An Article by Ken Bizzell, Waterford.

Fish will jump into a brightly lit boat at night but the fishermen on the Logan and Albert Rivers, a few miles south of Brisbane have been catching airborne mullet in daylight for years.

They complain that few believe them, so we publish eyewitness accounts.

Ken Bizzell.

MULLETING

Dear Friends,

To preserve the facts and record for future generations, I have made a DVD relating to “Mulleting on the Logan and Albert Rivers” in South Queensland.  I have also included a short story written for the Australian Outdoors Magazine in 1967 relating to this fishing story.

This is to honour the local folk who participated in this unique method of catching mullet by jumping them into their boats during the daytime as well as at night, this being done for a period of some 100 years. Yes, it was a unique way, especially during the daylight hours, as enquiries made over many years confirmed that mulleting in the daytime was not known to have taken place on any other rivers than the Logan and Albert.

When viewing the DVD please be aware that some of the 4KQ radio     reception “is not up to scratch”. These recordings were made in the 1960’s. The recording came about because I was trying to convince the panel of fishing experts on “4KQ Hook Line & Sinker” that this was a true story.

You may remember your husband, father, uncle, or friends mulleting, for it was an exciting experience. Some fishermen who had caught more than required, would sell fish for pocket money or to buy a few beers at the local hotel. During the 1950’s and 1960’s the going price was 5 large mullet for 2 shillings ( 20cents) and mud crabs caught in the Logan brought 6pence to 1shilling each (5c to 10c each).  They were the days long gone by.

I sincerely hope that you may enjoy this little piece of history of the Logan and Albert Rivers and recall the many wonderful families who lived along their banks. I do hope so.

Best Regards

Ken Bizzell   Dated: 1st of January 2015

Mulleting is the local term given to the art of catching mullet by rowing along the banks of the Logan and Albert rivers and getting the fish to jump into the boat. Some residents around the small country centre of Waterford, situated on the Logan River some 19 miles south of Brisbane, have for 60 or more years , been catching mullet by jumping them into their boats during both day and night.

To our knowledge through many inquiries, we believe that this is the only area in Queensland or Australia where these fish are taken during daylight hours by the unique method of “ jumping them in.”

This method of fishing by propelling the boat close to the weeds and seeing the catch jump into the boat might not seem exciting to many, but to be hit in the chest by one of these flying fish makes one realise it can be quite a thrilling sport. Mullet is caught in many areas at night by placing a bright light on the seat of the boat. Rowing in among a shoal, fish attracted by the light jump toward it, and those landing in the boat are next morning’s breakfast.

Our method of mulleting during the daytime is entirely different from this. I will try to explain all the details of mulleting and if at times you think it is beyond the truth, I hope by viewing the photos and verifications accompanying this article, the reader will be convinced that this story is authentic.

During the season that extends throughout the summer, catches of 5 to 20 are general for a couple of hours mulleting. Larger quantities up to 50 or 60 have been taken at times, but of course on some days like all fishing trips, one might come home and say, “ they’re not jumping today”.

We use a special boat like the English punt, approximately 16ft long, flat bottom, square both ends and made very light. The sides are 8 inches to 10 inches high. This makes it easier for the fish to clear them. Rowlock blocks 12inches high above the sides allow the fisherman to stand up and row forward, gondola fashion. Some people add  a trailer on the back of the punt which makes more area for the fish to land on.

Like all fish, most are caught in one particular season, generally between September and April, During these warmer months the fish feed among the weeds. In the wintertime they tend to stay in the deeper water. The tide is very important. Generally, before Christmas the low tide to halfway up is favoured and after Christmas the down tide of an afternoon is thought to be best by many.

I personally like a low tide about 9am and when they are about, sunshine or rain does not make any difference to them jumping. When the tide gets too high, they have too much water to move in, so     instead of jumping out from the weeds, they swim in among them to hide.

Many readers may get the idea that anyone can row along these banks and get them, but this is not so. Local knowledge is essential on what banks to work but the fact remains that if you can beat some of the locals out to the river at the right time you might get some. Once a boat has been over one particular bank it will not be any good to another fisherman until the next tide.

Many people ask what makes them jump the way they do? We use no nets, lights, lines, bait or other attraction when mulleting. One explanation might be that being a surface fish like tailor and gar, the mullet when sensing danger prefer to jump from the water rather than dive deep. The question then arises, why are they not caught in the daytime anywhere else by this method? Maybe some readers might be doing this somewhere else or may know the answer.

The 6lb 10oz mullet that I was lucky enough to catch in 1954 would be the heaviest one taken here in the daytime. I still have the head preserved in a jar.

Listening to a fishing program over 4KQ Brisbane some time ago, I was interested in the different ways of catching mullet being discussed.  I wrote to the station giving an account of our daytime mulleting on the Logan and to my surprise and pleasure was invited to the program to give more details on this method. The two fishing experts on the program could not believe this happened.

Many letters referring to nighttime mulleting were received at the station but not one mentioned day time fishing. Equipped with a few references from local folk I was able to convince Mr Bill Kerr and Mr Keith Peele, the two well-known fishing experts of the truth of this story.

Since then, Mr Bill Kerr, President , Queensland Fishing Association, has been mulleting with me on a couple of occasions. Although the numbers taken on these trips were not as many as I would have liked—others were out before us—it was enough to convince him that my story was true. To help me convince others of those facts, he issued me with a signed verification , a copy of which accompanies this article.

A small outboard motor was used with this punt, but oars are used with equal effect.

$ 200 if it’s not true!

To convince the sceptics the  author sent a collection of signed statements to OUTDOORS from people who had caught or seen others catching mullet by jumping them into a boat in the daytime.

In the selection published below, one man offers $200 if proved wrong.

I go out of a daytime, and I have had hundreds of mullet jump into my boat. If anyone can prove that the above is not correct, I will forfeit $200.

W. Walton, Waterford.

I can speak of my experiences in catching mullet this way and also of the great numbers of mullet caught by my mother during the daytime as well as nighttime, some 30 to 50 years ago.

Mrs M. Love, Waterford.

I have caught them this way back to the time when I was a schoolgirl. I have had my daughter in the boat and at times have had the mullet hit her so hard as to make her cry.

Mrs E. Schmidt, Waterford.

I have caught hundreds over a period of time in the daylight hours.

B. Burow, Waterford.

I have caught mullet by jumping into a boat daytime and nighttime ever since I could row a boat.

A. Oppermann, Bethania.

Sometimes at night as many as six bream also jumped into the boat.

L.A. Richter, Waterford.

My husband has been out in the daytime and towed a boat behind the motorboat and has had as many as 89 big mullet jump in the tow boat in half an hour.

Mrs J. Shawl, Loganlea.

For years I have been catching mullet at daytime as well as nighttime by rowing along the banks of the Logan River at Logan

D.A. Bobermien, Logan Village

When I came to the logan District more than 30years ago and was told that mullet could be caught by jumping into a boat, I laughed at the idea. I thought it was just another fisherman’s yarn. It was not until I actually caught them this way that I believed it possible. Since then, I have caught any amount of mullet at any time as well as nighttime.

V. Bizzell, Waterford.

Over a period of 35years I have caught many thousands of mullet by jumping them into my boat in the daytime as well as at night. I have caught up to a sugar bag of mullet by rowing along the banks in the daytime, taking only about three hours to do so.

Colin Love, Waterford.