a while before heading towards the mouth of Coochin Creek and working along the small islands on the way back towards the launch site.
 While I caught nothing, Ross managed a small Bream and a few more Flathead including two nice keepers. All of Ross's fish fell to an Ecogear SX40.
 I have to confess that on the way home I called in to a tackle shop and bought an SX40 for my next estuary session.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:6th February 2006
Time:6:00am - 10:30am
Tide:Low at 10:34am (Toorbul)
Launch site:Ningi Creek (Toorbul)
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied and soft plastic lures
Report:Our plan this morning was to paddle upstream to the area around the power lines then drift back, casting lures at the snags, drains, and banks as they were exposed by the falling tide. Of course, it's difficult to paddle past "fishy looking" spots without having a cast or two.
 Ross opened his account with a Flathead just over 40cm taken from a gap in the mangroves opposite our launch site.
 We eventually reached our target area where Ross continued his good form, while I was unable to raise a scale. It wasn't all success for Ross as two fish took lures home to decorate their snags. In this particular spot I noticed a lot of small crabs scrambling around the bank, so I now have a plan to head back there armed with a heavy baitcaster and some Berkley Gulp 1" Crabs. Drifted down along the ledge with a thumb clamped down on the reel and I reckon I'll have a chance of finding whether these where Mangrove Jacks of Estuary Cod.
 My only fish for the day was a Crescent Perch hardly bigger than the lure.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:27th March 2005
Time:11:00am - 1:45pm
Tide:High at 10:21am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Donnybrook
Water temperature:25°C
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lures, Soft Plastics
Report:I had a late start, made later by the traffic travelling North out of Brisbane on the Bruce Highway.
 While I was preparing to launch, a bait fisho landed two bream from the shore near the boat ramp.
 I paddled North to Glass Mountain Creek trolling a hard bodied lure over the flats and along the edges of weed beds. By the time I entered the creek I'd had no success with trolling so switched to casting soft-plastics along the mangrove fringes, concentrating on any snags and drains that entered the creek.
 After a couple of kilometres with no success and the wind making things uncomfortable I called it quits and trolled back to the launch site. There's always tomorrow.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:15th January 2005
Time:6:00am - 9:30am
Tide:Low at 7:42am
Launch site:Ningi Creek (Toorbul)
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:Hard bodied lures, Soft Plastics, Bait
Report:As the remnants of cyclone "Kerry" had caused the cancellation of a planned Palm Beach excursion, three of us decided to fish the calm waters of Ningi Creek.
 We headed upstream flicking and trolling hard-bodied lures along the banks with Stefan doing the same with prawns and managing to get just a few touches.
 Upstream from "Gerard's Drain" I caught and released a 27cm Bream and it wasn't until we worked our way up past the jetty to the snaggy banks that I captured another Bream and a tiny Estuary Cod.
 Nick then caught and released an Estuary Cod and I managed a small Flathead before bringing in another small Estuary Cod at "Tony's Rocks" past the overhead cable.
 By this time a few light showers were hanging around and the wind was picking up so we decided to call it a day, have a cup of coffee at the local restaurant, and head for home.
Submitted by:Ross
Date:10th July 2004
Time:7:30am - 11:45am
Tide:Low at 10:21am (Toorbul)
Launch site:Ningi Creek (Toorbul)
Water temperature:14-16°C
Lures/baits used:Soft plastics and hard-bodied lures
Report:With 15 to 20 knot winds forecast for Moreton Bay our plans to fish the reefs of Woody Point were blown away, so Gerard, Ross, and I decided to meet at Ningi Creek.
 We started fishing the oyster racks opposite the boat ramp but the fish wouldn't come out to play so we headed upstream to find them.
 It took until 9:30am before I opened our account with a 26cm bream taken on a 1½" pumpkin-seed Slider. Then only minutes later Gerard took the best fish of the day — a 55cm flathead.
 Again things went quiet and we headed further upstream. Gerard and Ross concentrated on the snaggy bank under the power lines while I headed further along to some rocky outcrops on the opposite side. Around 10:30am I landed a 25cm bream, followed a few minutes later by a 28cm bream which in turn was followed by a 40cm flathead. All were taken from the same cluster of rocks and again it was a pumpkin-seed Slider that worked for me.
 I persisted a while longer for no result before paddling back to see how the others were getting on. At the same time I had caught my fish Ross had landed two bream measuring 25cm and 26cm both taken on a 2" pumpkin-seed Bass Assassin Curly Shad, and Gerard had landed a flathead smaller than his first.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:3rd May 2004
Time:05:45am - 10:00am
Tide:High at 7:57am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Toorbul
Water temperature:21°C
Lures/baits used:Slugs and soft plastics
Report:Put in at Toorbul and headed north with the tide. Hit a steady 10knot NW wind which was working against the tide, this produced short sharp waves which made for a rocky paddle. I paddled along the main channel looking for signs of any tailor. I threw out a small slug and trolled it along hoping something would find it. I began to stop paddling, let the slug sink and get it up off the bottom by paddling a bit and repeat the process. It didn't take long and I hooked up to a flathead of about 35cm. Quick release and I continued on.
