Bundaberg – weekly fishing report

Although the wind has been pretty average in the few small weather windows we have had the inshore reefs have been producing plenty of action with good sized sweetlip, trout, cod and some late seasoned spanish mackerel being caught. Wednesday this week turned out to be a pretty good day especially in the morning and we definitely saw some great fish caught.

Whole pilchards and squid rigged on a 7/0 Elkat or Shinto gang hooks with a size 6 ball sinker have definitely worked well for those targeting bottom fish around our inshore reefs. Floating out whole pilchards is what has found a few spanish mackerel along with the usual school mackerel.

As always, finding the bait if key. Those who spend a bit more time sounding around and locating the bait will usually do a lot better than those who fish the same spots every time regardless of the conditions. Be sure to focus your attention on the sections of reef which have a good amount of bait, the pressure edged side of the reef is always the best place to start.

Big schools of mac tuna with the occasional long tail have been scattered across our coast. Watching for bust ups in the distance or birds working in the sky are dead giveaways of bait and predatory fish and definitely warrant a few casts. Small metal slugs have been matching the hatch really well as of late so be sure to have few in your tackle box.

The Burnett sure is fishing very well at the moment! The fish getting talked about the most as of late has to be the barramundi, we have had a few great captures out of the Burnett recently. These fish aren’t in massive numbers at the moment but there is definitely a few getting around if you know where to look, having a good quality sounder with side scan is a worth while investment for this style of fishing.

The town reach area has been holding a good number of barra this week, sounding around the bridges and moored boats should see you finding a few barra sitting close to the structure. Samaki vibelicious soft vibes have worked well on these barra along with a simple paddle tail soft plastic.

Some good sized jack have been coming off the rock bars with live prawns or small poddy mullet being the go-to baits. Fishing the start of the run out tide has been the go to time to be on the water, this weekend’s late afternoon run out tide should be a great time to chase some jack in this river. A few cracking sized prawns are being found at the Port too, these have been in very scattered numbers but their size has sure made up for it.

This week has seen the Elliott River produce some great quality fish from flathead and whiting to barra and jack. The shallow sand bars in this river have fished really well during the incoming tide with some great sized summer whiting and flathead being caught.

Fresh baits have been working best on these fish as well as small 100mm curl tail soft plastics like the Shimano Squidgie Wriggler in a bloodworm colour. The rock bars in this river have had a few jack caught on them, live baits in particular whole prawns have worked really well.

Fishing the bottom half of the run out tide has been when these fish have been feeding. As well as jack we have had reports of some good sized barra being found in the deeper holes. Live baits or prawn imitation soft plastics fished around the tide changes should get these fish to bite, although a lot of patience is usually required. 

The Kolan River is fishing really well and for those holidaying up at the Miara Caravan Park we have seen some great fish caught even for the land based fisho’s. Good sized bream, whiting and flathead have been around in numbers along the sand flats and the drop offs around the mouth of this river system. Most of these fish have fallen victim to fresh yabbies, beach worms or small whole prawns rigged using a running ball sinker rig with a light ball sinker.

Finding areas which have a good amount of bait has been key, the top of the incoming tide and the start of the run out tide has seen plenty of bait up 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.

With the water temp on the rise some good jack and barra have also been caught in this river. Decent 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 it hard to see if they are there or not.

Playing with your sounders settings such as Contrast, TVG and Interference to get a clear picture is a good idea for finding these barra. Prawn imitation soft plastics seem to be working best at the moment, rigging these with a weed less hook and a small ball sinker is a very effective way to get your lure deep into the structure with minimal snags.

Local beaches

The bass in Lake Gregory have sure come on the chew with the water temp rising causing the bass to be on the move and feeding! Anglers targeting the drop offs with suspending jerk baits have had great success with fish going above 50cm. Letting the hardbody sit and suspend in between twitches really has been the key to getting these bass to bite.

The Rapala Shad Rap Elite hardbodies have been slaying these big bass. Slow rolled paddle tail soft plastics are also working very well, when your lure starts getting stuck in a bit of weed try doing a few fast turns of your handle to break the lure free, this will often trigger a reaction bite from the bass and you will get a very aggressive strike.

A few solid saratoga are still being caught as well, finding areas on the dam where the majority of leaf litter is falling is always a good place to start targeting these fish. Slow rolling topwater cicada imitation lures have got the bite.

The consistent South Easterly winds paired with sunny days has seen the dam continue to fish really well with a lot of 60 to 70cm fish being landed. There is stacks of big barra all through the dam at the moment, these big fish are a lot harder to get bites from than the smaller barra but they are definitely worth the extra effort when it all comes together.

Samaki Redic DS80’s and Shads 5 or 6inch paddle tail soft plastics have been the two lures getting the most bites. Fishing the hardbodies with long pauses and quick erratic twitches and the plastics with a simple slow roll has been most effective.

The smaller barra have been tucked up right in the weed so often times you can’t even see them on your sounder, if your lure happens to get caught up in the weed a few quick turns of your handle to break the lure free has been getting a reaction bite out of these smaller fish.

These 60cm barra are great fun and definitely help to stay locked in on chasing those metre plus fish! A few of the points in the main basin have had some great barra caught off them so you don’t need to travel far up the dam to get into some great fish at the moment.

Places like Wiggle Bay and the Cattle Yards are also worth a look if you are headed up. With the Lake Monduran Family Fishing Festival fast approaching now is the perfect time to head up and fish the dam just in time for the comp.