Bundaberg – weekly fishing report

Burnett River

The Burnett has had a really good week of fishing, plenty of small grunter have been around the rocky structures and bridges in the Town Reach area. These fish have ate whole prawns and small soft plastics or soft vibes. The rock bars and bridges have also produced some great quality flathead, cod and jack this week.

Live baits have been the go to when fishing for these species around the rocks, paddle tail soft plastics and deep diving hardbody lures have also worked very well around these areas. The mouth of the Burnett along the rock walls is where a lot of the bigger grunter and flathead have been caught. Finding schools of bait hanging around the rocks is a really good place to start as these fish will usually be close by.

Some great pelagic fish like trevally and queenfish have also been on the chew. The rock walls and bridges are ideal places to target these fish, however finding the baitfish is key. When you have found the bait try hopping soft plastics through and around the bait quite erratically to trigger a bite.

Some great numbers of crab have been found in the main sections of the river, whole mullet or fish frames have been the ideal baits to be using. Better numbers of prawns are also being found around the Port, a quality sounder has helped to find the schools and the run out tide has been when they have been easier to find.

Kolan River

The Kolan has been fishing great and the jacks are sure firing up! We have seen some very good sized fish and great numbers of them caught during the run out tide at most of the rock bars, bridges and in the deep holes. Live baits and prawn imitation soft plastics have been the key to getting these fish to bite.

With the full moon on Monday we will definitely see a lot more of these fish caught as they feed with the bigger tides. The flats fishing at the mouth of this system has also seen good sized queenfish and trevally caught around the snags and schools of bait.

Flicking small soft plastics has by far been the most effective way to target these species. Some big flathead and grunter are still around as well, fishing the edges of the shallow flats during the run out tide has been the best way to target these fish. Either whole sprat and prawns or once again small soft plastics has done the trick.

Elliott River

The Elliott is fishing great, the jacks, cod and big grunter have been on the chew in the deep holes. Whole prawns have been a great bait to use and if you are into your lure fishing prawn imitation lures is where it’s at!

Fishing prawn lures deep into the structure is what has been getting the best results as you can get right into the strike zone to trigger a reaction bite.  The shallow sand flats have produced some good whiting action during the run in tide this week.

With the full moon coming up these fish are only going to be on the chew more. Fresh yabbies are definitely the go to bait, using a very light leader and some red tubing and beads will get you the bite.

Great numbers of flathead have also been caught up in the shallows during the incoming tide, flicking around some small soft plastics in a pink or chartreuse colour has worked well. During the run out tide some soft vibes hopped along the drop offs has picked up some bigger flathead and grunter as well.

Baffle Creek

Baffle Creek has definitely been firing lately and with the rain earlier in the week we saw some cracking jack action especially up in the shallow mangrove lined creeks. Skip casting topwater frog lures or slow rolling paddle tail soft plastics out of the mangroves were the go to techniques which were getting these lures smoked by big jack!

Some great quality grunter have also been on the move around the rock bars and along the shallow sand bars and drop offs. Fishing the shallow sand flats during the incoming tide and fishing the drop offs as the tide runs out has been the go.

Hopping soft vibes and curl tail soft plastics have been really effective but if you are more into bait fishing fresh yabbies or whole dead sprat have been a grunters favourite meal as of late. The crabs have also been on the move in this system and with full moon on Monday next week the big tides will no doubt get these crabs on the move even more.

Lake Gregory

The Lake has been a little quiet this week possibly due to the overcast weather causing things to slow down a bit. Topwater frog lures and paddle tail soft plastics rigged to run across the surface did get some good action from smaller bass and the occasional bigger fish did have a crack.

Long casts ensuring to cover plenty of ground is essential for this style of fishing. Some big schools of bass have been found in the deeper sections of the dam and this can be linked to the water temp dropping dramatically in the last couple of weeks. A quality sounder to locate these bass is very important to ensure you can get your lure in the strike zone. Slow rolling small paddle tail soft plastics and hopping vibes through the schools of bass has been the most effective way to get some numbers in the boat.

Lake Monduran

Well it’s nearly time for the Humminbird Lake Monduran Barra Classic which kicks off tomorrow! This year we have some huge names coming and fishing the lake with their eyes on the prize. Our very own team member Shane Anderson is fishing the comp so best of luck mate! This comp is no doubt for the experienced anglers and each year it takes a combination of so many factors to get the win.

The fishing on the dam this week has been quite tough which is more than likely due to the dropping water temp that Monduran has had over the last couple of weeks. With the water temp dropping from about 32-34 degrees in the main basin to 26 as of Saturday just gone it is definitely a fair amount cooler. This has meant that getting your lure to sit in the strike zone for as long as possible has been what has got the bite. Those using live scope have been able to pin point fish and get their lure to go directly past the fish’s face which is sometimes all you need to get a reaction bite. Live scope is also great to see how the fish are responding to certain presentations to slowly piece together what they are after. For example a hardbody lure may be spooking the fish whereas a slow rolled paddle tail may be getting some fish to look.

No doubt that there is certainly not a replacement for time on the water at the moment, those who are fishing the dam more often are the ones managing some metre plus fish. Focusing on the bite times those being any of the moon times, Kolan River tide changes and the Almanac bite times is definitely a great idea to increase the chances of getting a few bites.

 

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

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