Middle Creek

[dawallace45]

I took the Jonsboat for a overnighter to Middle creek last week , weather was cold and windy , wind from the North , North West for most of the time , the fish were shut down , not feeding , didn't seem to be any bait fish about , all the places I've seen big mobs of them in the past were bare , not a bloody cracker .

We'd got there in the afternoon , put up camp and got the boat in the water and went for a look see , we put the crab pots in a couple of deep holes

I slept in my Hennessey Fat Boy hammock and it was the best nights sleep I've had for a very long time , when I woke up my back felt great , didn't even have the arthritis in the upper spine that usually wakes me at 4.00 am , if it weren't for all the bruising that I had from a seizure I had in the middle of the night when I got up to take a pee I would have been totally pain free ,

My mate who slept in a surf board case on top of one of my stretchers with self inflating mattress , slept the sleep of the dead , which was fitting since the surf board case actually looked like a coffin and was even lined with red fabric that looked the part , by the time he got up in the morning I had breakfast , had the coffee on and had my hammock packed away and the boat ready to go , mate noticed the grass and crap on my polar fleece pullover draped over the back of the ute and asked what happened to it , I said I got the crap on it when I had a seizure in the middle of the night , mate freaked out , wanted to know why I hadn't mentioned it before and wanted to know what had happened and where , when I showed him he was even more up set , said I'm bloody lucky I didn't come down on the rock lined fire pit and crack my head open , didn't have the heart to tell him I did come down on it but only hit it with my back , shoulder and neck , as it is I don't think he'll choose to be coming with me again , I think it all worried him a bit too much , to me it wasn't that big a deal , it's been happening on and off for more than 25 years , since the first time I fractured my skull , it doesn't happen all that often and it's just some thing I live with

When the mate finally stoped freaking out we got on the water , it was low tide and the wind was blowing like a bastard , we cruised around trying to find some bait schools , we walked up the side creek to several places that were normally thick with poddy mullet and other bait but not a cracker

Mate Mick walking along the creek with the cast net

Trawler washed up on the Beach of Middle Island , seems the anchor dragged while the crew were heavy on the booze up the pub

Some of the so called fishing shacks on the island , seems the 99 year lease is up this year and the National parks wants to bulldoze the lot of them , most of them are comfortable two or three bedroom homes

Best way to learn about a place you want to fish is to check it out at low tide , we got our chance this day , were weren't even able to pick up our crab pots until about 1.30 pm

There is a rock bar that goes most of the way across the creek , there is a deep hole just in front of the break in it on the island side , the sounder showed a huge ball of fish , seemed to be both bait fish and some huge suckers as well , water was crystal clear , could see lots of fish in the water , wouldn't take a bait or lure

Middle creek is one of the nicest spots I know , every time I come back from there I feel mentally rejuvenated even if I tend to come back physically stuffed , while I love boats and don't intend to give them up the rocking motion in boats buggers my back bad and I'm really not up to much for a few days afterwards , I do better with kayaks for some reason

David

 

[Wannabe]

David,
I don't know if it is the same for ya'll as it is for us, but when a front moves through fishing (or should I say catching) just isn't worth a toot for a couple of days. Does your cold fronts come from the north or south. I'd be guessing the south. Sounds like ya had a good time even if ya didn't catch any fish.
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

Dave, I'm glad you finally got a bit of a holiday for yourself. You've deserved it for a long while, now. Sorry about the seizure and bruising; glad about the Hennessy.

 

[oldsparkey]

That sure is some good looking water you have there for your enjoyment. A cold fount shuts the fish down around here for a couple of days but then they get back to feeding. Like they say "A bad day of fishing beats a good day at work". Plus you and your Mate had a chance to unwind and relax which is really nice.

Chuck.

 

[bearridge]

Friend David,

Mitey purty pichurs! Beautiful water 'n sunset on a sandbar iz mitey special in my book, but ever time I read one of yer posts, ya done hurt yerownself agin. I dont know if ya'll listen ta the blues music downunder, but Booker T. (who played with Steve Cropper 'n Duck Dunn in "Booker T. & the MG's" and William Bell (anuther Memphis fella) wrote this one which sounds a lot like yer life.....so far.

