Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Inshore/Offshore
With the weather not playing the game this week not as many people have had the chance to head offshore in chase of some esky-filling fish. We have had some small weather windows which has seen the die hard anglers heading out for a short period of time whilst the weather allowed. The coral trout, sweetlip and tusk fish have been in great numbers and have been caught around natural structure like bommies and ledges. The last few weeks have shown that these fish have liked big flesh baits rigged on a paternoster rig, ensuring your sinker is enough to get your baits to the bottom easily. Unfortunately this weekends conditions aren’t looking too flash hot for the anglers hoping to head offshore over the weekend. This is a great opportunity to sort out your gear for the next trip out, ensuring you are well prepared when the weather turns good again. If the weather report magically comes good over the course of the next few days it is definitely worth heading out for a look as this time of year proves time and time again how good our offshore fishing is.
The inshore reefs have been more popular this week whilst not everyone was able to punch it out wide with the average conditions. Trolling lures for school mackerel has been the go whilst they seem to still be here in massive numbers. Deep diving hardbody lures trolled around the Leads at Burnett Heads has been a sure way to come across a few schools of these aggressive fish. Plenty of mac tuna have been around smashing bait balls that have been all along our coast. Using small metal lures thrown over the top of their school and winding it back through them has been working well. Adjusting your lure to the size of the bait they are feeding on has been a great way to get more fish to commit to eating your lure. Better numbers of longtail tuna are entering our inshore reefs and have been feeding with these mac tuna as well. Using the same small metal lures have worked great on these fish along with the Bait Junkie 5inch Jerkshad in ‘Pilchard’ colour.
Burnett River
With the Burnett still quite dirty most anglers have been fishing near the mouth of the river along the rock walls. Flesh baits like mullet fillet have worked really well when thrown right in close to the rock walls and rigged using a running ball sinker rig. Some big bream, cod and mangrove jack have fallen victim to this technique as well as the humble flathead. Land based fishing off the rock walls at Burnett Heads is a great way to spend a few hours and some quality fish have been caught there this week. Fishing around the top of the tide has been the go whilst the river has a lot more salt water in it. With this weekends tides starting to increase it is definitely worth throwing the pots in as this fresh water has got them on the move. Creeks further up river have produced some quality bucks and in the dirty water using a strong smelling bait has worked best.
Elliott River
The Elliott River has held up great with the recent rain not affecting this system as much as others. Plenty of great fish have been caught through most stretches of the river with fishing around the top of the tide working best. The sand flats at the mouth of the river have seen some big dusky flathead up in the shallow water feeding on yabbies or small summer whiting. Using freshly pumped yabbies as bait has worked great on these fish with some solid whiting and bream being caught as well. With the warm and humid weather the jacks have been on the chew and the bit of freshwater runoff in this system hasn’t seemed to stop them. Using live poddy mullet or strips of mullet fillet thrown in heavy structure has worked best. Fishing during low light periods such as into the night has seen the bigger mangrove jack come to the party. Some huge crabs have been caught out of this river with the fresh water really getting them on the move. This weekend is the start of the building tides so it will be a great opportunity to throw the pots in.
Baffle Creek
The Baffle has had a great week of fishing with reports of the river handling the recent rain with ease. Most of the summer species are still firing in these humid conditions and we have seen anglers having great sessions with loads of variety. Fishing around the top of the tide has been ideal especially when fishing up river in the skinny creeks. Lots of trevally and queenfish have been around during the start of the run out tide with small soft plastics hopped erratically through the water column getting the bite. Mangrove jack and some quality estuary cod have been caught up the creeks, anchoring and throwing your baits in the deep channel close to the mangroves has worked well. Catching some live baits to leave sit in the rod holder has also been working a treat especially on some big mangrove jack. At the mouth of the river has seen some cracking flathead caught with some big models over 60cm parking up at the mouth of creek entrances during the run out tide. These fish have been liking prawn imitation lures or fresh yabbies. If you are using lures make sure they are constantly coming in contact with the bottom to give these flatties an easy target. The Baffle has also been crabbing well at the moment so be sure to throw the pots in, placing them up in creeks has been the go for now.
