Bush ‘n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Inshore/Offshore Fishing
Despite the dirty water our pelagic fishing off the coastline has been spectacular again this week. The long tail tuna are thick and have been smashing bait balls, casting small metal slugs or soft plastics over the top of the feeding frenzy and winding back through them has picked up some cracking fish.
These long tail have not been very fussy as of yet however when they are matching the hatch is necessary to get one to bite. Ensure you have a few different sizes and colours of metal lures or soft plastics so you can try a few options on those tougher days. Great sized queenfish have also been around, our keen topwater anglers have been catching these fish on stickbaits and poppers around pressure edges along the coast and on reefs both inshore and slightly offshore.
With the dirty water we have seen the spanish push out slightly wider but hopefully as the water clears up they come back in to areas like the 2 Mile, the Artificial off Elliott Heads and even all throughout the Leads at Burnett Heads. Trolling whole gar fish or balloon rigging a live yakka was working great on the spanish so fingers crossed they come back in close soon!
Burnett River
The Burnett is still quite fresh and dirty however the mouth of this system has produced some quality fish for those wetting a line this week. The incoming tide has been the go to time to be fishing this system and fishing along the rock walls has seen the best results for now.
Tight to the structures has been some really good quality bream along with big cod which have both taken a liking to whole prawns, sprat or strips of mullet fillet. Anglers fishing the base of the rock walls have reported big flathead and grunter are passing through particularly during the incoming tide so fishing slightly off the rock walls has been a good technique for some.
The odd mangrove jack has also been around the mouth with live baits working best. With all the fresh in this system it is no surprise that the mud crabs have been on the move, now is the perfect time to put the pots in if you are into your muddies with plenty of quality bucks being caught!
Kolan River
The Kolan has been having a cracking week of fishing particularly at the mouth of the system on the shallow flats during the incoming tide. Solid numbers of grunter, bream and whiting are being caught in the shallows and with the big tides this weekend we should see these fish continue to feed with the incoming tide.
Fresh yabbies and beach worms have been the standout baits getting these fish to bite. Along with these fish reports of some good sized flathead being caught around the mouth of the system on whole sprat, mullet fillet or for the lure anglers a soft vibe or paddle tail soft plastic has kept a lot of anglers persisting.
Surprisingly there has been some absolute cracking mangrove jack being caught despite the dirty water up river with these fish smashing live baits. Targeting these jack around rock bars or big fallen trees regardless of the tide is working well. Again, the crabbing in this system has been red hot so if you can, placing some pots in this system has been very rewarding as of late!
As we are seeing in our other local systems the mouth of the Elliott is producing the best fishing especially during the incoming tide. Despite the very fresh and dirty water in this river the incoming tides have been seeing some cleaner water enter, which in turn has brought in some great pelagic fish.
Nice schools of dart are still being caught regularly off the headland with small soft plastics or metal lures working best. Trevally and queenfish have also been caught around the mouth of this system on a range of lures but topwater presentations have been very effective.
Some nice sized whiting are being caught on the shallow flats around the top of the tide, fresh yabbies as always are the go to bait for these fish. With the amount of fresh in this system the crabbing has been on fire so be sure to place your pots in for a fresh feed of mud crab.
The recent rain has definitely got the Baffle running very fresh however we have seen the jacks firing up especially along the main river channels. Skipping soft plastics along the banks and burning them back is a great way to target these fish especially when they are actively feeding. Live baiting the rock bars in the main river has also worked well for these fish with some solid cod and grunter in the mix as well.
If you are into your bread and butter fishing the sand flats around the mouth of the system during the incoming tide will be your best chance at securing a feed. The shallow flats have housed some nice dart and bream even with the dirty water.
If you can get your hands on some fresh yabbies they will be perfect or else some beach worms will do the trick. As you can imagine the crabbing in this system has also been producing good numbers of nice and full crabs. Placing your pots in the deeper areas of this river has been seeing the best results.
Lake Gregory
This week has again seen the Lake produce some really nice fish with bass up to 50cm being caught! Sounding around the lake to find the schools of bass has helped to get anglers casting in the right areas.
Once you have found fish slow rolling small soft plastics through the schools has got some nice results. Using a darker coloured lure like a motor oil colour or any other dark browns, greens or purples has been working best.
Fishing the edges of the lake has been seeing some nice bass being caught in the shallows during early mornings and late afternoons. Topwater lures in these shallows is a great way to target these bass and it sure makes for some great action!
Lake Monduran
Lake Monduran has had another great week of fishing, the early morning and late afternoon bite times have been consistent with some of the bigger barra landed during these bite windows. Keep and eye on the Kolan River tide times because the change in tide is often a cracking little opportunity to nail a few barra in the dam.
Slowly twitched and paused Samaki Redic DS80’s have got some quality fish to eat along with the new Jackall Super Squirrel 79 Flats. When fishing the late afternoons and into the night we have seen the majority of the big barra coming from big soft plastics or swimbaits slow rolled. Zerek Live Mullets and Fish Craft Dr Shads are the two standouts at the moment.
The last few weeks has also seen an increase in fish sized between 60 and 80cm being caught which is a great sign for the future of the dam. These fish have been up in the shallows during the middle, tucking up in the shade produced from overhanging trees or lily pads. Casting your lure into this shade and retrieving it back to the boat with a simple slow roll has definitely worked a treat. Better yet, a jerk bait twitched and paused in between these lily’s can be deadly.
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