Born under a bad sign
I been down since I begin to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck,
I wouldn't have no luck at all

[There iz some more lines, but I reckon ya'll git the pichur.]

be careful out there
bearridge

 

[hairymick]

G'day Dave,

Nice report and piccies mate.

A couple of observations if you don't mind?

Middle Creek has been flogged by the commercial net fishermen for years/decades to the point where some would argue that are no fish worth a damn left to catch in the southern reach of it. I sort of agree with that.

Are you still loaded for bear? as in line and tackle size? If so, try cutting your line poundage at least in half in those very clear conditions. The fish left there are line mart and this will make a huge difference for you. i would drop down to at most 6 or 8 pound line and target bream and flathead instead of barra and salmon. and take one heavy line just in case.

Next time have a look in Eurimbula Creek. It is closer to you, there are more fish there and the net guys can't work it. 8) The place is crawling with all the usual sub-tropical species plus your beloved barra if you go far enough upstream. It is Pat O'reilly of (Pat's Bait and Tackle fame) favourite salt water barra spot (and closely guarded secret till now) :lol:

Guys, re cold fronts here. They come from the south-west and usually in the form of fresh to gusty south westerly winds - but they bring clear sunny skys and are often followed by a spell of very mild nd warm winter days. Our weather has gone bloody mad however and makes little sense to me now. hence a cold front from the north.

A cold front will shut some of our species right down while at the same time, it is the trigger for other species to really fire up. Barramundi will become lethargic and not feed at all while our threadfin and burnett salmon go beserk. They are renowned sport and table fish but I don't bother with them much because the buggers keep towing me into the trees etc.

 

[dawallace45]

Bob , this area is where the northern tropical species meat the southern species , any major change seems to shut them down here , but the difference this time from when I was there a few weeks before with Shirley for the first paddle of the lakers was this time we only saw fish in the deep hole by the rock bar , the time before there were fish every where , we had a weather change and they were shut down but you could seen them where every you looked , you could see good sized Barra in the snags , there were bait fish schools so thick you were tempted to try walking on them , there were schools of reef fish swimming up the creek , they weren't taking a bait or lure according to the people fishing there but had been on three or four day before and doing well , this time pretty much every where was bare ,

But the trip was meant to be mainly a better look around and with in the limitations of the tides we did that , being school holidays there were still a number of people there and of all the people I talked to only one was catching fish , this guy was using fresh live yabbies and catching a few undersize bream ,

Jack , yep the Hennessy worked fine , need to get back out here and get some good sleep again

Chuck ,any time out on the water beats working , doesn't matter what weather , catching fish is just a bonus

Bear, no not a fan of Blues , and I don't hurt my self every time , maybe every second time , well really not even that bad , but I do have some problems that make things a little more difficult , the seizures normally aren't a problem because at home I just sit down when I get up to take a leak in the middle of the night , when I do this seizures just don't happen , also when I feel one coming on I can just lay down and it doesn't happen , but when your standing up taking a pee against a tree and it starts to come you can either lay down and pee all over your self or hope you finish your pee before you collapse or your going to pee all over your self , this time I was able to finish before I went down

I used to get hurt because I spent a lot of time out in remote places by my self in extremes of temperature and pushed the envelope and took chances some people wouldn't , now I get hurt because I have previous injuries and health problems but still want to keep doing the things I love doing , my doctors warn me all the time to take it easy and take up different interests , one suggested board games and another said I should take up Lawn bowls , stuff that

Mick , not at all sure but it was my understanding that the net fellers haven't worked Middle creek for some years , there have been some great catches taken out of there by line fishermen in the last couple of years , I'll see if I can ask around and find out if they still net there , this last month I've seen more people at Middle creek than I have in the whole three years before , it's starting to get popular

According to the rangers there was to be 150 people at Eurimbulla Creek in the last week of the school holidays , too many people for me , but will be going there soon , figured to fish the high tides in the boat and paddle the creek on the low tides , and fish the ocean beach at night

I talked to Pat a few weeks ago he was saying the weather was so erratic that no where was doing well except for the very odd day now and then , he did reckon that if you can't catch a fish at Middle or Eurimbulla then there wasn't much point going else where .

