Species

WELCOME to 2021 and a happy new year to all Bush ‘n Beach readers. Last year was a pretty wild ride, but thankfully the fishing side of things wasn’t affected as much as other activities. Summer started with a bang and a nasty heat wave ripped across the eastern side of Australia and pushed the temperature gauge over 40C in …

WELL, it’s the last month of 2020 and to say it’s been a challenging year for many people would be a massive understatement. One thing that thankfully doesn’t change is fishing in its most basic form. There is nothing better than getting away by yourself or with friends and family to wet a line. That’s how I escape it all …

SINCE the lifting of restrictions, the standout dam has been Lake Boondooma. I have the luxury of guiding on most dams in southeast Queensland, and Lake Boondooma has been turning up good numbers of Australian bass and consistent catches of yellowbelly. We are into early summer and water temperature is above 20C, so we have seen a thermocline develop in …

EVERY year when December rolls around many barramundi anglers simply pack their gear away for three months and wait with bated breath for the season to re-open in February. What’s interesting is that a good portion of these dedicated barra nuts choose not to tap into the many freshwater impoundments littered up and down the coast that hold fantastic numbers …

HOW many of you have had the itch to chase one of those big silvery slabs you’ve seen all over social media and magazines lately? The appeal of feeling the line being pulled uncontrollably from your toughest gear as you hook-up. You’re locked up and giving it all you’ve got. With the adrenaline pumping, you know that at any second …

WITH monster flathead on the minds of many Gold Coast and SEQ anglers, it’s an obvious choice to try a few new spots and techniques. It’s the best time of the year for chasing that monster or even a new personal best. So many new plastics, hard-bodies and vibes make their way to the shelves of tackle shops every year, …

SUMMER is just around the corner, so we should start seeing super hot surface action at the back of Somerset Dam, with regular catches of saratoga and bass. We have been spending a fair amount of time in the timber regions of the dam throwing punch rigs and skirted jigs – these have been exciting catches as the strikes are …

After years of reading the reports of fellow Bush N’ Beach Fishing writer Brian Dare, we decided on a trip to Glenlyon Dam. This was a big gamble for me as I’m a tidal saltwater guide and have only tried fishing for the iconic inland species of yellowbelly and mighty Murray cod a few times – in rivers, not a …

THE Brisbane River is home to a huge array of fish including  bream, flathead, snapper, cod, king threadfin salmon and jewfish. The trick with the river is knowing how and where to target these species. In this article I’ll cover how to catch big jewfish in spring and summer, as there are less soapies around later in the year. summerjewfish …

I LEARNT early in my jewfish targeting career that they can be finicky feeders at times, especially when using live bait such as mullet. By that I mean, one day jewfish will swallow the bait right down into the gut and the next they will slam it and kill it all within seconds. Jew lisa simpson In the 1980s, when …