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.

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!

Burnett River

Elliott River

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!

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.

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.

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.

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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