Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Inshore/Offshore fishing
With the build up to full moon this Sunday the reefs should be alive with hungry fish, fingers crossed you are able to get out and have a crack! On the inshore reefs the rocks that are scattered along our coastline there has been some quality fish caught like tuskfish, sweetlip, grunter and the big spanish mackerel have moved back in.
If you like catching school mackerel there has been a lot of schoolies in close for the land based fishos to throw a metal slug or bait out and have a high chance of getting one. If you’re a calamari fan then you’ll love this!
The squid have been around in good numbers, the best way to target these has been to be casting squid jigs in around 2.5 to 3m of water whilst covering a lot of ground. Once you find one squid there is generally more so then you can focus your casts in one area.
Team member Josh has found that using an 8lb fluorocarbon leader has got the bites and he managed to score a cracking feed of squid with 9 landed in a short session on the weekend fishing with his mate Karl!
How good has the weather been of late for the offshore fishos! For those that have ventured offshore they have sure been rewarded with good catches of tuskfish, sweetlip, coral trout, parrot fish, nannygai, red emperor, cobia and spanish mackerel just to name a few of the many fish that have been caught.
Fingers crossed that the weather will play the game for this weekend but as always stay up to date with the latest weather report as it can change for the worse in a blink of an eye.
Big flesh baits have been killing it on the reefies as of late! Trout, nannygai, reds and cobia have been the target species for most when using large strips of mullet fillet or fresh hussar fillets. In the shallower waters around 20m a whole pilchard sent to the bottom on a set of gangs has worked an absolute treat.
Burnett River
The Burnett has been fishing very well over the past week. The two main species being caught has been the blue salmon and flathead!
These two species have been liking 70-100mm soft vibes worked off the bottom with one hot area being the town reach. If you’re more into bait fishing live sprat or prawns will definitely get you the bite!
Don’t forget to drop the crab pots in this weekend, there’s been some very good quality crabs being caught and with the full moon this weekend they should be on the move! Also don’t forget to have your cast net in the boat.
There’s been some very nice prawns being caught in the deeper holes in the river. Try around the Port or Strathdees and keep a close eye on your sounder for the big numbers of prawn schooled up!
Elliott River
This time of year always sees the Elliott fishing well with grunter, bream, flathead, queenfish, dart and tailor being common catches. These fish have been on the chew this week as the water temp continues to cool down.
The shallow flats throughout this river system have held good numbers of grunter, bream and flathead but also some cracking sized summer whiting! Fresh yabbies have been the go to bait but beach worms and mullet fillet have been working well if you can’t find any yabbies.
The big flatties have been up in the shallows during the middle of the day so throwing a bigger soft plastic or hardbody lure than usual is worth a shot whilst these fish are feeding on whiting and big sprat.
Tailor, dart and queenfish have been caught around the mouth of the river especially on an incoming tide as the bait is pushed up river. Try flicking some small metal lures out for these fish otherwise floating out a whole sprat rigged without any weight.
Baffle Creek
The Baffle has been producing some very nice whiting and grunter over the past week!
The whiting have been smashing yabbies and beach worms fished in the shallows over yabbie banks. With the full moon this weekend fishing the afternoon incoming tide and into the night will be ideal to get a feed of whiting.
The grunter have been taking a liking to 3” soft plastics worked over the gravel beds. If you’re more into your bait fishing using mullet fillet or prawns will be an ideal bait to get the grunter to bite.
With those big night tides this weekend be sure to drop the crab pots in for a tasty feed of mud crab. Middle channel has been producing some good numbers of crab along with the creeks towards the mouth of the river.
Kolan River
The fishing in the Kolan is still red hot with good numbers of fish being caught for most anglers when on the water. We have seen fresh yabbies doing the trick on the sand flats on species like flathead, bream, whiting, and big grunter!
The incoming tide and the start of the run out have been the prime times to target these fish. Flicking some small soft plastics and hardbodies is a good way to cover plenty of ground and find the better numbers of fish.
Around the mouth of this system has seen pelagic fish like trevally and queenfish following the balls of bait as they get pushed up river with the incoming tide. Flicking some small soft plastics around structure which is getting hit with the current has been the most effective way to target these pelagic species.
The crabs have been on the move this week, the building tides has certainly got these crabs on the move and with the full moon this Sunday we should see some good bucks caught over the weekend.
Lake Gregory
The bass are definitely on the chew in Lake Gregory this week!
The cooler weather has these bass schooled up in good numbers and have been feeding on a range of lures that have been thrown at them. Firstly, finding the bass is key, having a good quality sounder to locate the better numbers of fish is a game changer.
Once you have found a school of fish either use your electric motor to stay on top of these fish or slowly drift over the school with the wind. Small soft plastics like the Original Slider’s Grub have worked great when sunk below the school of bass and then slowly wound through them.
If the bass are towards the top of the water column small hardbody lures twitched through the schools have been getting some quality fish. The bass can’t resist a twitch and pause technique especially when they are on the chew!
CATCH OF THE WEEK
Flat Rock boat ramp closure
If you would like your catch photos published to be in the running for a $50 gift card every week, email your details and photos of local catches only to accounts@tackleworldbundy.com.au
From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg
Live the Tackle World L.I.F.E – Local Independent Fishing Experts
