Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Inshore/Offshore Fishing
This week has seen our inshore reefs fish very well for both our lure and bait fishos. Both the 2 mile off Bargara and the Artificial off Elliott Heads have had their fair share of grass sweetlip, grunter and school mackerel around making for some great fishing. Targeting the grunter and sweetlip with whole prawns or strips of mullet fillet has been working well, if you are into lure fishing jerk tail soft plastics hopped along the bottom will work a treat.
For those targeting these bottom fish with lures the school mackerel can be a pain, however if you are targeting them they do come up great in the smoker. Fast winding Flasha spoons or trolling whole garfish and small hardbody lures around shows of bait will definitely put you in the right area for these schoolies.
As well as our inshore reefs the offshore reefs have been fishing great again this week. One clear consensus however is the amount of sharks around at the moment, and unfortunately there isn’t much we can do other than to simply move on to another mark. For those fishing the gutters and 5 degree there has been plenty of nice sized spanish mackerel and some really big cobia around.
Big flesh baits or whole squid and cuttlefish has got the cobia to bite, if you are chasing spanish trolling whole garfish or hardbody lures has been quite effective. If you can secure some live yakka or slimey mackerel it is well worth rigging up a balloon rig for these spanish too. Those bottom bashing regardless of where they are fishing have done really well using strips of mullet fillet or fresh hussar fillet either rigged on gang hooks or even better on a Berserker Fishing Meathead Hybrid Jig.
Burnett River
The last week has seen more fresh water come downstream from inland and unfortunately has made it’s way into the Burnett. With this the majority of fishing will still be done towards the mouth of the system. We have been seeing this system still produce some great fish particularly for those fishing along the rock walls.
Some really big flathead and grunter have been the two standout species on the chew in this dirty water. Mullet fillet is a great option in this system at the moment as it is a much oiler bait. The crabbing has still been on fire in this system so it is well worth putting the pots in for a soak if you can.
Kolan River
The Kolan is sure having another good week of fishing, crabbing and even prawning! The flats around the mouth of this river have been producing good numbers of bream and whiting during the incoming tides, fresh yabbies have been dynamite on these fish. Fishing these flats with soft plastics and hardbody lures has also seen good numbers of flathead and grunter around, particularly during the run out tide.
In the dirty water around Booyan Bridge plenty of school sized trevally and nice cod have been caught on mullet fillet, whole sprat and whole prawns. Plenty of small prawns are skipping up the back of the creeks as well as along the mangrove lined banks up the top of this system. Casting prawn imitation soft plastics has resulted in good numbers of mangrove jack caught as these fish have been feeding on these small prawns. Live bait has also been working great for these jack, fishing big structures during the run out tide is the go at the moment for these jack.
Elliott River
The Elliot has cleaned up nicely from the recent rain, the incoming tide has been seeing this system become crystal clear around the mouth. During the run out tide dirty water from up river has made it’s way down towards the mouth however this has seen the summer species really chew! For those fishing the mouth of the system plenty of small queenfish and trevally have been on the move towards the top of the tide.
Topwater lures retrieved across the flats as well as erratically twitched soft plastics has worked great. Fresh yabbies fished along the yabbie banks has also worked well for some nice sized grunter and plenty of just legal whiting with the occasional 30-35cm one in the mix. Fishing up the top of this system during the run out tide has been the go for mangrove jack and some nice estuary cod. Live baits or whole prawns are doing the damage on these fish at the moment.
Baffle Creek
The Baffle has fished well this week with the weekends big tides helping to push some more salinity up river. With these big tides plenty of cracking sized whiting were on the chew over the weekend. Fishing the flats around Winfield has been producing great numbers of these fish, particularly the night time bite has resulted in the better quality whiting.
Fresh yabbies or beach worms have been the stand out baits for these whiting. Some nice grunter have also been around especially for those using fresh yabbies as bait. Plenty of dart have been around the mouth of this system in the breakers and even in the river at times. Small lures have been most effective on these fish especially when cast right in the surf.
We are also starting to see the upper reaches produce some nice jack again, although the surface is still very dirty and fresh, underneath will still be salty enough and it is showing as these jack still need to eat at some stage. With the big tides on the weekend we did see the crabbing improve with some really nice and full bucks caught for those who gave it a good crack.
Lake Monduran
The lake is still fishing really well despite the recent SE winds, for those with live scope night time sessions have been producing the best results. A lot of the fish have been sitting deeper around the 15 foot mark so targeting them with bigger hardbodies has worked well. Samaki Redic DDS90’s and DS100’s as well as even the Jackall Squirrel 115’s have been the go for targeting these deeper fish.
The recent scattered afternoon storms and rain squalls has seen the main basin produce some more great sessions on these barra. Trolling is still producing some great fish for those who aren’t too familiar with the dam. Trolling the deep water from the buoy line up to the start of Bird Bay has seen good results. Big swimbaits like Molix 140 Shads and Irukandji Sicario DTF’s have been the standout lures when worked at 3-3.5km/h. Again, for those with live scope targeting these main basin barra at night can be quote effective.
Lake Gregory
Lake Gregory has had another fantastic week of fishing. There is bass schooled up in the deep as well as fish stacked up in the shallows along the weed beds. Slow rolling small paddle tail soft plastics has been the most effective way to catch a bass in this lake at the moment.
Targeting these fish on topwater lures during low light periods has also got some good results. For those fishing the lake, definitely spend more time fishing either the schools of bass or fishing the weed edges as the timber has been a grind this week.
CATCH OF THE WEEK
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From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg
Live the Tackle World L.I.F.E – Local Independent Fishing Experts
