MADELINE Solien-Suruman and her cousin Emily Tongla can often be found side by side on a Redlands Coast jetty, rods in hand, talking through everything from family life to politics – and occasionally even reeling in dinner.
The pair, aged 53 and 63, fish together at least once a week and say the regular outings are as much about connection as they are about the catch.
“We don’t care if we catch anything or not,” Ms Tongla said.
“We can sit here from 8am to 5pm every day, catch nothing and still go home happy.”
Their preferred spot is the Wellington Point jetty, which they describe as family friendly and social, with a steady stream of passers-by and fellow anglers.
They also fish from the Thorneside bridge and at Victoria Point, where bream and flathead are the most common catches.
The cousins began fishing together about four years ago while holidaying in Iluka, and the habit quickly stuck.
“We started fishing and we just kept going,” Ms Solien-Suruman said.
“We’ll be back here tomorrow.”
Fishing days are often followed by relaxed family gatherings, with the cousins sometimes spending the night together after dinner with other relatives.
“We talk about anything and everything while we fish,” Ms Tongla said.
Conversations range widely, covering politics, family dynamics, current trends and the birdlife that frequents the jetty.
“It’s a good place to spend your day,” she said.
“We talk to each other and enjoy each other’s company.”
So regular are the outings that Ms Tongla keeps her fishing gear permanently in her car.
“I always have it ready to go – ready to go again,” she said.
Ms Tongla’s most memorable catch came further north, landing a one-metre jewfish at Weipa in 2025.
“It was massive. I couldn’t pull it in,” she said.
“I had to ask a man on a scooter who was going past to pull it in, and then he carried it to the car.”
The catch fed more than just the two anglers.
“I took some to my sisters in Cairns,” she said.
“There were plenty of feeds there.”
For Ms Solien-Suruman, who lives in Capalaba, the biggest fish remains the one that escaped.
“I caught a 50cm bream off the Russell Island jetty last year,” she said. “It broke off the line just as I was about to pull it in.”
She has also witnessed memorable catches by others, including a 75cm flathead landed at Wellington Point before breaking free at the stairs.
Despite the near-misses and lost fish, both women say the real reward is time spent together – a ritual they have no intention of giving up.
