Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Inshore fishing
Last weekends good days of weather meant plenty of keen fisho’s headed out and fished the Inshore reefs. We saw some really good pelagic fish caught like big queenfish, trevally, tuna and mackerel in close. These fish have been on the pressure edges along the coast as well as any areas with a lot of baitfish. Fast retrieving Flasha spoons and Arma metal lures has got the bite.
If you are going for mackerel dropping the Flasha spoon to the bottom and winding it back in as fast as you can will surely get them fired up. Trolling hardbody lures and whole gar fish in the early mornings and late afternoons has also seen some good school mackerel action and the odd spanish being caught as well. A few late seasoned snapper were caught on reefs like the 4 mile and the Artificial off Elliott Heads, these fish have been close to the bait and have liked 4 to 5 inch curl tail or jerk shad soft plastics in bright colours.
Offshore fishing
Our offshore fishing has been red hot as of late! The weekend provided a great opportunity for some people to head out wide in chase of some tasty reefies. The numbers weren’t as good however the quality of fish is what most have been talking about when it comes to our offshore fishing at present. Some very good quality red emperor, trout and nannygai have been on the chew especially with the tides and moon phase we have had this week.
These fish have been chewing on fresh hussar fillets or slabs of mullet fillet. Fishing the tide changes and trying different presentations such as rigging your baits on a Buku Snapbait Hybrid Jig has definitely paid off for most. Some very large cobia have also been out in big schools, slabs of mullet fillet and whole squid have been getting the bites. Fishing the wrecks or reefs with big undercut ledges has been finding these fish consistently.
Burnett River
The Burnett has been fishing red hot with barramundi and mangrove jack being the two standout fish. Plenty of these fish have been caught around the shallow rock bars in the upper reaches and also around the bridges in the town reach. Using soft prawn imitation lures and 20g soft vibes such as a Samaki vibe has been getting plenty of the action from both these species. It will be the last weekend we get to target the barra before close season so make sure to have a crack whilst you can.
Also, there’s been plenty of flathead and grunter getting around as well, small paddle tail soft plastics such as Zman 3” Minnowz has been getting plenty of the bites. If you are more into bait fishing using prawns and sprat is definitely the go to baits to use at the moment. Don’t forget to drop the crab pots in with the big tides we’ve got this weekend!
Elliott River
The Elliott is fishing well and is certainly a great option for those chasing a good quality feed of fish. Up river has seen the summer species come on the chew with some quality jack falling victim to whole prawns and a few solid estuary cod caught as well. Better numbers of barra are also showing themselves in the deeper holes and at the rock bars, these fish are feeding on the tide changes so make sure to make the most out of the hour either side of the tide.
Prawn imitation soft plastics like the Pro Lure Clone Prawns will be a great lure to tempt a bite from these fish as you can fish them extremely slowly to get a bite. The flats fishing has also been red hot with good numbers of flathead caught as well as whiting between 25 and 30cm. Fresh yabbies are worth their weight in gold when fishing the flats in this system, the flatties, bream, whiting and grunter absolutely love them. Fishing the incoming tide in this river has worked well especially if you can anchor on a shallow sand flat and drift the yabbies over it with the incoming tide.
Baffle Creek
Baffle Creek is having a really good week of fishing, the constant Northerly winds this week has got the water temp rising and the jack and barra fishing has been red hot. The creeks and rock bars have held good numbers of bait and the jacks have been feeding during the run out tide. The barra have ate on the turn of the tide and a lot of smaller fish have been caught in the mangrove creeks.
With the annual barra close season coming up next Wednesday this is the last weekend we can target them until February next year. Whole prawns and live bait like poddy mullet have definitely been the go to baits for the jack and barra when fishing the rock bars and creeks. For those lure fishing prawn imitation lures have got the bite especially when fishing those deeper snags and rock bars. The Zerek range of prawn imitation lures have been absolutely killer!
The flats fishing in this river system has also been really good, solid grunter and flathead have been caught on the flats and drop offs on soft plastics and vibes. Also make sure to throw the pots in whilst we have the big tides this weekend!
Kolan River
The Kolan River is fishing really well with some very good sized fish being caught. The key is finding areas which have a good amount of bait, the top of the incoming tide and the start of the run out tide has seen plenty of bait fish up in the shallows. This time has been ideal for chasing flathead, whiting, grunter and pelagic’s like trevally and queenfish in the shallows.
Those who are into their lure fishing have been casting small soft plastics onto the flats and slowly working them off into the deeper water with great results. The run out tide has been perfect for fishing the rock bars and shallows creeks for jacks, barra and cod. Mullet fillets and whole sprat have been getting the bites. 4 inch soft plastics like the Zman Diesel Minnowz slow rolled past structure have been deadly as well.
Better numbers of big barra have been found schooled up in the fallen trees at the mouth of this river system. These fish are very hard to find as they have been sitting super tight to the structure making them very hard to see. Drifting live baits or whole dead baits into the trees has worked well with by-catch including of mangrove jack, cod, trevally, queenfish and even fingermark.
Lake Gregory
The Lake is fishing really well this week, some very solid bass are being caught especially in the early mornings and late afternoons. These fish have been caught on topwater lures like frogs or walk the dog style lures in these low light periods. Using a fast retrieve has got some very aggressive strikes from these fish, adding some twitches will help get these fish to commit if they are tailing the lure as well.
Whilst the sun is higher in the sky we have seen hardbody lures and small soft plastics become very effective. 3 inch white Zman MinnowZ and Samaki Redic DF50’s are two very good options to have in your arsenal ready for some bass action! Fishing the windblown sections of the dam has worked best as the warmer water and bait has been in these areas.
Lake Monduran
Lake Monduran has been firing over the past week! The Tackle World Bundaberg Lake Monduran Family Fishing Classic was held over the weekend and it was a ripper! Plenty of fish were caught with a 109cm barramundi taking the win. The standout areas to fish were shallow windblown points that preferably has timber structure or a weed edge for fish to shelter in.
Hardbody lures such as Jackall Squirrels and Samaki Redics got most of the bites, we found long pauses in between twitches stirred these barra up, letting the lure sit for up to 30 seconds definitely worked well. Also, slow rolling Berkley Shimma Pro Rigs and Zerek Live Mullet has been getting the bite especially in the late afternoons and nights. If you are into trolling be sure to chuck a deep diving lure on such as a Barra Classic and try your luck towards the basin.
There has been some very good sized fish sitting between 5 and 6m deep all through the basin. Remember to always fish with confidence, you never know when that monster barra will hit your line.
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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