stanage bay / shoalwater

[Andrew Wilson]

gday guys,
    looking at doing a two week trip from Tweed Heads up to either one of the places mentioned but would like some guidence first.
    When does the area around shoalwater open?
    Whats the best time of year for popping them areas?
    If these areas are not accesible with 5.1 quinny with 100 horse where should fish?
   
Any locals or people that have fished and know the areas I would love to hear from u, but any info ould be much appreciated.

   thanks in advance
   Andrew

[Vic Levett]

Gday Andrew
We did a trip there in Dec 2009 (Stanage ) along with Tony Fowler and we both did a report on the trip ..Theres a mile of info on this site Re Stanage  The general area is open to fishing 24/7 ,...some areas close to the military are closed for short periods but that shouldnt concern you as there is too much area to cover as it is .. A 5.1 quiny is prob as small as you would want to go , as Gt trips were generally a 70 km trip (one way ) . If you get the weather no prob if you dont you can always go Barra fishing at Awoonga
Regards Vic

[Bernie Keys]

Been there a few years ago, loved it
Camp ground is free but basic. No water except tanks but water quality dubious    Can be busy because its free but worst case is that you are out in the open with no shade.
2 Long drop dunnys. Couple of lemon trees.

Township has a pub/general store/petrol station for basics and fuel as well as a marine/tackle place. There is a Volunteer Marine Rescue next to the boat ramp.

Road in was (is?) 100km narrow rough gravel through unfenced low cattle country. Can be boggy in a couple of places. Telstra NextG phone coverage but only with an external aerial and then it can be patchy.

Tides are big at Stanage 7m (yep seven meters)  and the end of the concrete ramp dries to rocky slippery mud at low tides.

Need to be at the ramp half an hour before the low tide to get a boat in or out, but fine in any other tide. The surrounds around the ramp are rough rock so no beaching boats except on the ramp itself while you hop in and out 

Water out the front  to the islands is fairly shallow and has 2-3knots of tidal current  but if you pick the tide running with the wind its not so bad running in/out to the Islands, but its a fair hike.

Some of the Islands provide good anchorage over night but yatchs often stop there so unless you get there early you get second best. Mossies & sandflies make the island camping a pain (most are national parks) but if you are set up with repellent & midge proof tent/swag its fine.

With 5.1 meters, you are going to have to pick your days to go outside so best to allow plenty of time. You can always fish the sound itself for mudcrabs (though check the season), Barramundi, Salmon, Queenfish, but again check the season.

[Andrew Wilson]

ok is there anywhere wherese you guys could recommend to take my boat and catc good fish?
Ive been looking at shoalwater bay does anyone have any recent reports and best times oy year etc to fish this area?
Do they have somewhere that sells fuel etc?
andrew

[Gary Prerost]

Hi Andrew, Stanage is a great place to fish so much country you could spend a month there no trouble.Yes they sell fuel at the pub good counter meal as well but you need to book a meal.We booked a house for ten dfays through the pub it was clean slept up to 10 people had fridges freezers washing machine bbq ,and was cheap for the week.
In your boat I was there recently I only landed one GT which I considered more luck than anything else.I saw alot of boats with extra fuel on board (jerry cans)so overnighting on an island saves alot of fuel.We fished down to the green zone at shoalwater and had a ball using plastics,surface lures .On one day three of us landed maybe 400 fish and between us over five days lost close to a grands worth of lures.Its not just a great GT location we were constantly surprised by the size and quality of the fish.
On 15kg I was down to the last few turns of line on maybe four occassions.So fishing light is at your own peril.I took three casting outfits 15, 24,and 37kg and consider all light tackle
Definately talk to the guys at the coastguard they can give you invaluable info on prevailing conditions and where best to head they to are fishermen.You can pick up free zoning charts from the marine dealer .These are also invaluable we took two boats and fished the general area together always knowing where the other was, great peace of mind. Its not hard to workout where to fish, one persons success doesnt equate to being able to find fish in the same location wind and tides make a big difference. We were given some great GPS marks .Only one fired and it was because the tides we fished were completely different.
You will love Stanage

[Andrew Wilson]

thanks alot for the replies guys does anyone have any recent info on best times to fish SHOALWATER and when its open for us to fish the restricted areas.
Does anyone know why stanage does not fish aswell as shoalwater for gts?
I own the GT safari DVD from nomad and they brain them there I cant see why they are noy as common at stanage?