Kolan River
Similar to the Burnett River the Kolan has been inundated with fresh water which has affected a lot of our summer species which were firing not too long ago. The mangrove jack have been hard to find this week with all the fresh water making things tough going for anglers who have headed out onto the river. Fishing around the mouth along deep banks has still seen some good sized flathead caught and doing so around the high tide has been the go. Some quality bream have been caught around the fallen trees and rock bars at the mouth on small chunks and strips of mullet fillet. Using a stronger smelling bait like mullet fillet in murky water is always a great way to start and there’s not many species of fish that will pass down a well presented strip of mullet. The fresh water runoff in this system has stirred up the crabs with most coming out of creeks, leaving the pots in overnight has got the best results.
Local Beaches
Our local beaches have proved to be a great way for most fishos to still get out and enjoy some cracker fishing whilst our local rivers need some time to absorb the amount of fresh water that has recently flowed into them. Here in Bundaberg we are lucky to have plenty of beaches surrounding our region and at the moment they are all fishing very well. Following on from last week we have continued to see great numbers of whiting, dart, tailor, trevally and flathead caught. Most of these fish have been found in deep gutters and caught during a run out tide. The best all-round baits to use have been fresh yabbies and mullet fillet rigged on a running ball sinker rig. If you are chasing whiting definitely use whole yabbies on a long shank hook as this is their bait of choice. Norville Park Beach and Rules Beach have been the standouts this week, those with a 4wd have been able to find gutters with less fishing pressure than others which has helped them catch more fish.
Lake Monduran
Lake Monduran has been fishing really well over last weekend and this week with some fish over the magic metre mark being caught. Days where the sun is shining and the barometric pressure is on the rise has proven to be when the big barra have been on the chew. Barramundi have relatively large air bladders (otherwise known as swim bladders) which makes their behaviour very susceptible to the barometric pressure (BP). As the BP falls there is less pressure on their air bladder causing the air bladder to expand which puts pressure on other organs making the fish uncomfortable. In response to that discomfort, fish with larger air bladders stop feeding and seek out deeper water where the weight of water above them, or a increase in BP, gradually reduces the size of the air bladder to where they are comfortable again. To simplify things, the higher the barometric pressure the more comfortable these big barra feel meaning they are more likely to be in shallower water and aggressively feeding. The below website is what we use to track what the Barometric pressure is doing in Bundy http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ60801/IDQ60801.94387.shtml
Although this metric doesn’t always mean you will catch fish it is definitely worth keeping an eye on. Most of the big barra caught at the dam recently have been caught on points which have been getting a lot of wind pushing onto them over the last few days. With the wind being very inconsistent lately and constantly changing directions it is important to be fishing parts of the dam that have been getting as much wind as possible. Slow rolling big soft plastics around the 5 or 6 inch mark have been doing the damage when fished along these windblown points.
Lake Gregory
Whilst most of our rivers are still quite fresh, fishing our local impoundments is going to be a great way to hook into some quality fish in the time being. With the hot and humid days really warming up the water temperature Lake Gregory has been fishing well. Fishing sections of the dam that have been getting plenty of wind pushed into them has been the go. Slow rolling small soft plastics along points or banks with heavy structure has worked best. Low light periods have proved to fire the bass up with anglers catching great numbers of fish in a short period of time. Topwater lures have started to become more effective this week with the warmer weather helping to get these bass up in the shallows. Using lures like the Chase Baits range of Flexi Frogs slow wound over the top of weed beds has been deadly. Fishing these topwater lures during early mornings or late afternoons is just about as much fun as you can have on the dam.
CATCH OF THE WEEK
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From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg
Live the Tackle World LIFE – Local Independent Fishing Experts
