Bundaberg – weekly fishing report

Inshore fishing

As you all should know the Coral Reef Fin Fish closure started today and will run until Monday the 16th meaning we can target our fin fish again on Tuesday the 17th.

This time of year we see great numbers of pelagic fish along our coastline and lucky for us we are still able to target our pelagic fish such as mackerel, tuna, queenfish and trevally during the Coral Reef Fin Fish Closures. These species are extremely bait oriented so they will usually be found close to good numbers of baitfish. Searching the Inshore waters around the known reefs and wrecks for balls of bait, watching for bust ups or birds working and targeting rocky outcrops along the coast can be very successful ways to find pelagic fish.

Once you have found the bait or you are fishing an area with a good amount of current creating a pressure edge, retrieving small metal lures and soft plastics back to the boat with a high speed retrieve is a great way to get the bite. Topwater lures have worked well during the early mornings and late afternoons at places like the 4 Mile reef however through the day either small metal lures or soft plastics will be the go.

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Michael Belby with a cracking queenfish caught at the Leads on a live yakka.

Offshore fishing

With how the wind has been as of late and the Coral Reef Fin Fish closure beginning today we unfortunately have not been able to head offshore very often. As the Northerly winds are in full swing the opportunities to head offshore during this time of year do become less common but when we do get a good weather window the fishing is usually red hot!

Those isolated bommies and patchy structures surrounded by sand in depths of 30 to 50m have been producing some very big reds and nannygai. These fish are the pinnacle of bottom fishing as they are great eating and are certainly a challenge to find and put up a hell of a fight.

Big flesh baits like mullet fillet or whole squid and cuttlefish are very good baits for these big red fish. Good numbers of trout, venus tusk fish and red throat have also been caught regularly in places like the Gutters, Herold Patches and the Warregoes. Fingers crossed we get a couple cracking days of weather soon so we can head out wide again!

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Dean Cronin sure found some quality fish recently!

Burnett River

The Burnett is definitely starting to fire up nicely with the warm weather really getting our summer species on the chew! Some absolute cracking jacks have been caught this week on live baits and strips of mullet fillet. Fishing for these fish during the run out tide has been the most effective, the rock bars in this river are definitely the places to be.

Plenty of good sized flathead are around at the moment and have been feeding well, this has been clear by how fat and healthy these fish have been. 3 to 4 inch soft plastics have been the go, the 3 inch Cast Prodigy lures have been getting the bites as well as the Shads Lures Tuff Prawn.

Fishing during the bigger tides has also seen good numbers of trevally, queenfish and even a heap of small grey mackerel being caught around the pressure points. These grey mackerel have even been found in the Quarry this week! Find the current and bait and you should find good numbers of pelagic fish at the moment.

Karda Berthselsen with a cracking cod caught in the Burnett River.

Elliott River

The Elliott river has been fishing very well this week, bream, flathead, whiting, grunter, jack, cod and barra have been the species we have heard most of. The flats fishing has sure been red hot and like always with the big tides we have seen some cracking sized whiting being caught during the incoming tides.

The best baits to be using for these finicky fish has to be beach worms or fresh yabbies! The flathead have really chewed hard on small hardbody lures like the Daiwa Double Clutch or Zerek Tango Shad in a natural colour whilst the water in this river is still quite clear. The deeper bends in this river is where the jack, barra and cod have been caught.

Whole prawns, live poddy mullet and whole sprat are definitely the baits you want to be using at the moment. The bottom half of the run out tide as well as the tide change and start of the incoming has been when these fish have been on the chew. Lure fishing for the barra has been tricky with these fish hard to tempt a bite from, prawn imitation lures like the Zerek Cherabin’s, Pro Lure Clone Prawns and the Shads Tuff Prawn have all been great options for these fish.

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Brock Catasti with a quality flathead measuring 71cm which he released after some quick photos.

