Bundaberg – weekly fishing report

Inshore/Offshore fishing

With these slightly cooler mornings the snapper are starting to show up along with some solid grunter around the inshore reefs and rocky coastlines. Some good spots to look for grunter is the artificial off Elliott Heads, along the rocks off Elliott Heads and off the north wall at Burnett Heads for the land based fishos.

There has been a lot of school and grey/broad bar mackerel getting about just remember although gray mackerel look similar to a spanish mackerel they are 2 different fish and they are able to be caught year round. Remember that it is currently closed season for Spanish mackerel which started on Wednesday 1st of March and runs until Tuesday the 21st of March so be sure to know the difference between these two species.

A good way to target school and grey mackerel is by trolling 2-4 inch spoons…no not the ones out of your kitchen draw but the Halco spoons with a paravane to get them down to depth. Another method which has really paid off is trolling a Samaki Redic DS100 or DS80. The weather isn’t looking the best but if you do manage to get out please be safe and enjoy your time on the water.

 

This time of year with the cooler mornings we should start to see some of the winter species begin to fire up like snapper in close and big reds and nannygai around the 40m mark. With the big reds you can’t go past a big flesh bait or even one of the brand new Nomad Squidtrex lures…man these lures are doing some real damage on red emperors and we look forward to seeing some big snapper falling victim to them this winter too! Be sure to send your pics in for fish of the week and you may just win a $50 tackle world voucher!

Burnett River

The crabbing and prawning in the Burnett has been red hot this week! The key to getting the big bucks has been to place your pots in deeper sections of river and to use plenty of bait. The prawns have been towards the mouth of the river in the deep holes and a top pocket cast net has helped to fill the bucket in no time.

This week has seen the Burnett continue to fish really well as it clears up from the recent rain we have had. There is currently heaps of bait all throughout the river and plenty of fish are on the chew. Fishing around the rock bars has seen mangrove jack, cod and barra being caught, big mullet fillets or live baits have worked best on these fish.

Some quality sized grunter and flathead are being caught at the mouth of the river with small soft plastics being a great way to target these fish, the Squidgie Wrigglers have been absolutely dynamite. Hopping these plastics over sand bars and drop offs has been where these fish are being caught. The North Wall has fished well this week with a lot of land based anglers catching a good feed. Whole prawns have worked well with plenty of cod, big bream, trevally and mangrove jack being caught here.

Elliott River

The Elliott River is fishing really well, those who know a few spots which are less well known have been managing to pull some great quality fish out of this river. The upper stretches have proved to be crabbing and prawning really well, the deeper holes in the creeks is the way to go.

Having a quality sounder to find the prawns is also super handy and helps to locate the better numbers of prawns. The sand flats in this river have held some great numbers of flatties with most being around the 50cm mark.

Some solid whiting are also being caught with fresh yabbies being the go to bait. A few of the rock bars have held some big jacks and solid barra so throwing down a livie is a great way to find a few of these sought after species.

Baffle Creek

Baffle creek has been firing up lately with plenty of jack on the chew! Most anglers have had the most luck when fishing rock bars or sections of creek with plenty of structure and sending down some fresh live baits. These jacks have preferred live prawns or poddy mullet.

A lot of estuary and rock cod are being caught whilst chasing these jacks but they are a welcome bycatch for those wanting to fill the esky. Around the mouth has seen the sand flats fishing really well for flathead, grunter and queenfish.

The incoming tide has been the best time to chase these fish, getting up onto the shallow flats and casting some 3 to 4 inch soft plastics has worked a treat. The crabbing in this river has been really good as well, the big bucks have been on the move so throwing a few pots out whilst have a fish for the day is definitely worth it.

Kolan River

The Kolan is currently fishing very well at the moment, there is heaps of bait all throughout the river which is a great sign for the future of the Kolan as well. The usual flathead and grunter have been on the chew and sections of the river with drop offs and current has been where these fish have been caught more regularly.

Using bigger chunks of mullet or whole sprat has worked great on these fish, towards the mouth in the clearer water we have seen fresh yabbies doing best when fished in the shallower water. The incoming tide has seen the schools of bait being pushed up river and some big queenfish and trevally have been in pursuit.

Fishing parts of the river which have plenty of current being pushed onto them has worked well. The rock bars and deep holes in this river have produced some great mangrove jack especially for those using live baits.

Whole poddy mullet and sprat have been the baits getting the job done, however definitely try some mullet fillet as well. Plenty of prawns and crabs are around at the moment, the middle sections of this river seem to be holding the best numbers for now.

Fishing Local Beaches

Whiting are back on the chew with reports that most of out local beaches are producing some quality sized fish! 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

Lake Monduran is fishing well at the moment, plenty of smaller fish around the 60cm mark are being caught. These barra have been holding around areas providing plenty of structure with lily pads and overhanging trees being the prime spots.

A lot of the bigger fish have been harder to tempt a bite from again this week, with opportunities few and far between for most anglers on the dam. These bigger barra aren’t committing to the lures properly so a fair few people have missed these fish due to the barra spitting the hooks easily.

A slow wound Molix 120 Shad or a Berkley Shimma Pro Rig has got some of these big fish to bite and the stinger hook at the back of the plastic has managed to keep hooks in these bigger fish nicely. These bigger barra have been found around the timber and passing through points with the wind blowing straight onto the banks. A quality sounder with side scan is an absolute game changer for finding where these barra are schooled up as they move from day to day.

Lake Gregory Fishing

Lake Gregory has been fishing well with slow winding soft plastics over the top of the weed banks being a great technique. Sometimes in order to get the bite anglers have been sinking the soft plastics deep into the weed with a weed less hook and twitching them out.

Small hardbody lures cast along steep weed edges/drop offs has also been dynamite this week! Using erratic twitches with a long pause in between has got some aggressive bites from these bass. Ensuring your hardbody lure doesn’t sink or float too quickly is crucial as it needs to stay in the strike zone for as long as possible.

Fishing sections of the dam which have had most of the wind exposure over the last few days or even up to a week is ideal as a lot of the bait and warmer water will be in these areas. Throwing soft plastics or hardbodies around 3 inches in length has been perfect for matching the baitfish in the dam.

 

 

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 L.I.F.E – Local Independent Fishing Experts

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