Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Inshore fishing
Last week saw one of the best weather windows we have had in a very long time and this weekend is shaping up to be another cracker couple of days. With 4 straight days of glamour conditions it’s safe to say it was a bad few days to be a fish. The inshore reefs have provided some really good fishing especially for those in smaller boats who can only get out when the weather plays the game.
Plenty of school mackerel, tuna, queenfish and trevally have been around the bait balls and reefs like the 2 Mile off Bargara and the Artificial off Elliott Heads. Targeting the school mackerel with 50g Flasha spoons is one of the best ways to get a quick feed. The tuna have been feeding on small bait so matching the hatch with a metal slug has done the damage, and poppers worked along the pressure edges has got the queenfish and trevally to bite.
Some good numbers of cod, grunter, stripeys and grass sweetlip have been in close as well. Flicking soft plastics and vibes around patches of weedy and rubbly bottom is where these fish have come from.
Offshore fishing
Last weekend saw plenty of people head out wide with high hopes of filling the esky. The fish were definitely out and feeding and so were the sharks! Lucky for most they were still able to get a great feed of fish with red throat, trout, red emperor, cod, sweetlip and hussar all being on the chew!
Whole squid, fresh flesh baits and whole pilchards were the standout baits especially rigged on gang hooks to present the bait naturally. Fishing the pressure edged side of the reef and locating the bait is what worked for most with the better quality fish found in these areas.
As always fishing the tide changes turned out to be a great idea as on days like last week during the big tides this is when those big reds will often come on the chew. Doing plenty of drifts is something you should be doing as you will find new marks and isolated structure off of main sections of reef which always holds some epic fish. Let’s hope this weekend plays the game and we can get out and amongst them again!
Kolan River
The Kolan has also started to clear up with the big tides certainly doing their part. Some really good numbers of barra have been found in this river system around the mouth and up river in the deep holes around Yandaran Creek. Slow rolled soft plastics and swimbaits have no doubt been the most effective way to target these barra if you are lure fishing.
If you are more into bait fishing catching some live bait is well worth the effort. Plenty of grunter have also been around the sand bars, Booyan Bridge and in the creeks at the mouth of the river. Whole sprat and strips of mullet fillet have worked well on these grunter as well as the usual curl tail soft plastic and soft vibe.
The crabbing in this river has also been exceptional as of late, huge numbers of quality sized bucks between 16 and 18cm have been on the move especially with the big tides last weekend. Placing your pots in the deeper sections of river is where the better numbers of crab have come from with multiple pots having 3 legal bucks in them per soak for some lucky anglers.
Burnett River
The Burnett has rebounded exceptionally well from the recent rain and is fishing very well. Huge barra, jewfish and grunter are the three main species being caught throughout the river. The grunter have been caught just about anywhere where there is rocky structure or along the sandy drop offs.
Fishing for these grunter with curt tail soft plastics is a very effective way to chase them, whole sprat and prawns also work great if you are more into bait fishing. The barra that are being caught have mainly been tempted with slow rolled soft plastics or swimbaits like the new Sicario DTF swimbaits.
Finding the good numbers of fish with a quality sounder with sidescan is almost a must for getting consistent results. Fishing the tide changes is a really good way to increase your chances at one of these barra too. Looking around the rock walls and bridges in town is a good place to try for these barra at the moment.
Elliott River
The Elliott is sure fishing well like all of our rivers at the moment. Great numbers of flathead, grunter and whiting have been on the shallow flats towards the mouth of the river and up river has seen good barra, jack and cod caught. The flats fishing has been best with the incoming tide and during the run out tide fishing the drop offs is where its at!
Up river in the deep holes and rock bars is where most of the jack, cod and barra are being found and these fish are being caught on whole prawns and sprat or soft plastics slow rolled over the rock bars and out of fallen trees. Good sized prawns have been found in better numbers in this system, sounding the deep holes for them has worked well during the run out tide.
Baffle Creek
The Baffle has definitely started to fish a lot better this week, the big tides with last Saturday’s full moon has certainly helped to clear up this river. Great numbers of barra are being found and caught at the mouth of the river along the fallen trees and the rock bars. Prawn imitation lures like the Zerek Cherabin’s or the Chasebaits Flick Prawn’s have been working extremely well at getting these barra to bite.
Fishing the tide changes is no doubt a great idea to maximise your chance at getting a bite from these fish. Some good sized jack and cod have also been hanging out with these barra and are usually a welcomed by catch in between barra bites. Spending some time to collect live bait is definitely going to be your best chance at getting these fish to bite if you are into your bait fishing.
Using a common ‘running rig’ is a really good way to present your bait to these barra and put you in with a great chance at getting one to bite. For those fishing the flats some good quality grunter and flathead have been on the chew especially during the run out tide at the mouth of the river. Whole prawns, sprat and mullet fillet are the baits working best on these fish. The rock bars up river around Pig Island and Winfield are also producing some cracking sized grunter in the dirtier water.
Lake Monduran
Lake Monduran is definitely producing some really good fish again this week with multiple fish over the magic metre mark hitting the deck. Due to the high water temp the majority of barra have been sitting around the 15 foot mark meaning we have seen great success with slow rolled swimbaits or deeper diving hardbodies worked in this depth range. Plenty of barra have been in Bird Bay and up the South Arm of B, ensuring to be stealthy when sounding for fish is a must.
If you are using hardbodies ensure to implement plenty of long pauses into your retrieve as this keeps the lure in the strike zone and is when the barra will strike. Fishing hard during the key bite times like the Kolan River and moon bite times can be a great opportunity to make the most of a short bite window. Good numbers of barra are also being found in the main basin along the bank opposite the boat ramp. Trolling big swimbaits and soft plastics as well as deep diving hardbodies has got the bite after some persistence.
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
