Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
BUNDABERG OFFSHORE
The weather for the Bundaberg area over the next few days isn’t looking best for offshore anglers. It’s time to dust off the smaller tinnies and move into the river systems. Always check your local forecast before heading out.
BURNETT RIVER
Spring is here, with the weather feeling like winter one day and summer the next. Put the crab pots in before heading out for a fish as there’s been good reports of a few crabs being caught after the rain recently. Also, good-sized prawns are being caught in the Burnett River so take yourself out and get yourself a feed. The hot spots to try are behind Millaquin and at Strathdees. There are still plenty of flathead in the river. If you’re wanting to chase them on lures, try using a 3” to 5” soft plastic; drift along until you catch a fish then drift through the same area hopping your lure off the bottom. For the bait fisherman try using a piece of mullet fillet or whole pilchards. Drifting through drop-offs and channels should pick you up a feed. A few nice sized grunter are also being caught using soft plastics or small vibe lures. If using bait, try using fresh prawns or small white bait. The odd bream is still being caught using bait such as prawns, chook gut, mullet gut and mullet strips. If you’re wanting to use lures, try using 2.5” to 4” plastics like curl tails or flick baits.
BAFFLE CREEK AND THE KOLAN RIVER
These two river systems have been fishing very well, with a lot of shallow rock bars and plenty of bait through the systems. There have been good reports of mangrove jack and barramundi starting to show up. A good flesh bait or large size mullet is the best bait. Grunter and good-sized flathead are also being caught. Pump yabbies at low tide and fish the incoming tide over the flats, and this will get you a good feed of whiting also.
LAKE MONDURAN
Barramundi in Lake Monduran can be temperamental at the best of times, so to give yourself the best chance to catch one, you need to put yourself in the right area at the right time and use the right lure. Firstly, do your homework, grab yourself a map, sit down then find the wind-blown bays and points. This is the area you want to target. Barramundi in dams will usually have a bite time and this can be around a tide change, even though dams are not tidal. The moon phase can affect the fishing and the best time to fish can be leading up to a full moon. Lure selection for catching barramundi can be the key to catching fish or going home empty handed and frustrated. Best lures to use for barra are suspending lures for either shallow or deeper water. Colour is also important for clear or dirty water. Use natural, or silver colours for clear water, and dark, bright or gold colours for dirtier water. The most important thing to have is patience. Put all these things together and the fish will eventually come.
Until next time
Keep on casting
Shane Anderson
