Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
BUNDABERG INSHORE/OFFSHORE
With our inshore reefs swarmed with yakka, the pelagic fishing has been red hot. Heaps of anglers had fun using topwater lures catching a few cracker queenfish, tuna and trevally, while these predators smash bait balls. Fishing the pressure edge side of reefs was a great technique, as was keeping an eye out for any action along the top of the water. Using 5” jerk tail soft plastics either wound through the school of feeding pelagic fish or hopped along the pressure edge side of reefs was very effective. Some cracking mulloway were found throughout our inshore reefs, with big soft vibes working a treat. These fish will be patrolling along big drop-offs, bommies or hanging underneath big bait balls, waiting for an opportunity. Our offshore fishing has been great over the past few weeks, with big coral trout, red emperor, tuskfish and sweetlip being the most common fish caught. Coral trout have loved soft plastics such as the Ecooda Live Shrimp, whereas red emperor preferred large flesh bait such as fish fillets or whole squid. The tuskfish and sweetlip weren’t picky and most bait dropped caught these fish.
BURNETT RIVER – BUNDABERG
This week on the Burnett River has seen a heap of monster grunter being caught towards the mouth of the river. Rock walls and gravel beds are where these fish were caught and the go-to bait was whole prawns or small sections of mullet fillet. Soft vibes and curl tail soft plastics have caught heaps of grunter too. Covering ground while trying to locate these fish is so important, drifting with the tide along the gravel beds was a killer technique this week. The usual flathead, bream and cod were still being caught along most of the river’s rock walls, with the top of the run-out tide producing most of the fish. Fresh yabbies, mullet fillet and chook gut worked very well. This weekend’s big tides will have the mud crabs on the move, so putting the pots in overnight in your favourite sections of river should work a treat.
LAKE GREGORY – BUNDABERG FRESH WATER
This week’s warmer weather saw more bass being caught throughout the day, however the go-to time was late afternoon. Slow winding small soft plastics along shallow points and drop-offs with heaps of weed as structure was where most bass were caught. Topwater lures have been catching great bass in the late afternoon but plenty of missed hook-ups along the way. The bass aren’t fully committing to the topwater lures, which results in a lot of missed strikes. Seeing a bass charge after your lure and burst out of the water is still cool though! For now, the dam needs a little more warm weather and the bass will fire up in no time.
LAKE MONDURAN
With Lake Monduran beginning to produce quality barramundi, anglers have good reason to be keen on a trip to the dam, with plenty of 1m plus fish hitting the deck. This has brought with it a lot more boat traffic, which in turn can disturb some of the barra, especially if they are in well-known locations. Finding bays that are out of the way or a long way to get to will help you find fish that are willing to eat. Barra that have had hundreds of lures wound past their face over the past couple of days are definitely going to be harder to tempt a bite out of than those that haven’t seen a lure in a while. Stealth is crucial when sounding barra. To give yourself the best chances of getting a bite, make sure to use your electric motor or drift so you aren’t starting your outboard when near fish. Plenty of bays are now filled with fish and finding them shouldn’t be an issue – getting one to bite is the hard part. Soft plastics between 4-5” with a light jig head were the go, with a gentle slow wind getting the most bites. Providing the weather stays warm and we have consistent wind, we should see great fishing during the Tackle World Bundaberg Lake Monduran Family Fishing Classic on October 22-23. If you are planning on fishing this competition, it’s a good idea to do a few trips to the dam beforehand.
CATCH OF THE WEEK
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From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg
Live the Tackle World LIFE – Local Independent Fishing Experts