[Graham Scott]

Gday Andrew,

The closures in Shoalwater Bay are listed in the notice to mariners on the MSQ website. Msq.qld.gov.au???
Shoalwater Bay and Stanage Bay are names used often well out of context that becomes very confusing.
Stanage Bay is actually a small bay about 2 or 3 headlands south of the boat ramp at Plum tree (often called Stanage Bay). There are more houses at Alligator Bay (on the way to Plum tree and still north of Stanage Bay).

If you turn left after heading out from Plum tree you basically enter "Shoalwater Bay" which slowly gets narrower as you head south and finally ends up as Head Creek. Along the western side are places like Stanage Bay, The Hollins, Shoalwater Creek, Oyster creek etc. Along the east side is Strongtide Passage, Keiver Creek, East creek etc.
I think most of the confusion stems from the Shoalwater Bay Military Traing Area which includes the coastline from about Cape Manifold 30 miles north of Yeppoon, northward past Port Clinton, Island Head Creek, Townsend Island, then does a U-turn down into "Shoalwater Bay" and includes both sides back to around to about Sabina Point on the western side of Shoalwater Bay.

I think the DVD you have probably has no locations "in" Shoalwater Bay. There are good GTs up the east (outside coast) like Island Head Creek and the Claras. There are good GT's around the islands further north like Hexham, the Percy's etc which are easily accessed from Plum Tree. There are a few GTs in Shoalwater Bay, but it gets a lot like an estuary fairly quickly.
I have probably totally confused you.
Simplest approach, go to Stanage Bay, head out to the islands to the north east, look for lots of current around rocky points and chuck big poppers on the uphill (pressure side) of the points...and hang on.

[Graham Scott]

OOPS,
If you turn left out of Plumtree you end up at Mackay...
If you turn RIGHT you end up in Shoalwater.

Geez I'm hopeless. Got to bring a boat up from Brisbane shortly, keep Australia on my LEFT, keep Australia on my LEFT.  Hope I don't end up in Sydney

[Andrew Wilson]

Thanks alot Mate I'll look into it a little further now. Do u have any suggestions for other possable locations other than the two mentioned? And best times of year to fish

[Mark Harris]

That made me smile Graham, really it did  .

OOPS,
If you turn left out of Plumtree you end up at Mackay...
If you turn RIGHT you end up in Shoalwater.

Geez I'm hopeless. Got to bring a boat up from Brisbane shortly, keep Australia on my LEFT, keep Australia on my LEFT.  Hope I don't end up in Sydney

[Graham Scott]

Gday Andrew,
I know the outside coast a lot better than the Islands off Stanage Bay. Others might do better.
Generally the first bunch, Marble Hunter etc are probably a bit shallow and dirty (worth a good look tho)
After that every Island and rock is a chance. I think its about finding the right combo of rocks, current and depth rather than any particular Island.
From Hexham across to High Peak should work, as would South Sail and Sail Rock on the way to Percy.
I fished Hannah Rock which doesn't come out of water,for big Mackerel but didn't see GTs.
We also caught GTs up around Digby, but thats a long way from Stanage.
Gts are where you find them. I don't think the rules they use in the GBR apply, dirty water is fine, no bait is OK. The only things I look for are current heaping up against rocks and nearby deep water.


Based on my directional skills I might have been somewhere completely different.

[Travis Heaps]

If you're looking for bang for buck i'd go further north and access the reefs.  Shoalwater is a spectacular spot but the fishing can be hit and miss at best.  It seems when it's on, it's hot...other times it's dead.  It's also an area you need to spend a lot of time in to work out.  Can be hard fishing as well (ie brutal on gear/tough to extract fish). 

If you're into adventure and keen to work for fish then yes definitely go,  if you want to have it handed to you on a platter and expect to clean up then no go elsewhere.
 

[Graham Scott]

Yeah,
I agree with Travis. It can be pretty tough if only chasing GT's. Reef and estuary fishing is also good tho. If its blowing you won't have any GT options, just creeks.

[Andrew Wilson]

How much fuel would u need to carry around for a overnight trip tobyhe islands say Percy and any near by islands would two hundread litter do ? As I have a four stroke it is a tad better on fuel than a normal two stroke.

[Travis Heaps]

No offence but if you're not resourceful enough to work out distances from a marine chart or google earth and then determine the litres of fuel you'll require for your boat/motor combo then maybe shoalwater isn't the best place for you.