Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
BUNDABERG INSHORE
The inshore reefs off Bundaberg have been producing some cracking fish this week. School mackerel have been around in numbers and are proving easy to catch, with trolling around the leads at Burnett Heads doing well. Though easy to get snipped by these mackerel, using a monofilament or fluorocarbon leader has resulted in a lot more hook ups. If you don’t have plenty of gear to lose, definitely use a short section of wire trace to avoid this from happening. As for bottom fishing, plenty of smaller snapper have been caught this week, as well as some big grunter that have preferred a smaller bait.
BUNDABERG OFFSHORE
Last weekend’s weather certainly turned it on for all the keen fishos craving to get out wide and chase some reef fish. This weekend’s neap tides will be the ideal time to head out and fish some deeper water if the weather allows. Going down to a size 4 ball sinker and big flesh bait will give you a good shot at the big nannygai and red emperor that are often caught during these tides. The new Buku Snapbait Hybrid jigs have slayed a few big reds and nannygai already, so if the weather plays the game, it’s a no-brainer to have a few of these onboard. For lure fishos, soft vibes such as the Nomad Vertrex Max were deadly during the neap tides. Sometimes it pays to switch things up and find what these big bottom fish will eat if bait aren’t working.
BURNETT RIVER
The Burnett River is starting to fire up, with these warmer days seeing mangrove jack and barramundi getting caught. Rock bars and walls further up the river are where these fish have been found. Using whole prawns or live bait has worked best for jacks this week. Barra have preferred 5” slow-rolled soft plastics during a run-out tide. Around the mouth of the river is seeing plenty of action at the rock walls, with land-based fishing seeming to be the go at the moment. Plenty of families have been pulling up a chair or two, having a nice relaxing couple of hours, catching a few fish and keeping the kids entertained. Flesh bait thrown in close to the rock walls on a run-out tide have worked best. Bundaberg
ELLIOTT RIVER
Last weekend’s big tides fired whiting up, with anglers catching a few quality sized fish on fresh yabbies and beachworms. Saturday night proved to be the best time to catch these smart fish, as they were a lot less finicky. Some big flathead are still being caught at the mouth on the shallow flats, with the run-out tide working best this week. Big grunter were caught in the deeper holes up the river, along with some solid flathead, cod and the occasional tailor coming through. With the water temperature continuing to rise, jacks upriver have started to chew. Whole prawns have been the best bait, rigged with a light running-ball sinker. Anchoring on steep banks with plenty of structure has worked well for the time being.
BAFFLE CREEK
Baffle Creek has had yet another week of great fishing, with the warmer weather getting the summer species fired up. A lot of big cod and jacks around the 40cm mark have been caught in tight structure. Hard-body lures have managed to get a few of these fish to bite, with gold-coloured lures working best. Live bait, such as small poddy mullet, have also managed to trick a few larger fish. Further down the river, towards the mouth, big grunter and flathead were caught on more natural-coloured lures, as the water continues to clear up from the recent big tides. Shimano’s range of Dura Tough Squidgie soft plastics were dynamite. The Baffle Creek Family Fishing Festival is fast approaching and, with the river fishing as well as it is, we should see some cracking fish caught. See www.bafflecreekfishing.com for details. Bundaberg
LAKE MONDURAN
After a few months of tougher conditions, Lake Monduran has turned it on! Each week has seen more big barramundi being caught, while the water temperature continues to increase. And this week was no exception, with numerous barra over the magic 1m mark hitting the deck each session. Stealth has been key when finding these barra – electric motors are crucial for covering ground as quietly as possible with minimal disturbance. With the Lake Monduran Family Fishing Classic scheduled for Saturday and Sunday October 22-23, it’s great to see the dam firing up this early. A few more weeks of warmer weather and awesome sessions will be had at the dam, that’s for sure.
CATCH OF THE WEEK
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