The past week has seen some interesting weather around the Bundaberg area. The summer northerly winds have kicked in early, meaning the water temperatures will be on the rise and some of the summer species will be on the chew.
Over the past few weeks we have seen a few barra and mangrove jacks being caught throughout most local estuary systems. Live baiting with poddy mullet or sprats has been one method to catch these species, but it is lures such as soft vibes and soft plastics that are really working well. Samaki Vibelicious Vibes and Squidgy Slick Rig soft plastics have been doing most of the damage on these barra and jacks.
There are still plenty of other species about with bream, whiting and flathead having made up a majority of catches, with most being caught around the sand flats and rock walls. There are still plenty of grunter about but most are undersized, but with a bit of persistence you will pull a few bigger ones out from amongst the smaller ones. For the bigger grunter it would pay to use bigger baits to avoid the pickers.
The very upper reaches of the Burnett River have seen plenty of summer whiting and sickle fish. Yabbies have been the best bait and fishing the last of the run-out tide is when these species have been most active.
There is still a good number of banana prawns about, mostly in the deeper holes. Either the top or the bottom of the tides is best for the prawns as any tide run makes it hard to get the net to the bottom.
Lake Monduran will start to turn it on now with this warm weather. Barra to 80cm have been caught in the thick timber. Jackall Squirrels and Lucky Craft Pointers have been the go-to lures for the Mondy barra.
Till next time,
Tim Mulhall