 With the conditions it was hard going and I intended to get up around Cowie Bank but when I got to the shallow passage between Little Goat Island and the mangroves near Donnybrook I took a left turn. There was an oyster lease there and it was out of the wind so I threw some plastics around. The surface activity suddenly increased with something smashing prawns and baitfish everywhere around me, I was in two feet of water. I threw out the plastic and got some hits but didn't hook up.
 On one cast as soon as it hit the water I hooked up and this thing gave a fantastic account of itself with several screeching runs and dogged attempts to criss cross under the boat. I was very surprised to see a sea mullet come up beside the boat, and promptly drop off the hook as I was lifting it on (mental note use the bloody net). Estimated size about 40-50cm and thick. I continued to cast out a small soft plastic and work it back across the top of the water, the mullet would make thrashing hits on it but I couldn't hook up again. It was very visual and great fun. I did hook up a small bream but dropped it also near the boat.
 The wind had dropped during this session and after the majority of the school had moved on I decided to head off also. As I made my way into Dunlops Gutter the wind blew into my face. Great the wind had changed direction and I'd be pushing into it on the way home too. I spent a very small amount of time casting at an oyster lease and then decided to head for home as the wind increased. Once again I was pushing into the wind and a small short chop on the run home, not happy Jan.
 All in all an interesting day, those mullet pull well for their size I just need to work out how to improve the hook up rate.
 Overview:
  1. should have hit the creek to get out of the wind, and
  2. the passage is a bloody big piece of water at high tide.
You'd think I would have learnt by now.
Submitted by:Gavin
Date:19th April 2004
Time:6:30am - 11:30am
Tide:High at 9:27am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Toorbul
Water temperature:25°C
Lures/baits used:Soft plastics
Report:As soon as I launched I paddled straight across the Passage to Gallagher Gutter as I could see quite a few splashes to investigate. They turned out to be mullet jumping in about 20cm of water so I ignored them and headed for some channel markers.
 On the up-current side of one of the markers there were a few boils and bulges in the water that definitely looked like feeding fish. Second cast saw me hooked up and bitten off just as quickly — soft plastics on small jigheads are not the ideal lure when tailor are around! Grabbed my other rod, rigged with a small slug, and sent a few casts in there but couldn't raise them again.
 By this time the wind and tide had taken me out of range so I re-rigged my soft plastics rod with an Ecogear Minitank (shrimp/green back colour) and worked it through the sand patches scattered among the weed beds. This accounted for a 25cm bream at about 8am. I continued this until the wind and tide had taken me level with Donnybrook.
 The tide had almost stopped but the wind seemed a little stronger so I crossed the Passage and headed for Elimbah Creek looking to get out of the wind. Fished the channel markers and mangroves around the mouth of Elimbah Creek to no avail.
 The tide had started to change and the wind eased so I paddled to the reef opposite Toorbul for a final fish. Landed an undersized flathead (33cm) then shortly after got two pike (30cm) on consecutive casts. All three were taken on a jellyprawn Squidgie Wriggler.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:19th December 2003
Time:9:00am - 12:30pm
Tide:Low at 11:46am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Ningi Creek (Toorbul)
Water temperature:27-29°C
Lures/baits used:Soft plastics and hard-bodied lures
Report:This was the first opportunity I'd had in three months to go out for a paddle. A quick look at the tides and I decided to launch at Ningi Creek on the falling tide to paddle down and have a look around the mouth then use the change of tide and forecast south-easterly breeze to take me back to the launch site.
 Started casting a minnow around the racks before trolling along the edges of sandbanks and weed beds. The only signs of life was a turtle I saw shortly after launching.
 At the mouth there are a couple of places that will be worth a look next bream season, but apart from another turtle and a couple of stingrays things were quite. A baitfisher in a nearby boat caught a legal bream.
 Change of tide and time to head back, casting soft plastics along the sand banks and drop-offs as I went. Saw yet another turtle (or the same one as earlier?).
 Almost back to the ramp and the breeze was favourable for a drift between the oyster racks so in I went casting ahead. I finally caught and released a bream of about 20cm, taken on a jellyprawn Squidgie Wriggler. There were actually a few schools of garfish around the racks and a couple of unidentified fish about 30cm long zooming in and out of the shallows — I might have had more success if I'd stayed near the racks and hadn't gone exploring...
