Bundaberg – weekly fishing report

Inshore/Offshore fishing

The inshore fishing right in close to our coastline has been incredible during the past week! The mouth of the Burnett right out along the leads and south along the coast towards Bargara has ben absolutely riddled with baitfish. These massive schools of bait have brought with them plenty of mac tuna, all types of mackerel and the odd school of longtail tuna. If you are targeting tuna using lures, ensure the lure you’re using looks identical to the bait they are feeding on. Team member Josh has found best success using the Arma Anchovy metal slug’s in either the 18g or 25g versions.

 

Casting them out past the busting up tuna and using a simple fast wind retrieve back to the boat has been killer. The mackerel have been in great numbers so trolling some deep diving hardbody lures or some whole garfish around the bait balls has worked a treat. Some good sized snapper and mulloway have moved in close and have been caught around the reefs which are holding a good amount of bait. Sounding over patches of reef and looking for the big balls of bait with some good fish sitting off the back of them is a great sign that the snapper and mulloway are around.

 

With the full moon last weekend and some decent conditions we saw some anglers head out wide chasing a feed of quality fish. Those who found good patches of ground isolated from any other surrounding reef structures were rewarded. Dropping big flesh baits like mullet fillet or whole squid resulted in some cracking sized red emperor, spangled emperor, red throat and nannygai. The shallower patches of reef in about 10 to 25m of water held great numbers of coral trout, grassy sweetlip and venus tuskfish.

 

Smaller baits like whole pilchards and mullet strips worked really well on these fish and they seemed to chew really hard around the tide changes. The local wrecks have seen some monster cobia continuing to be caught with big flesh baits being very effective on the larger fish. The smaller cobia have ate jigs and soft plastics when jigged erratically through the water column.

Burnett River

The cool change we have had this week has seen the winter species being more aggressive and have been getting caught more regularly as a result. The deeper holes at the mouth of the river and the holes around fairymead have seen good numbers of blue salmon schooled up. Hopping some soft vibes from about 70mm up to 120mm has got the bite from these fish. The flats throughout the Burnett have seen the bream right up in the shallows feeding during the high tide, some good sized flathead and grunter have also been doing the same.

 

These fish all love fresh yabbies or small hardbody lures slowly wound off the flat imitating a feeding yabbie or small baitfish. Some jack are still being caught however the bigger models have definitely been harder to find. Snag bashing with hardbody lures or a live bait sent deep into the big lay downs has got the bites with a few barra mixed in as well. The full moon last Saturday really got the mud crabs on the move, those who placed their pots full of fish frames like whole mullet got the best results, some cracking bucks were caught.

Elliott River

The Elliott has been fishing red hot, this time of year always sees this river fishing well with grunter, bream, flathead, queenfish, dart and tailor being common catches. These fish have been caught relatively close together with the sand flats and drop offs being a hot spot for these predator’s. Tailor, dart and queenfish have generally been closer to the mouth of the river especially on an incoming tide as the bait is pushed up river.

 

The bigger flathead have been up on the shallow flats during the middle of the day warming up in the warmer water. Throwing a bigger soft plastic or hardbody than usual has got the bite as these flatties have been feeding on big whiting and sprat. The summer whiting were on the chew last weekend with the big tides getting these fish on the chew! Drifting fresh yabbies over the top of the sand bars during the incoming tide definitely got the bites.

Baffle Creek

The Baffle is fishing well despite the cooler weather with some anglers absolutely slaying the fish whilst other have struggled. Those who have found good numbers of fish have used a slightly smaller bait and worked their lures slower to give the predatory fish more opportunity to strike. Two key differences has been to get your lure or bait in the strike zone for as long as possible and to make it look as natural as possible.

 

Anglers who have done these two things have got onto some really nice fish this week. The flathead, bream whiting and grunter have been on the shallow flats feeding mainly on yabbies. Drifting the flats whilst flicking some small soft plastics has been a deadly technique, having a bait out whilst doing this is also a great idea. The mud crabs were on the move with the big tides and good reports of them still being around have continued throughout this week, placing your pots up the creeks has got the best results.

Kolan River

The Kolan is fishing well with the shallow flats and drop offs in the cleaner water towards the mouth holding some quality fish. We have seen fresh yabbies doing the trick on the sand flats on species like flathead, bream, whiting, and big grunter! The incoming tide and the start of the run out have been the prime times to target these fish. Flicking some small soft plastics and hardbodies has also paid off big time.

 

The mouth of the river has seen good numbers of queenfish and numerous types of trevally on the move as they follow schools of bait being pushed up river. Twitching some small soft plastics around structure which is getting hit with the current has been the most effective way to target these pelagic fish. If bait fishing is more your thing anchor up river of the structure you want to fish and float out a whole unweighted sprat. 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. Up on the shallow mud banks and flats is where a lot of the small river prawns are being caught and up the creeks has been where the better numbers of bucks have been found.

Lake Monduran

With the cool change bringing the water temp down the barra bite is beginning to slow as these fish move into deeper water and become less active. Using a quality sounder to locate the barra has been crucial along with using a technique and lure which is able to maximise your time in the strike zone. Sounding around points in wind blown bays is where the better numbers of fish have been found. These barra are generally in these bays for the warmer water and bait so they tend to be more inclined to bite a lure.

 

A slowly retrieved Jackall Squirrel 79sp paired with very long pauses has got the bite over the last 2 weeks. The majority of the fish caught are smaller fish which is a great sign for the future fishing of this dam. Those bigger fish are still around as plenty of heartbreak has been had for anglers on the dam lately. These big barra are masters at shaking a lure free and sometimes there is nothing you can do to prevent it. Ensuring you set the hook properly as soon as you feel a bite is one of the most important things you can do to help sink those hooks in.

 

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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