Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Inshore/Offshore Fishing
This last week has finally seen some good periods of weather which has enabled plenty of people to head out into the blue after what has felt like months of strong winds. This time of year the sharks are usually quite savage and at the moment this is certainly the case. The majority of anglers who headed out did struggle to stay away from the sharks, those that did were drifting isolated structure away from the main sections of the reef. Drifting is definitely the way to go at the moment, you can cover plenty of ground which means you are constantly presenting your bait to new fish!
The spanish are very thick at the moment especially out wide around the gutters, 5 Degree, Warrego’s and Herolds. There has also been some good sized spanish around the 10-15kg mark caught inshore along our coast. Trolling whole garfish has worked great, as well as floating out a live bait using a balloon rig.
For those fishing inshore there is plenty of action happening. Like mentioned above there has been some spanish around, but in particular great numbers of school mackerel, golden trevally, grunter and grass sweetlip. The 2 mile, Ryans Patch and the Artificial are all housing these fish, hopping soft vibes and soft plastics along the bottom whilst having a live bait floating out has been a great technique at the moment.
Burnett River
The building tides this week has continued to see great numbers of crabs in this system. Fresh bait and plenty of it has worked well, fish frames and chicken have been the standouts. Good numbers of prawn are also still around at the Port of the river. These big tides do make it difficult to get an accurate throw on them however those persisting are definitely being rewarded.
Good numbers of grunter and flathead are still being caught towards the mouth of the system along the rock walls. Whole prawns and whole sprat are two great baits for these fish, if you are into lure fishing soft vibes hopped along the base of the rock walls have done well. Some good sized jacks have come from up the top of this system, live bait has got these bigger fish to chew.
Kolan River
The mouth of the Kolan river has fished great this week with the big tides getting plenty of bait moving around this system. This weekend the early morning incoming tide is going to be a great opportunity to get up on the flats and do some lure fishing for grunter, flathead, whiting and bream. If you are into bait fishing drifting or anchoring on the flats and floating out live yabbies has worked exceptionally well on these bread and butter species.
The creeks in this system have housed good numbers of jack with live bait getting plenty of these fish to bite with some solid cod by-catch as well. The crabbing in this river has also picked up, this weekend will be a great time to try and secure a feed of these muddies whilst they are on the move.
Elliott River
The Elliott is crystal clear at the moment which has made for some great sport fishing and even sightcasting for the lure enthusiasts. With the big tides the pelagic fish in this system are out in force and are chewing on just about anything you can throw at them. The mouth of the system along the flats at a high tide has seen plenty of these fish cruising through harassing bait fish. Looking further up river around areas that are getting hit with current is also well worth a look.
If you prefer bait fishing these fish have taken a whole sprat floated out with minimal to no weight. Good numbers of flathead, grunter and jack are being caught up river in the deeper holes and around the rocky structures. Whole prawns, sprat and mullet fillet have been great options to target these fish. The crabbing in this system has also been unreal so it is well worth putting the pots in whilst we have these big tides.
Baffle Creek
The Baffle has fished well this week with the mouth of the river producing some great bread and butter fishing especially as the tides increase. Fishing the sand flats on the incoming tide has seen the best results, using fresh baits has also been the best way to go. Up the top of the Baffle itself as well as Oyster Creek has seen the jack fishing continue to fire up.
Live baiting on big structures has definitely worked great for these fish however lure fishing is also catching plenty of these jack. The run out tide has been the best time to target these fish at the moment. Good sized grunter are also being caught along with plenty of flathead on the flats around Winfield. Whole sprat has been the best bait for these two species.
Lake Monduran
The last week has seen some good fishing coming from the lake, the hot and humid days have helped to increase the water temp after the recent southerly change. Barra in the shallows have responded well to hardbody lures with very long pauses. For those scoping fish a slow rolled soft plastic or swimbait lure has worked well. The basin is still holding good numbers of barra with trolling lures being a very viable and effective option still.
Sicario DTF’s, Fishcraft DR Shads and Molix 140 shads are great pre rigged options. Rigging up big soft plastics like a Cast Prodigy 8 inch plastic or a Daiwa Baitjunkie 6.2inch Minnow has also got the bites from these basin barra. For those casting on the dam the South Arm of B along with Hearts and Insane Bay have had great numbers of big barra in them. There has also been a handful of anglers fishing over the top of weed beds with unweighted soft plastics and topwater lures who have done quite well.
Lake Gregory
After a 5 week closure the lake has fished great this week with good numbers of fish caught and some cracking fish getting close to the 50cm mark. The edge fishing on the lake has been where most of the action is taking place this week. Working the weed edges, pockets and towers with soft plastics or suspending hardbody lures has seen some great strikes from these fish.
Topwater fishing late in the afternoon is also well worth a try, the bass have been a little shy to eat however for those into their sport fishing this technique is as good as it gets when it comes to bass fishing.
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