Submitted by:Tony
Date:29th June 2003
Time:8:00am - 1:00pm
Tide:High at 8:57am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Toorbul
Water temperature:17°C
Lures/baits used:Soft plastics
Report:I spoke briefly with a local who was pumping bait near the boat ramp as I set up my kayak. He said that fish had been scarce lately.
 I had only been paddling towards Elimbah Creek for a few minutes when I spotted a sandy-orange coloured patch of something in about a metre of water and changed direction to investigate. As I neared I saw the tail flukes and found myself alongside a dugong almost as long as my kayak. This was the first time I had seen one. I was stoked!
 Started casting around the channel markers and along the southern edge of Elimbah Creek but couldn't raise a scale. So went and cast along the oyster racks in the middle of the creek. Had a bream put a bend in the rod but didn't set the hook properly so lost it. Hooked another bream and made sure the hook was set this time, only to have it take me under the rack and sever my leader.
 Re-rigged and continued working around the oyster racks but couldn't arouse any more interest, so went across to the north bank and cast around some snags and sand flats. Managed to catch two flathead, but unfortunately only 15-18cm long.
 I spoke with a couple fishing from an outrigger canoe and they had a whiting and caught two bream on yabbies while I was talking with them. The wind was getting up so headed back, having a last fish in Gallagher Gutter opposite Toorbul, before calling it quits.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:8th June 2003
Time:am
Tide:Low at 10:01am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Donnybrook
Water temperature:n/a
Lures/baits used:Fly, soft plastics, and hard-bodied lures
Report:Fished the oyster racks at the bottom of Dunlops Gutter for bream on fly then switched to soft plastics around the flats and gutters at the mouth of Elimbah Creek for a couple of flathead to 56cm. Finished the session with another flathead taken on a trolled minnow.
 For a full report see A Winter Morning on Pumicestone Passage
Submitted by:Gavin
Date:26th May 2003
Time:12:00pm - 3:00pm
Tide:Low at 12:38pm (Bongaree)
Launch site:Toorbul
Water temperature:20°C
Lures/baits used:Soft plastics
Report:I hadn't been out the front of Toorbul before and low tide seemed a good opportunity to have a look around. Besides the wind forecast was for only 5 to 10 knots, it was a beautiful sunny autumn day, and I had a new soft plastic I wanted to try out!
 Started fishing at a rock outcrop directly opposite the boat ramp. On the third or fourth cast I scored a pike about 33cm long. Didn't really want to catch pike so moved over to some weed beds and cast into the sand patches between the weeds. Caught a flathead that would have been lucky to be 15cm long. What's worse, it spiked me as I was releasing it.
 Paddled several hundred metres down the Passage to an exposed sand bank. I drifted along parallel to the bank, casting into the shallow water and hopping the jig down the drop-off into 2 to 3 metres of water. Hooked up and after a few determined runs into deep water landed a 30cm fork-length bream. Had one more nudge that felt like a bream but failed to hookup then things quietened down for a while.
 Landed a flathead of around 30cm before calling it quits. On my way back I had a final few casts at the rocks where I had started to see if anything was about now that they were covered by the tide. Landed another pike about 30cm long.
 So what was the lure? Ecogear Minitank in shrimp/green back colour fitted to the smallest Squidgie jig head (1.5g #4).
Submitted by:Tony
Date:17th April 2003
Time:6:00am - 10:00am
Tide:High at 9:45am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Ningi Creek (Toorbul)
Water temperature:21-23°C
Lures/baits used:Soft plastics
Report:There was a strong wind warning today, but we figured that once we were on the creek we would find some sheltered areas to fish. The plan was to head upstream with the rising tide.
 Before starting upstream I took a few casts at the sand bank straight out from the ramp. The second cast scored an small flathead on a pink and white Atomic 2" Shad. Things were looking promising, but not for long...
 We headed upstream stopping for the occassional cast until we reached some oyster racks about 2km from the ramp. Gavin got stitched up in a couple of seconds by something unstoppable. We worked over the area for a while but couldn't raise another scale so it was back to paddling.
 Gavin finally tricked a 23cm bream with a 2" BBB triple-tail grub. This was at the mouth of a small drain among the mangroves where a few tiny baitfish flicking around.
 Back to paddling, we came to a section of creek where the north bank was thick with snags. Unfortunately, the strong winds and still rising tide made this section of bank nearly impossible to fish. At this stage we were 4km from the ramp, with the uninviting prospect of paddling into the wind most of the way back.
 We had our final casts among a section of mangroves which gave us some shelter from the wind. I hooked something on a 1½" glow-in-the-dark Slider but dropped it halfway back to the kayak. I'm uncertain what it was as I only caught a glimpse of something small, silver and un-bream-like.
 I think that in future I'll keep a closer watch on the wind forecast. Strong winds just make it to difficult to control the drift and are no fun to paddle against. The only good thing is that it keeps the sandflies away!
