Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Inshore fishing
The Inshore reefs have been firing up with all the baitfish currently along our coast. Fortunately we have had a few good days of weather this week and there has been plenty of fish caught in close. The standout fish have been the pelagic’s, a lot of tuna, mackerel, queenfish and trevally have been around. In particular there has been some great sized school, grey and spanish mackerel feeding all along our coast.
Finding the bait has been key, start by looking at the pressure edged side of the reef, wreck or headland you are fishing as this is where the bait should be. For the mackerel trolling whole garfish has worked great when you are trying to cover plenty of ground. If you have found where the mackerel are then dropping a Flasha spoon to the bottom and ripping it in as fast as you can will get the bite.
The schools of tuna have been feeding on tiny bait so matching the hatch has been very important to get these fish to bite. There has been plenty of mac tuna around but more longtail’s are starting to come in close and some cracking fish have been landed out of these schools as well.
Offshore fishing
The offshore fishing has been red hot! The couple of good days of weather this week has allowed a few lucky anglers to head out wide and it has sure been paying off for most. The bottom fishing has been where its at with some cracking sized trout, red emperor, tusk fish, cod and some huge cobia being the main fish caught.
In particular the amount of red emperor caught and the quality of these fish has been outstanding. These big reds have been caught at a variety of marks however most have come off reefs towards Lady Musgrave. Finding isolated structure with a healthy amount of bait is the go when it comes to finding these big reds.
Flesh baits like mullet fillet or fresh hussar fillet and whole squid or cuttlefish have been the best baits for these fish. If you are into lure fishing you can’t go past a Cast ‘on the drop’ 100 or 150 gram jig and a Nomad 150mm Squidtrex depending on depth of water and current. Some of the reefs producing great bottom fishing at the moment have been the Warregos, Herold Patches, 15 Mile Gutter and the Northern Gutter. The go to baits have been whole pilchards, squid and flesh baits like fillets. Be sure to make the most out of your tide changes and fish where the bait is!
Burnett River
The fishing and crabbing in the Burnett has sure been top tier again this week with plenty of variety on the fishing front and some ripper bucks caught in the river. With the big tides last week we did see a lot of the better quality crabs being found in the main channels and along steep muddy banks however with the smaller tides this week the crabs have been finding there way into the shallows again.
As the tides increase leading into the full moon next Wednesday we should see these crabs move into the deeper channels and holes again. Chicken necks and frames as well as fish frames seem to have been the ideal baits so far.
The standout fish being caught in the Burnett has got to be big grunter and mangrove jack. These fish have comes from the rock walls especially during a run out tide and have been caught on mainly soft plastics and soft vibes hopped along the structure.
Live baits have also been the go for this style of fishing, drifting your live bait out with the current and feeding out line every few minutes to cover a bit of ground has worked well. The North Wall, Kirby’s Wall and Tofts Rocks are all places well worth a look and you are in with a good chance at finding a flathead, cod and a trevally as well.
Kolan River
The Kolan is definitely fishing really well at the moment, and similar to the Burnett big jack and grunter have been the main two fish that have been on the chew! The rocky structures up the top of the river system have held most of these fish with live bait being by far the most effective method.
The afternoon run out tide has been the go to time to be fishing the rocky structure’s like rock bars, ledges and even the bridges in the river. The mouth of the river has also seen some great sized flathead and grunter caught around the fallen trees and the drop offs.
Soft plastics and soft vibes have been the go to lures for these fish in this area of the river as you can cover a lot of ground and find the feeding fish. The crabbing in this river has been absolutely outstanding as well! The crab have been all over the river but in particular the deep holes is where it’s at. Finding deep holes up a creek with muddy mangrove banks either side are great places to throw the pots in for a 24 hour soak.
Elliott River
Like most of our local rivers at the moment the fishing and crabbing in the Elliott has been red hot! Venturing up this river system with the incoming tide and fishing back out with the run out tide has worked great for a lot of people this week.
Great numbers of cod and jack have been caught as well as bread and butter species like bream, whiting and flathead. If you are chasing jack, cod and even grunter try fishing the rocky structures and deep holes during the run out tide with live baits or prawn soft plastics. If you are after a feed of bream, whiting or flathead the shallow flats during the incoming tide have been producing good numbers of these fish.
Fresh yabbies or beach worms have been getting the bite from bream and whiting and whole sprat has got plenty of quality flathead to hit the deck. Flicking the sand bars with small soft plastics will also manage a great feed of fish with trevally and queenfish being regular catches at the moment.
The crabbing up the back of this system has been really good as well, leading into next week’s full moon on Wednesday we should see it continue to get better. Placing your pots along the deeper banks and in any deep holes up the creek as the tides increase will put you in with a great chance at some delicious muddy’s!
Baffle Creek
The Baffle has been another one of our local rivers producing some great fish at the moment. The summer species in particular mangrove jack and cod have been on the chew but also plenty of other species have been on the move and feeding as well.
At the mouth of the river system during an incoming tide we have seen small schools of queenfish and trevally very active and harassing bait. Targeting the fallen trees at the mouth of the river during the incoming tide with small soft plastics like the Daiwa Baitjunkie 3.2 inch minnows has worked well.
Imparting an erratic action into the lure to make it stand out amongst the other baitfish is your best shot at getting these fish to bite. The jack and cod have definitely been feeding most aggressively during the run out tide and they have been loving live bait and small fillets. Fishing the rock bars has been the most effective places to target but deep holes with fallen trees in them and mangrove lined banks has also seen some very good quality fish caught.
Lake Gregory
Lake Gregory has been fishing well with some great sized fish being caught again this week. Topwater lures around the edges of the dam has been the most effective way to catch these fish during the low light periods on the dam.
The Chasebaits Flexi Frog’s and Daiwa Slippery Dog’s have been the standout lures getting the bites when it comes to the topwater fishing. When the sun is higher up and there isn’t many shadows being cast over the dam these bass have been moving deeper. Slow rolling a Daiwa 3.2inch Baitjunkie along the edges and dropping it down into any schools of bass or even down beside the weed towers has worked great.
The natural coloured soft plastics have been getting more of the fish this week so definitely keep your lure looking as natural as possible. A few solid saratoga are still around and in particular have been caught whilst targeting bass on topwater lures in the shallows during the low light periods.
If you are wanting to target these fish be sure to be in areas where a lot of leaf litter from the trees is landing on the water. These saratoga love to sit underneath this leaf litter waiting for bugs and insects to land on the water.
Lake Monduran
Fishing on the Lake has been tough this week as the fish have well and truly spread back out from the main basin and have dispersed into the bays. Finding good numbers of fish has been hard but there are bays in the dam that are holding a heap of fish at the moment so be persistent and trust in your electronics to find the fish.
Some huge fish are still sitting in the shallows and plenty of smaller fish around 70cm have been in there with them. Targeting these fish with suspending jerk baits like Samaki Redic DS80’s and MS90’s has got a lot of the bites. Slow rolling Berkley Shimma Pro Rigs and Molix Shads has also got some good bites especially leading into the night. Remember to fish the windblown bays and points and when sounding for fish be extremely stealthy particularly when in shallow water.
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
