WHEN Fred Olsson wants a seafood basket for dinner, he heads to the best smorgasbord in town – Moreton Bay.
The 78-year-old Redland Bay man heads there almost every day during the fishing season, regularly returning with a feed of crabs, prawns and fish.
His favourite spot is off the jetty, rock wall or mangroves at Weinam Creek ferry terminal, and occasionally not far from there in his tinnie.
“I put out the crab pots first and while I’m fishing, I’ll get one, two or five of these,” he said.
“Then I sort them out – the mud crabs and the occasional blue swimmer crabs. Of course you put the jennies back and let the fisheries know if you get a tagged one – of which there are many.”
In fact, Fred said that while he enjoyed the camaraderie of fishing off the jetty, as a relief school teacher he also enjoyed seeing children catch fish.
“It’s a good opportunity to educate kids on what to catch and how to catch it, sizes, the rules, what’s nasty and what’s not to touch,” he said.
Fred said he would cast his net for bait, using fresh prawns to catch flathead, mullet, prawns and squid to catch bream, sand worms for whiting and he even caught the occasional jew fish.
He said best times were about one hour before and one hour after a change of tide, preferring to fish in the early morning or night time.
“The fish are more active then,” he said.
Fred started fishing as a schoolboy growing up in the Snowy Mountains, enjoying catching trout in Lake Eucumbene and the crystal-clear Murrumbidgee River.
“The technique is significantly different to fishing in the bay,” he said.
“Each fish has its own method, tackle and bait.”
“I also love going down south for the King George whiting, snapper and gummy shark. I attribute my success to light tackle.
“But the smorgasbord of seafood I see assures me that the health of the bay is good.
“There is a good amount of bait and fish in the bay and anyone can catch it.”
