Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Inshore fishing
The inshore reefs are definitely still producing some great fishing! Good sized trout and stripeys have been caught along the coast and at the common marks on squid and pilchards as bait. Big schools of quality sized grunter have also been caught along the coast with squid being the go to bait.
Hopping soft vibes around the rocks, reefs and wrecks along our coast is a great way to target these fish. The pelagic action has still been red hot as well, great numbers of huge queenfish have been caught on the pressure edges along the coast and massive numbers of school mackerel have been found around the bait. Flasha spoons are the go to lure for chasing the mackerel at the moment and for the queenfish a Halco popper works really well.
Offshore fishing
Our offshore fishing has been producing some really good quality fish as of late with the two standout fish being the huge cobia and red emperor we have been seeing a lot of. The big schools of cobia have been at a lot of ground like the Herolds Patch, Northern and Southern Gutters and some of the wrecks.
These fish love big slabs of mullet or whole squid but soft plastics and jigs are also a really effective way to target them. Most of the big reds have come from isolated structure with good shows of bait and the best way to target them has been with fresh flesh baits or slow pitched jigs. Plenty of other tasty reef fish like sweetlip, trout, red throat and hussar have been caught in these areas as well.
Kolan River
Similar to the Burnett the Kolan has had a lot of fresh water flow into it however we have seen some great fish come from this river over the last week. Some big barra are definitely schooled up all throughout the river with some really big fish found at the mouth of the river around the fallen trees.
These fish have been very finicky with lures so for now drifting live baits or whole sprat into the structure will give you the best chance. Fishing the sand flats and drop offs with soft plastics has got some good sized grunter and flathead to bite especially around the top of the tide.
Drifting whole sprat along the flats is also a really effective way to target these fish and this has been working well. The crabbing in this river has been heating up again and with the big tides this weekend it is looking like the perfect opportunity to throw the pots in for a soak.
Burnett River
With the Burnett well and truly flushed full of fresh water the fishing has been tough. The best results have come from structure around the mouth of the river during an incoming tide. Drifting mullet fillet and whole sprat along the North wall has found some great sized bream, grunter, cod, trevally and queenfish.
Those targeting jack have done quite well around the mouth with live bait or mullet fillet being the go to. Plenty of good sized barra are being found at the mouth of the Burnett, getting a bite from one of these barra has been challenging, live baits are definitely your best option at the moment.
Elliott River
The Elliott has been the standout river at the moment, due to it being a smaller system it hasn’t been affected as much as the other systems and it is fishing really well. Heading 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.
Good quality cod and jack have been caught as well as bread and butter species like bream, flathead and plenty of grunter. If you are chasing jack, cod and even grunter try fishing the rocky structures and deep holes with whole prawns and sprat. Some good numbers of barra have been found up this river in the deep holes and along the snaggy banks.
These fish have been very finicky so be sure to be stealthy when sounding for them and live baits have definitely been the baits working best. 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 the new moon this weekend we should see it continue to get better.
Baffle Creek
The Baffle is definitely still quite dirty up river however the mouth has started to clear up and with the big tides this weekend it will help to get some salt back into the river. Similar to last weeks report the majority of the fishing has been done around the mouth of the river, in particular targeting rock bars and fallen trees in the cleaner water.
Doing so with live baits or mullet fillets and whole sprat has got some good cod, grunter, flathead and even a couple of great sized jack over 40cm. Fishing around the top of the tide has been the go to time to be on the water, around 3 hours either side of the high tide is your best shot at the moment.
Fishing slightly up river around Winfield, Flat rock and in Middle Channel is where some good sized jack have been caught on livies and even a few barra have been sounded up along the deeper banks. Fingers crossed we don’t get much more rain as this system is definitely going to be one to look out for when it salts back up!
Lake Gregory
Although the water is dirty in the Lake at the moment we have seen it produce some good numbers of bass especially around the edges. The Cast Prodigy soft plastics have been killing it in the Lake, the wide paddle tail pushes a lot of water and creates a great vibration through the water column which has got these bass fired up in the murky water. A hardbody lure also doing the damage has been the new Fishcraft Dr Stretch 65, twitching this lure along the drop offs and between the trees has worked great especially in the middle of the day.
Lake Monduran
Lake Monduran has been producing some great fish over the 1m mark however the key has been to be fishing the late afternoons and into the night. Fishing for these big fish during the middle of the day has been very hard with mainly 70cm fish being caught and these big barra neglecting anything you throw at them.
Spending the time to locate big numbers of barra has been crucial, sitting on fish leading into the night has definitely got the best results. Big swimbaits like the Berkley Shimma Pro Rigs or 7 to 9inch Sicario soft plastics have got the bites. Some better numbers of barra are in the Main Basin again, trolling hardbodies or swimbaits at around 10-15 feet depending on how deep the barra are sitting has worked really well. Trolling can be a great way to save a trip as often times when nothing else will work this will!
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