Baffle Creek

Baffle Creek has been fishing really well, this time of year always see’s this river absolutely littered with baitfish and some great pelagic fish are usually in pursuit. The sand flats and snags at the mouth of this river system provide plenty of pressure points during the run in tide and there has been some big queenfish and trevally close by.

Small soft plastics flicked around these pressure points with a very erratic retrieve should get the bite. Good sized flathead have also been caught underneath these schools of bait, soft vibes hopped off the bottom underneath the bait and pelagic fish has worked a treat.

Good sized jack are also starting to come on the chew this week, for now live baits and whole dead baits like mullet and sprat have been the go. The run out tide has also been the time to chase these fish, fishing into the night has got some people onto a few very good fish as well. With the big tides a few whiting have been caught however they have been a little more difficult to find.

The sand flats with some weed along the bottom seem to be the go, drifting these flats with beach worms or fresh yabbies has got the bite. Using a few red lumo beads and tubing directly above your long shank hook has definitely helped to get these fish to bite!

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Kenzie Sergiacomi with a ripper 42cm jack.

Kolan River

The Kolan River has seen a heap of boat traffic as of late due to the school holidays however this did see a heap of great quality fish caught. Grunter and flathead have been the two species in this system talked about most and with plenty of sand flats and drop offs in this river to choose from we saw most people getting into a few of these fish.

Casting curl tail soft plastics as well as trolling small hardbody lures have been very effective for the lure fisho’s. For those more into bait fishing we have seen great numbers of fish caught on whole sprat drifted across the flats and the drop offs.

Good sized whiting have also been around with the big tides helping get these fish on the chew, fresh yabbies are 100% worth the effort and will get you into the whiting action for sure! Plenty of crab are around at the moment but the size has been letting most down, try placing your pots in deeper sections of the river and any deep holes up the creeks.

Brent Haggarty with a ripper 53cm mangrove jack caught in the Kolan River on a live bait.

Lake Gregory

This warm weather sure has got the bass feeding especially around the edges of the dam. Fishing the shallow weed beds early in the mornings and in the late afternoons with topwater lures like a Daiwa Slippery Dog or an Atomic Hardz Cicada have been very effective.

Fishing the topwater lures with quite a fast retrieve has got these bass fired up and managed to get a very aggressive strike out of them. As the sun gets higher in the sky fishing the drop offs has been most effective. Small paddle tail soft plastics slow wound and twitched through any weed has got the bite.

Small Hardbody lures like the Rapala Shad Rap Elite has also worked very well when using an erratic retrieve with plenty of twitches and pauses. Good numbers of saratoga are being caught at the moment, fishing sections of the dam where a lot of leaf litter and insects are landing has been the go.

Although the windy conditions aren’t the easiest to fish in, it can sometimes lead you exactly to the fish. Following the direction of the wind will often times put you where the warmer water and bait are and subsequently you will find good numbers of predatory fish. Look out for sections of the dam where a lot of the leaf litter is landing on the water, these spots are prime areas to target these saratoga.

Nelson Philips managed 3 saratoga in a short afternoon fish on the Lake.

Lake Monduran

Last weekend’s South Easterly wind change definitely made the fishing on the dam a lot harder than it has been. Those who managed to catch a few fish found the warmer water however they still had to put in plenty of casts.

When fishing trying conditions especially during a wind change it is well worth finding the warmer water as the fish in these areas are a lot more inclined to feed. Fishing hardbody lures with very long pauses and short twitches was what got the bite from most of the fish.

The South Arm of B produced most of the metre barra with a lot of the banks opposite the points which had been getting hit from the Northerlies holding good numbers of fish. Hearts bay and Insane Bay are two areas well worth a look at the moment as well. With some Northerly winds forecasted we should see the dam fire up again and plenty of monster barra will be caught.

Ryan Brown with his first ever barra which measured 96cm!

CATCH OF THE WEEK

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Logan Philips with a monster flathead measuring 87cm! This big flatty was released after a few quick photos. Well Done Logan that’s a cracker!

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

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