Bundaberg – weekly fishing report

Inshore/Offshore fishing

The inshore reefs off Bundy have been fishing red hot during the good weather we have had all week! The early mornings have seen some good sessions on big grunter, snapper and mulloway around the reefs which are holding plenty of bait. Finding the big schools of bait is absolutely key as the predatory fish will be close by!

Throwing down some squid, prawns or live yakka’s has been getting the bites from these fish. If you are into lure fishing the go to has been a 5inch jerk shad style soft plastic. The spanish mackerel have been in good numbers around both the wrecks and reefs. Trolling some diving hardbody lures or dead baits like garfish is the way to go for these fish.

Once again finding the bait for the spanish is usually a great start, focusing a lot of your time along the pressure edged side of the reefs usually pays off big time. The building tides this week saw the offshore reefs fishing extremely well. Big reds and trout were by far the two fish targeted most by the anglers who headed out and there were some ripper catches!

The reds were found on small isolated structure away from any other major reefs/wrecks. These reds ate big flesh baits like fresh hussar fillets or strips of mullet fillet. The trout have been smashing whole pilchards and live yakka along reef edges and big bommies. The reefs towards lady Elliott and Musgrave have been fishing very well with a lot of variety on offer.

Burnett River

The Burnett River is still fishing really well with jack, barra and cod being on the chew despite the weather cooling down! These fish have been found in good numbers hanging around man made structures such as the bridge pylons, rock walls and the moored boats. Most of the barra are eating prawn imitation soft plastics or live baits along with the jack and cod which have preferred a whole sprat.

Some smaller blue salmon have started to be caught around the port and fairymead in the deep holes, find the bait and you will have a good chance at these fish this winter! The crabbing and prawning is also red hot at the moment so definitely make sure to throw the pots in and have a few throws of the cast net when you can! The prawns have been in the deeper holes around the port and the crabs have been caught mainly up in the creeks along the deeper banks.

Elliott River

This week has yet again seen the Elliott producing some good fishing especially for those chasing a feed of our bread and butter species. The flatties, bream and whiting have been on the chew with the shallow sand flats and drop offs situated throughout the river being a great place to chase these fish. Small strips of mullet fillet, yabbies or worms have been great bait for these fish. Running a light fluorocarbon leader is the go to as you will get plenty of bites!

With the big tides this week the whiting have been feeding hard on the incoming tide, these next few nights will be the prime time to target these fish. The creeks have still produced some solid cod and a jack however these fish are becoming harder to target in this river. Live prawns have been the bait working best and throwing your bait deep in the structure has managed a few solid jack and cod.

Baffle Creek

The fishing at the moment in Baffle Creek is red hot! The sand flats have been riddled with bait and predatory fish not far behind. The flathead, bream and whiting have been caught along these sand flats on the incoming tide with fresh yabbies, worms or small strips of mullet fillet being the go to baits. Using a light ball sinker has been the go as letting your bait drift naturally across the flat has got the bites.

The grunter have come on the chew as well, these fish have been up on the flats during the incoming tide and at low tide have been found in the deep holes and patrolling the drop offs. Throwing a few soft vibes out for these fish has worked an absolute treat. The jack have also been chewing whilst the barometric pressure has been up, big live baits have got the bites so be sure to have a quality cast net so you can get some fresh bait. With the big tides we have also seen the mud crabs on the move, up the creeks has been the go to place for the crabs so be sure to venture up and place a few pots in for a tasty feed.

Kolan River

The mouth of the Kolan River has held some quality fish over the past week. The queenfish have been in big schools and have smashed a whole sprat floated out past some structure or along the sand flats! The flatties have also been on the move with some cracking models over 60cm being landed regularly. Small hardbody lures either trolled or cast along the drops offs and sand flats have been deadly on the flathead this week.

Up river along the shallow sand banks has seen some good numbers of whiting being caught with the big tides we have had this week. Fresh yabbies have been the bait getting the bites. The crabs have also been on the move with once again placing your pots along the mangrove lined banks and up the skinny creeks being the go to places. Big flesh baits or fish frames in the pots have worked best.

Local Beaches

Our beaches have been fishing very consistently lately with the majority of anglers managing a good feed of whiting and dart! Woodgate beach and Kinkuna Beach have been great places to wet a line, the gutters situated along the beach have held great numbers of whiting, dart, bream and flathead. Some tailor have started to show up with a few anglers catching some smaller fish in the whitewash surrounding the gutters.

Lake Monduran

Mondy is still fishing quite well despite the cool change we have experienced recently. The bigger barra are being found in the wind blown bays and points however they are proving tough to convince them to bite. The smaller fish have had no troubles eating lures with some great sessions being had on the barra around 50 to 60cm in length. Twitched and paused hardbody lures have got the better of these fish as they can’t resist the action of a Jackall Squirrel or a Samaki Redic DS80.

Some of the larger fish have managed to be tricked into a bite when using a super finesse approach such as a lightly rigged Shads paddle tail soft plastic. Using a lighter jig head than usual will allow the lure to present more naturally in the water column. Some good places to find fish lately have been in Bird Bay, SDA Bay and up the dam in the south arm of B.

Lake Gregory

With the cooler weather we have had lately Lake Gregory has seen a lot of the bass move slightly deeper and either hang off the deeper weed edges or school up off the points. The bass have been on the chew and hitting all different types of lures quite aggressively. A deep diving crank bait twitched over the top of the weed or amongst the weed towers has got a lot of bites especially when paused for a few seconds in between twitches.

Soft or metal vibes have been deadly on the bass schooled up and the slider grubs have been slaying the bass as per usual when used either across the top of the weed or through the schools of bass.

CATCH OF THE WEEK

 

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From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg
Live the Tackle World L.I.F.E – Local Independent Fishing Experts

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