Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Offshore we’ve seen more consistent weather lately. The inshore reefs of Sunshine, Chardons, Halls and of course Jew shoal are all providing action in the form of Spanish mackerel, spotty mackerel, tuna and cobia. The action has been thick and fast with many great fish biting many anglers off or getting sharked. While you can’t prevent the sharks, using a short length of single strand wire will help. This wire requires a haywire twist to create a very strong connection to your lure or gang hook, so ask us how to tie it. Using TT and Seahorse troll rigs with whole fish like queenfish, slimy mackerel and fresh pike is also providing the big fish, especially when slow trolled. Live baits are certainly working very well especially when cast straight into the bigger bait balls. Arma slugs and river 2 Sea Rock slugs are working very well on spotty mackerel when cast directly into bait balls so load up before you go.
The local reefs have been providing the reef anglers with sizable coral trout, quality kingfish, estuary cod, pearl perch and tusk fish and smaller snapper. Instinct paternoster rigs with big chunk and strip baits are the best options for reef fish with mullet proving very effective. If losing baits to small fish try some bait wrap which keeps bait in place for longer. Make sure you have a few live bait rigs with you and load up on yakkas for the live well. The kingies and big Spanish love a big free swimming live bait on a stinger rig.
For those of you chasing marlin be sure to come and check out the extensive range of pre-rigged and un-rigged pushers from Entice. These have resin heads with 3D eyes, heavy duty skirts and extra strong hooks. Several fish have raised around Sunshine Reef wide and Chardon’s Reef. These lures will also appeal to wahoo and dolphin fish as well as tuna as they create long bubble trails. If heading out wider toward North reef then why not put down a few spanner crab dillies around the sandy patches. We have them pre-rigged with all the rope, marker float, clips and bait holder. Ask us how and where to use these.
Surf fishing has started to liven up with reports of fun sized dart, whiting and bream coming from the various gutters and creeks. Lighter estuary sized gear is all you need to get started. With the lead up to the new moon, evening fishing is certainly worth doing for bigger jewfish and cobia that patrol at night. Slide baiting is taking off so be sure to ask us how to do this and check out our range of suitable rods and surf reels. The new Okuma 8K surf has just arrived and with 18KG of drag you should have no trouble landing the big fish.
The estuary has been a great place to fish with whiting, flathead, trevally, mangrove jack and bream very much on the menu. Around the river mouth you can expect to find flathead, whiting and bream gathering around the rocks and along the sandy drop offs. Entice grubs for the soft plastic fisherman have been working well for flatties, especially when used with S-Factor scent. Small hardbodies like Ecogear SX cast around the rocks works well bream and the occasional trevally. If after whiting then come and grab some live beach worm and flick them out onto the shallower sand flats along the dog beach and along Gympie Terrace. These fish love a well presented worm and will fight very hard for their size. They also love small stickbaits and poppers such as the Rapala micro poppers when retrieved with a steady retrieve.
The area around the second ski run toward the Jew Hole and the mouth of Lake Cooriobah is fishing well with flathead, bream and trevally common catches. There have been a few school sized jewies caught on larger soft plastics and vibes like the Zerek fish trap. Be sure to up your leaders when targeting these fish to 14lb or more. On the run out tide casting weedless rigged soft plastics into the snags and along the rock bars toward Lake Cootharabah will help find quality mangrove jacks. These fish will smash chunks of mullet, bonito and slimy mack fished out of the current and at night. 3/0-5/0 hooks are best for this with an Octopus beak the better hook to use for running live baits as you can snell these together. Ask us how to snell hooks before you go.
Freshwater has been quieter for the surface anglers, however hardbodies, spinnerbaits and suspending lures are working well. While the sun is high find the shaded areas and work the snags, drop offs and submerged timber. While underway be sure to have a few deeper diving lures out the back. The Bassday Sugadeep, Atomic shiner and Rapala Jack deep are excellent profiles that appeal to many species and work well while under electric motor power.
Now for all the latest information log onto www.fishingnoosa.com.au for up to date bar and fishing reports, don’t forget to drop into Davo’s Tackle World, Davo’s Boating and Outdoor in Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola for all the right equipment, bait and advice to get you catching. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and remember Tight Lines and Bent Spines!
