Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Inshore/Offshore fishing
The inshore reefs have been on fire lately! Plenty of school and spanish mackerel have been caught while fishing, using a few different techniques including fast retrieving spoons, lightly weighted pilchards and trolling gar for the spanish mackerel. Any of these techniques used around the Leads at Burnett Heads or around any big bommies and wrecks throughout out inshore reefs should lead to a few solid mackerel.
There has also been some nice jew and grunter being caught, most of these fish are being caught on 20g soft vibe lures hopped off the bottom. Using your sounder to locate big schools of bait is where these jew have been sitting. If you are more into using bait, the go at the moment has been squid and prawns.
The offshore fishing has been red hot as well! Plenty of trophy sized coral trout and red emperor have been getting caught. Most of the trouty’s have been caught on pilchards and livies dropped to the bottom. The reds have been loving large flesh baits and whole squid. These fish have been feeding most aggressively around the tide changes so be sure to make the most out of these short bite windows.
The one hour either side of the tide sure can be the esky filler time! Some big cobia have been around our wrecks as well! Slow pitch jigging has got a few of these big fish to bite. Plenty of trevally and queenfish have been caught whilst trying for these cobia as well, which is great fun for the lure enthusiasts!
Burnett River
Last weekends massive tides leading into the new moon on Sunday proved to be great for the fishing in the Burnett. The big tides pushed heaps of bait around and the predatory fish were feeding hard! Big queenfish and trevally were caught during the incoming tide especially around areas like Kirby’s Wall, Talon Bridge and the rock wall’s at the mouth of the river. Using whole sprat floated down with a small ball sinker worked a treat. Flicking soft plastics around the pressure edge sides of these areas also picked up some great quality fish. Up river around the bridges and the rock bars saw some big jack still being caught on a range of techniques.
Live bait is definitely the way to go at the moment however some large flesh baits or whole sprat has caught plenty of jack as well. Some of the deeper holes in the river have held great numbers of quality sized grunter and big flathead. Using small strips and chunks of mullet fillet as bait has worked well on these fish. For the lure anglers a soft vibe around 80mm in length has been deadly. The Samaki Vibelicious 70mm is one lure the grunter and flathead can’t seem to get enough of. The Burnett has started producing great numbers of prawns, using a quality sounder to locate the schools and a 10 to 12 foot top pocket cast net is perfect for getting a quick feed. Whilst out on the Burnett it is well worth throwing the pots in as we saw some huge bucks caught recently with the big tides.
Elliott River
This weeks warm weather and relatively big tides has seen the shallow flats in the Elliott thriving with life! A lot of bait has been pushing up onto these flats during the incoming tide and so has some big flathead, queenfish, trevally, grunter and whiting! Fresh yabbies has been the best bait however whole sprat has worked an absolute treat as well. If you are chasing whiting you can’t go past these fresh yabbies or even some worms floated into the shallows during the incoming tide.
Some good quality whiting are being caught so now is the time to get out and have a crack! Some of the deep holes and bends of the river have fished great for big flathead, grunter and jack. Whole sprat or strips of mullet has got these fish to bite. Up river in the heavy structure and rock bars has seen some cracking jack still being caught as well. Now that the rivers are quieter being that most people are back from holidays we are seeing even more jack being caught. Live baits are still the go to bait for now. The Elliott is also crabbing really well so throwing the pots in is definitely not a bad idea!
Baffle Creek
Last weekend and earlier this week was a great time to be out on the Baffle with the big tides getting the pelagic fish on the chew! Big queenfish and trevally have been all throughout the river smashing bait being pushed around by the tide. Sections of the river being hit hard by this current are the places to be, using whole sprat or small poddy mullet as bait are working well. The sand flats throughout this river are also fishing well with plenty of flathead and grunter averaging 50cm being caught most of the day.
