Bundaberg – weekly report

OFFSHORE AND INSHORE Bundaberg fishing

Welcome back to another fishing report for the Easter long weekend. Hopefully this weekend we will be able to get offshore, with the wind dropping out a bit on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. However, as always, keep an eye on the weather reports. There have been a few nice mackerels of all types and longtail and mack tuna getting about. The big spanish mackerel have been falling prey to a slow-trolled dead or live bait while mack tuna, spotted and school mackerel have taken a fancy to metal chrome lures. The Nomad Ridgeback has been a fish favourite when worked at an arm-burning speed. With cooler weather setting in, we should see snapper moving into the inshore reefs and you should also see some big grunter being caught. Bundaberg fishing

BURNETT RIVER AND ELLIOTT HEADS Bundaberg fishing

The Burnett River has seen a huge influx of bait recently – tarpon, trevally, bream and grunter have been working over these bait schools and, by the look of my sounder on Sunday night, there are some big schools of salmon schooling up around the town reach. The Elliott River has been producing some nice whiting, bream and flathead. One of the best ways to target these species is by casting 2-3” plastics for bream and whiting, but a 4-5” lure for flathead. Surprisingly, there are still barramundi hiding in both river systems in big numbers. The trick is finding bite times for when they want to feed and not when you want to catch them. If you find them schooled up, stick with them and throw a heap of different sized lures and colours. Don’t forget to throw in the pots, with good reports of mud crabs on the chew. Bundaberg fishing

THE KOLAN RIVER AND BAFFLE CREEK

Both the Kolan River and Baffle Creek have seen quality crabs being caught and both rivers, as for most estuary systems this time of year, are full of whiting, bream, grunter and flathead. Drifting around the edges of sand bars and drop-offs during a run-out tide will give you a better chance of hooking these bread and butter species. Prawns and mullet strips are always a go-to but if you have a cast net, you can’t beat fresh or live bait, and you might even run into some good prawns to throw on the table this Easter. Bundaberg fishing

LAKE MONDURAN

Word has it there are still some big barra getting about and this Easter weekend should see some good numbers being caught. Upgrading your hooks and using heavy leader are great ideas – these gives you a bit of insurance and peace of mind knowing that if you hook that elusive magic 1m barra, you have a good chance of landing it. Any of the soft plastics around the 6” mark or hard-body lures such as the Classic Barra or Jackall Squirrel worked along the edge of the timber and weed beds are your best bet to hook one of the mighty Monduran barramundi. Changing up your lure selection or retrieve is often what will get one of these rod-breaking machines to bite.

This Easter there will be a lot of people on the water, so make sure you are patient and give everyone a wide birth. Also, if someone looks like they need a hand, it never hurts to check if they’re okay. That being said, I hope everyone has a great Easter and you get to eat lots of chocolate.

That’s all folks. Stay safe on the water and be mindful of your fellow fishers.
Josh Mortensen
Tackle World Bundaberg

CATCH OF THE WEEK!

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