I was using a light weight Graphite rod with 10 lb braid with a 8 lb mono leader as my main line , I did troll with my heavier 30 lb braid line but that was all it was used for , for the most part I used a drop shot rig with a jig head with slambait tail as the bottom weight and a prawn 15 inches up from it , I also had the berley pot out .

I prefer catching Jacks and Flathead to Barra or Bream any time but have found when things slow down go light on the tackle , according to a old guy there , [ retired trawlerman , used to deliver supplies to the people on the island years back ] the Salmon haven't come on yet at Middle , this guy seems to live there , I hear he spends 3 weeks out of 4 there , it's should be too cold for Jacks now but the Flathead should have been on

But I'll me going back to there or more probably Eurimbulla creek in the next couple of weeks

Found a interesting online paddling mag , check out page 28 , will have to check this out , also has a interesting article on Kleppers

http://www.upstreampaddle.com/media/Aut ... gazine.pdf



David

 

[oldsparkey]

David......

You said ...." I just sit down when I get up to take a leak in the middle of the night , when I do this seizures just don't happen " ... So have a chair next to your hammock , get out of it and then sit down for a spell , when you know everything is OK ... Do ya business and then hit the hammock.

Chuck.

 

[dawallace45]

Chuck , since this has happened to me a few times while out camping and I'm getting sick of checking out a soft place to fall in the middle of the night encase I go down , forgot to do this time , in the next few weeks I intend to get a toilet seat on a fold-up frame

David

 

[bearridge]

I'd be mitey proud if I had ta git up at nite ta bleed my rat, sat down on a chair 'n took care of bizness (over the side 'er over the front of the chair). lol I knew a ole colored fella who coulda done that. He wuz deaf 'n lived rite beside state highroad #8 tween here 'n Grenada. One woman tole a pal of mine that once upon a time she tried him out. Sez she walked crooked fer a week....never agin.

What a sad tale! He wuz a nice fella....lived alone in a shack. Had a fine garden. He walked in the highroad ta Minter City 'n on the way home one nite a car come along 'n kilt him dead. He never heard it comin'. I reckon there iz a blues song in there. Hiz whole life wuz one nite stands 'n silence.....less hiz ears rang? My pal let him live in hiz shack free, paid hiz electrical bill 'n sent a tractor row up hiz garden ever spring. He never done nobody wrong. Mister Madoff, the Wall Street CEO's 'n our politikle folk aint up ta washin' hiz dirty shorts.

I near bout hijacked this one, but I come back frum the edge jest in time 'n drifted back, rite? [chuckle]

regards
bearridge

The very purpose of existence is to reconcile the glowing opinion we hold of ourselves with the appalling things that other people think about us.  Quentin Crisp

 

[oldsparkey]

David....

Keep in mind I am not a Doctor.....I am just going from my personal experience over the last 16 years and guessing about yours.

You condition might be related to your heart rate , you problem is that it is your system doing it to you , while mine is an implanted item.
Either way an elevated or decreased heart rate can do what you described , with me an elevated heart rate which is what caused all of my problems to start with 16 years ago , when I hit the floor.
The doc's gave me a safety check item , actually on my 4th one.

If my heart rate is to low then I have the pacer part of my unit kick in , If it gets to high or irregular then the Defibrillator goes to work which stops and restarts the heart , That part is NO FUN....NO FUN AT ALL.... It fry's me and I hit the dirt since I can't move a mussel for several minutes and don't want to for a lot longer after that. ( want to see what it is like , plug in a 220 line , get a Missouri Mule to kick you in the back and someone to shoot you in the chest with a 8 ga shotgun all at the same time and you are about half way there)


As far as hammocks ...........
I have found that getting in the hammock is not a problem unless I have to wiggle around like a worm to get comfortable , then I check my heart rate to make sure it is not to high ,( sometimes saying a little prayer to get the beats down ) same thing when getting out of the hammock. I have a chair set up so if I need to drop the heart rate then I can sit there and relax for a moment if I have to , if not then it is a handy item to have when getting dressed and ready for the day.

Don't get me wrong , I really , really like my one hammock but that is one reason I have switched over to a side entry one ... It is just like at home ..... sit down , lay down and sleep , sit up , then when ready , get up , just like at home when getting in or out of my bed.
Just saying what works for me , might not be good for you.