Fresh yabbies and small flesh baits are working best on these fish. This weekend’s late afternoon run out tides should be a great time to be fishing the baffle for these fish, try finding a nice sandflat which drops off into some deeper water and set out a few baits. Up river around the various rock bars has seen some cracking jack being caught. Live baits or prawn imitation lures like the Zerek Cherabin have been getting these big jack to bite. The crabbing proved to be on over the weekend! Plenty of people ended up with a good feed of crab and even though the tides are decreasing it is still worth a shot!
Kolan River
Similar to all of our other local rivers the Kolan has had a great week of fishing and crabbing. We have gotten plenty of reports of great numbers of prawns in this river too! Like the Burnett, using your sounder to locate the schools of prawns before you start throwing the net is crucial. In the way of crabbing we have continued to see some great numbers of bucks being caught. Up in the creeks and around the mouth of the creeks are working best. On the fishing front the mouth of the river has produced flathead, grunter, queenfish, trevally and mangrove jack.
The flathead and grunter have been caught in similar areas such as sand flats, drop offs and deeper holes. Fresh yabbies or small flesh baits like mullet fillet has got these fish to bite. The pelagic’s have preferred a live bait like a whole sprat or small poddy mullet in areas which have plenty of current. Sending down a live bait into heavy structure like fallen trees or rock bars has seen some big jacks being caught. Using a 40lb fluorocarbon leader has seemed to keep most of these fish from busting you off when they get back to their home, but some of the bigger fish are still almost impossible to stop when you aren’t expecting them.
Fishing Local Beaches
Whiting! Whiting! Whiting! This seems to be all we are hearing this week as heaps of legal whiting around the 25 to 30cm mark are being caught right along our coast. We have had great reports of people getting upwards of 20 in a single session. The bait doing the damage on most of these fish have been freshly pumped yabbies or beach worms.
Fishing during the incoming tide in the gutters and off the beach around the river mouths is the best spots at the moment. Woodgate Beach and Coonarr Beach have been the standouts however all of our local beaches have produced quality whiting so they are all definitely worth a shot. Rigging your bait using a running ball sinker rig with some red tubing or balls around your leader has helped get these fish to eat!
Lake Monduran
After having Northerly winds for most of the week Lake Monduran has been fishing red hot! A lot of the warmer water and bait is situated around the points and in the bays which the wind blow has been hitting more consistently. Using a map of some sort to identify which bays and points these are will get you looking in the right area. Some of the better spots to try has been around the main basin, SDA bay and the southern arm of B. Using side scan to locate fish hanging around points or passing through will also drastically improve your chances of getting a fish in the boat.
The lures doing the damage this week have been the usual hardbody lures when fishing timber and big soft plastics or swimbaits when fishing weedy points or flats. The Jackall 79sp and the Samaki Redic DS80 have been slaying some big barra in the tight timber when using a long pause in between twitches. And as for the plastics a slow rolled Berkley Shimma Pro Rig has been deadly, sometimes if your lure gets stuck in the weed a fast, erratic twitch will entice a bite from a barra not far away. Using a colour that creates a bold silhouette in the water has been the trick, this gives the barra a very easy target and helps them commit to eating your lure.
Lake Gregory Fishing
Lake Gregory has fished very well this week, we have been given reports of plenty of bass being caught and some of the bigger fish have been around the 45cm mark. The southern half of the dam has held most of the fish as of late with the warmer water and bait being in this area certainly attracting the bass. Sounding up schools of bass hanging in deeper water off the points has worked well. Throwing small soft vibes or small paddle tail soft plastics through these schools of fish has worked very well.
Fishing closer to the points or up in the bays has also been a great way to catch a few fish this week. Casting small hardbody lures into the heavy structure and twitching them along the drop off’s or over the top of the weed beds is the go. The Rapala Shad Rap Elite is the perfect lure for these situations and has been deadly on the Lake Gregory bass. Topwater lures have been super effective in the low light periods, early mornings or late afternoon topwater sessions have been going off! A few of the lures getting the bites has been the Duo Realis Pencil 65, Chasebaits Flexi Frog and the new MMD Bony Swim in the floating version when retrieved just below the surface.
CATCH OF THE WEEK
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 LIFE – Local Independent Fishing Experts
