Bundaberg – weekly fishing report

Inshore fishing

For the lucky few that have been able to get out the front for a fish off the rocks they have been rewarded with plenty of school mackerel caught on metal lures ranging in size from 20g to 50g options. There has also been a few reports of spanish mackerel hanging around the inshore reefs like the 2 mile off Bargara, the Artificial off Elliott Heads and the 4 mile. Some of the best ways to target spanish is by trolling dead baits or Halco Laser Pro hardbodies.

If this doesn’t work and you know that they are in the area definitely drop a live bait or unweighted pilchard on top of them and wait for the reel to start singing! For those after a tasty feed of reef species there is no better technique at the moment than slow pitch jigging plastics and metal jigs. Team member Josh absolutely loves this technique for targeting any of our reef species but in particular coral trout! Next time you’re in the shop be sure to see Josh for his go to lures and how he likes to fish them for our local reef species!

Offshore fishing

The offshore weather isn’t looking the best for the weekend however for those who have been able to venture out in the small weather windows have sure been doing well! The usual suspects for those bottom bashing has been big trout, reds and nannygai! Using big flesh baits like fresh hussar fillet or mullet fillet has sure got the bites from these fish. Finding isolated structure away from main sections of reef is where the more quality fish are being found especially when there is a good amount of bait around.

Floating out a whole pilchard is also a good way to pick up any big spanish or school mackerel that happen to be passing through the area. Be sure to make the most out of the tide change, we all know just how red hot the fishing can get during the one hour either side of the tide!

Burnett River

The Burnett has been fishing very well over the past week! The standout species has been blue salmon, bream and whiting. The town reach has been the standout area for chasing salmon, targeting these fish one hour either side of low tide is a great idea because that’s usually their best bite time. Using 20g soft vibes or live sprat has been the go to way to get the bite. There’s also been some cracking sized bream being caught on most rock and gravel bars throughout the river.

 

Hopping Zman Grubz out of the shallows with a lightly weighted jig head has been getting plenty of the action. If you’re more into bait fishing using prawn or mullet gut is an ideal way to get the bite. The whiting have been in numbers with some very good size to them. With the full moon mid next week the whiting fishing should be red hot this weekend! Pumping yabbies at low tide and fishing the incoming tide over the shallow sand bars should get you into a super tasty feed of whiting. Also, with the bigger night tides this weekend definitely drop the crab pots in, there’s been some good quality mud crabs being caught!

Elliott River

The two standout fish from the Elliot has definitely been the flathead and grunter. The flathead have been liking a few different techniques, the standout technique however has been trolling hardbody lures across the sand bars with the Daiwa Double Clutch being the favourite lure to use. Slow rolling Zman Minnowz out of the shallows surely has been getting the flatty bite as well. If you prefer bait fishing drifting with sprat or pilchards will get you into the action as well.

There’s also been some cracking sized grunter being caught on the gravel and sand bars! Using 20g soft vibes and prawn imitation lures has been getting most of the bites. Also, if you’re more into bait fishing mullet fillets or prawns will get you the bite from these solid grunter. The most ideal tide for the grunter has been the last two hours of the incoming. Again, with the big tides this weekend don’t forget to drop the crab pots in to get yourself a nice feed of mud crabs!

Baffle Creek

The Baffle sure is fishing great! From bread and butter species like flathead and whiting to some good pelagic action like queenfish and trevally this river system has been producing! The majority of anglers have been fishing the flats and drop offs towards the river mouth and have found good numbers of whiting, flathead and bream up in the shallows.

 

Drifting out some fresh yabbies or prawns has been getting the bites. The pelagic fish have been caught around the mouth of the river system, targeting these fish by throwing soft plastics in areas of high current with good structure has been the go. The rain we have had this week has got the crabs on the move so be sure to throw some pots in over the weekend!

Kolan River

Kolan River is fishing well, the last few weeks has seen this river continually producing for most anglers whether bait fishing, lure fishing or even for those crabbing. Good sized flathead, bream and grunter are being caught on the sand flats towards the mouth of the river. There hasn’t been a specific tide getting more bites but it definitely pays to understand where certain species will be during each part of the tide.

 

For example, during an incoming tide flathead will usually have made there way onto the shallow flats to hunt and as the tide is running out they will move off the flat and situate themselves in deeper water surrounding these flats. Whole prawns, whole sprat or fresh yabbies have all been getting good results, small soft vibe lures like the MMD Soft Prawn Vibe have worked really well for the lure fishos. Those who love to do a bit of crabbing should be pretty keen to get a few pots in the water as we have heard good reports this week with the rain surely helping to get these crabs on the move!

Local Beaches

The beach fishing surrounding Bundaberg has been red hot over the last couple of weeks, plenty of anglers are catching quality fish using super simple methods! The absolute go to technique to catch a feed of whiting, bream and flathead off our beaches at the moment is a running ball sinker rig using fresh yabbies or beach worms as bait! Rules Beach, Moore Park Beach and Woodgate Beach are all fishing very well with some solid tailor and mackerel presenting themselves as well.

 

The anglers who have some whole pilchards or small metal lures ready to go are managing to land some of these fish as they pass through the area! Keep an eye out for birds working, bait flicking or surface strikes from predatory fish as these are all dead giveaways that there is some pelagic fish around and feeding.

Lake Monduran

Lake Monduran had a really good weekend of fishing with plenty of smaller barra landed and those bigger fish are finally starting to bite! Although the hooks have been hard to keep connected to these bigger fish it is a great sign that they are at least starting to chew. We have heard some great reports coming from the charter operators but also recreational anglers getting some bites from the bigger fish with suspending hard body lures being the key at the moment.

 

Another crucial thing to look out for is fishing not only when the wind has been consistent but also when the sun has been out. Those fishing the dam have definitely noticed that after a few sunny days the bigger barra are much easier to tempt a bite from. Retrieving your lures very slowly and letting them sit still in the water column is a must at the moment to ensure these big lazy barra have plenty of time to strike!

 

CATCH OF THE WEEK

 

If you would like your catch photos published to be in the running for a $50 gift card every week, email your details and photos of local catches only to accounts@tackleworldbundy.com.au

From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg
Live the Tackle World L.I.F.E – Local Independent Fishing Experts

Click here for more Bundy fishing info!!!