 

[dawallace45]

Bear , taking a leak from a normal chair isn't that hard but my camping chair is a sort of fold up deck chair and you sit that far back not even a Jack Donkey could take a leak with out giving him self a shower in that chair

Chuck the first several times it happened I ended up in hospital getting my head stitched up and getting treatment for concussion , they checked me out pretty thoroughly even put me on the treadmill with enough wiring on me to wire a small house , they kept telling me to go faster and faster trying to get my heart rate up but called it a day when my bad knee folded up on me I went arse over , banged my head and nose on the bar and put my back out , but they seemed to agree that what ever else it was that killed me it wouldn't be my heart , the only thing they did find through all the testing was that every time I was a bit low on potassium ,

When it happens I start to feel thick headed and confused and then get all tingly , my legs turn to rubber and I go down , as I regain consciousness I have convulsions and then I lay there too week to get up or move for about 10 to 20 minutes and then I can crawl back to bed and usually lay beside it for another 10 minutes or so until I feel strong enough to actually climb back into bed , I do tend to look pale and feel weak as a kitten for the next day , only been happening since the first time I fractured my skull but it's been happening to my father for over 70 years

David

 

[hairymick]

figured to fish the high tides in the boat and paddle the creek on the low tides , and fish the ocean beach at night

Dave, Work your way up the creek at low tide and up on the rise. Head over in behind the north shore and as the tide is covering the yabbie bank about 100 metres from the creak entrance, walk the flats - sight fishing. Big tripple tail work that bank every day. They feed on the yabbies and will take little else. Put one about 20 feet in front of the beast and wait. 8)

There also be solid flathead in the same area and millions of yellow fin whiting for those so inclined. 8) Last time I fished those flats in those conditions, I only kept the fish I had to kill to get off the hook. In two hours, I had 43 whiting, four lizards (flathead) and a tripple tail in the bag.

 

[gbinga]

Mick, David -

What are you calling a bream?

Here in the states we call a small freshwater perch family fish a bream. We call them bluegills, also. Same family of fish. What I'm talking about, if it is the size of my hand I feel like I got a nice one. Very good eating fish, but very small.

You're fishing saltwater... I have a feeling what you call a bream is something different?

Just curious -

George

 

[dawallace45]

Mick

Thanks , but what is a tripple tail , never heard the tag before

George
Yellow fin bream [ Silver Bream ] Acanthopagrus australis
http://www.fishingaustralia.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=62&Itemid=35

Not a bad fish , doesn't taste too bad and tend to be reasonable prolific , salt water fish

David

 

[hairymick]

G'day George,

What are you calling a bream?

Got this one today. 13 inches and a bit over a pound in weight, slightly larger than average for here.

There are several sub-species and they are prolific thoughout Aus and SE Asea. pound for pound, they fight well. they are the complete omnivore and will and do eat anything. their flesh can be rated as pungent and very ordinary to superb, depending on where they are caught and what they have been eating. The ones in my local river are very good to eat and they are Robin's favourite fish.

I caught about thirty this morning but kept these for our dinner tomorrow night. (the long skinny ones at top are whiting)

Dave, a triple tail is a sub species of barramundi, I think. They look just like a dark coloured barra only with an extended dorsal and anal fin that makes them look like they have three tails. will try to find an image. Eurimbula is the only place I have caught them and the last one I landed took me 40 minutes from hook-up to beaching. It was about 7 kilograms in weight. allmost spooled me twice with 400 yards of 6 pound line.

Oh yeah, got this bugger too today,

a hairy cat

 

[gbinga]

Thanks, Mick.

Here is a link to a post Jdupre made a while back. Nice catch of what we call Bream here in the states. We call them bream or bluegill or a variety of subspecies names like warmouth, shellcrackers, etc. Great eating, but small. The ones Joey shows next to his flyrod range from small to very nice size. Size and quality of fish vary according to what part of the country and what sort of water.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5483

I spend a lot of time fishing for these little fellas. I find it just as satisfying to hunt the good ones as it is with any other species. And of course you catch the occasional catfish or bass by accident, which is fun on four to six pound test.

George

 

[oldsparkey]

We have a Tripletail around here in the salt water. They can get up to 40 pounds and are exceptional eating , very delicious.