Submitted by:Tony
Date:13th April 2003
Time:6:30am - 11:00am
Tide:High at 6:38am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Donnybrook
Water temperature:24°C
Lures/baits used:Soft plastics
Report:I hadn't been up Glass Mountain Creek for almost a year and the forecast was to good to stay at home so I took advantage of the last of the run-in tide to head up the creek. It was good to see the water clearing after the recent rains. It was still a bit dirty upstream but was still cleaner the Ningi Creek was a few weeks ago.
 Scored an undersize grunter bream (about 23cm) on a 2" John Deere BBB triple-tail grub on my way upstream. Hooked it in the shade under a large mangrove and it fought cleanly, coming out into the open (probably trying to get to deeper water).
 No action further up the creek (plenty of crab pots there, and a few guys using cast nets) and as the out going tide picked up pace, a slight breeze began so it was time to head back downstream. Finally hooked a legal flathead (about 42cm) on a 1½" pumpkin-seed Slider but it spat the hook as I brought it along side.
 I've had some trouble landing decent flathead recently. I think that, because I have been targetting bream, the smaller jigs have not been giving as solid a hookup on flathead.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:25th March 2003
Time:5:45am - 10:00am
Tide:Low at 9:58am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Ningi Creek (Toorbul)
Water temperature:26°C
Lures/baits used:Soft plastics and flies
Report:It rained quite heavily while driving to the creek, but cleared up quickly once we'd arrived. We fished the run out tide around the old oyster leases.
 Only a couple of casts of a 1½" glow-in-the-dark Slider were needed to fool a 25cm flathead into eating the jig. It wasn't long before a 25cm (fork-length) bream fell to the same lure. It gave some good runs and pulled my kayak around and was nearly at the surface before it dived and tried to bury itself in the rack. Steady pressure prevailed and it swam back out to be landed, measured, and released. Gavin took a small bream on fly from under the mangroves before things went quiet for a spell.
 Drifted further towards the mouth of the creek before I scored a 28cm grunter bream on a 1½" pumpkin-seed Slider. Hooked another fish that pulled about 1 metre of line off against the drag before letting go. I suspect it was a bream that just had the jig clamped in its jaw.
 Again things went quiet as the tide slowed and the dirtier fresh water reached us. Gavin finally took the best fish of the morning, a 27cm fork-length bream on a 2" tomato-core BBB grub.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:1st March 2003
Time:6:00am - 11:30am
Tide:High at 8:43am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Ningi Creek (Toorbul)
Water temperature:25-27°C
Lures/baits used:Surface lures and soft plastics
Report:Was going to fish around the old oyster leases but because of the recent rain visibility was only 50cm so it was pretty hard to see anything. Started fishing surface lures under the mangroves about 500m downstream and opposite the ramp. Had one hit that failed to hookup but it only seemed a fairly small fish.
 Switched to soft plastics and drifted upstream with the rising tide. A couple of hours working in around the flooded mangroves of Ningi Island, switching tail colours and styles, round head and wobble head jigs, added scent and all I'd felt was one enquiry. By this stage I was about 1km upstream from the ramp and I came across a band of floating weed and a water colour change where the incoming tide was pushing up the creek. Worked along the edge of this to no avail then headed a few hundred metres further upstream as the tide changed before crossing to the left bank to work my way back with the tide.
 Finally success! Casting a 1½" glow-in-the-dark Slider into a dead snag hooked up and after stopping a few determined runs back into the snags landed a 30cm bream. No more action on my way back to the ramp and as it was getting pretty hot it was time to call quits.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:26th July 2002
Time:11:20am - 2:00pm
Tide:High at 10:42am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Donnybrook
Lures/baits used:Trolled minnow lures
Report:Paddled past Mission Point, then up the west side of the Passage to the edge of the "No Fishing" area in Tripcony Bight. Then back into the main channel for the return trip. Got diddly-squat! Water was very clear and it was just to bright in the middle of the day (Note: must try for some early starts!). Still, there was hardly a breath of wind, and with not a lot of tidal flow it was very pleasant just to be out paddling.
 One bloke I spoke to at the ramp before I headed out had had some success with 3 bream and 2 tailor.
Submitted by:Tony
Date:16th May 2002
Time:6:00am - 2:00pm
Tide:Low at 6:15am (Bongaree)
Launch site:Donnybrook
Lures/baits used:Soft plastics and flies
Report:Got a 51cm flathead on a 1¾" Atomic Paddletail in the main channel north east of Donnybrook. Gavin got a pike on fly over the weed beds and had a couple of hits that failed to hookup. Headed up Glass Mountain Creek at about 8am. Gavin picked up a flathead off the mud flats. I had a hit that failed to hookup then a bit latter got a solid hookup but it found the snags.
Submitted by:Tony
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