Port Of Brisbane: Targeting Oversized Threadfin Salmon On Lures

Nick’s Top Tips For Brisbane River Threadfin

• Over the next couple of months, the larger sized threadfin salmon in the Brisbane River will congregate in the deeper waters around the Port of Brisbane and school up. It’s uncommon to get fish of less than 90cm at these times.
• Nick is an advocate of sounding until you find the fish (not the bait, the fish), then offering vibration baits right on their noses. Start by looking at places a little out or to the side of the main current. Fish will often hold behind the ledges created by dredges along the wharves.
• It’s super important to work your lures dead slow and to keep the lures as close to the fish as possible. If fish are holding near the bottom it’s no good to have your lures are three metres above.
• Look at the solunar activity and try and target the moon up and moon down periods in the middle of the session. Fish tend to congregate more on an outgoing tide and time of day is not important for threadies at the Port of Brisbane.
• Handle threadies intended for release very carefully, they’re more sensitive than some other species. If you want to take a pic of your catch, have a mate prepare your brag mate and camera while you’re playing the fish. Once alongside, keep the fish there in a knotless mesh net until you’re ready, then pick it up with wet hands, being careful not to hold it vertically by the mouth. Snap your pic quickly and get the fish back in the water in the minimum possible time. Threadfin are prone to barotrauma, so use a release weight to lower them back to the bottom (don’t vent them please).

Nick’s Tackle Recommendations For Threadfin Salmon

• Threadfin fight clean and can be caught on very light gear, but if the aim is to release fish unharmed it’s better to go a little heavier on the gear. threadfin salmon have poor eyesight and aren’t leader shy, but they also fight hard and accumulate lots of lactic acid. In other words, heavier gear won’t cost you fish, but will allow you to return fish to the water in better condition.
• A reasonably heavy leader is a necessity as threadfin have abrasive mouths that can wear through a leader very quickly.
• Nick like spin gear for this style of fishing as casting tight to structure isn’t that important. He uses 16lb braid with a 50lb leader.

Nick’s Best Threadfin Salmon Lures

• Nick reckons vibration baits are pretty much the top choice for threadies as they have poor eyesight and live in dirty water – but are super sensitive to vibration. Soft plastics can work well too, but vibes are the top choice.
• Nick’s favourite lure for Brisbane River threadfin is the 95 mm Zerek Fishtrap. He finds this lure works better and creates vibration better than other vibes when working the lure super slowly is important. More often than not, the technique he uses in deeper water is to position his boat over the fish and “teabag” the lure vertically, using slow, gentle hops to move it across the bottom. If the fish are up on the edges of the flats or near the dropoffs created by port dredging he’ll cast rather than risk spooking them with the boat. The lure is then bumped across the bottom super slowly with gentle rod lifts.
• The Tackle Tactics Switchblade 1/2 oz metal vibe is another excellent lure for targeting threadies in the Brisbane River mouth and is used in the same way as the Fishtrap. The switchback has a wider action and will sometimes do the damage, other times the Fishtrap will win, so switch them about until you find what’s working.
• The larger Zerek Fishtrap (110mm) is a good choice when the water is running a bit faster and is used the same way as the other two lures.