Page 48 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing mag

Nick Swan took this 49cm mangrove jack on a Keitech soft plas- tic in the Maroochy River. Photos: shingnoosa.com.au
Shane Wright managed a 73cm saratoga in the freshwater.
LTa Niña shines on Sunshine Coast
HIS is the time erel are hitting the sur- tip action that anglers of year when I face, be sure to have a will love.
start to get excit- good supply of Halco Put this with a new
Sunshine Coast
by GRANT BUDD
ed, not for the weather Twisty, Gillies Baitfish Shimano Vanford 1000
but for the fishing it brings to the coast.
Dead bait to use in- cludes yellowtail pike, whole bonito, garfish, slimy mackerel and yakka.
For those not using dead or live bait, grab an assortment of Halco Laser Pro, Rapala X- Rap and Nomad De- sign DTX Minnow lures, as these will all catch spotted and span- ish mackerel, tuna and wahoo.
in Blue Mackerel col- our and Arma Metalik metal lures in your box.
reel and you have a win- ning ultra-light combo.
The two biggest tar- gets for anglers now are tuna and mackerel, as they start to filter across our bays.
Do not go out to sea with anything less than half a dozen of these lures because bite-offs are common.
Other fish in the river currently are mangrove jack and flathead.
They bring with them stories of being bitten off and the line-burning runs we all dream of.
For live bait to swim, a stinger rig is suggest- ed when mackerel are present.
Remember, tuna feed into the wind, so al- ways go upwind and let the fish come to you – they’re less likely to spook this way.
For jack anglers, after dark is the better time to chase these prized sportfish.
One of the easier ways to target these bigger fish is to troll dead or live bait along the inshore reefs, such as Halls Reef toward Dou- ble Island Point.
If using a dead bait, chin-weighted troll rigs are best, especially when dressed up with a squid skirt or tinsel rig over the lead hook.
One thing you can try if you’re wanting to move quicker is a Black Magic Jet Head or pusher-style lure.
Live baiting is one technique that requires only a cast net, but us- ing lures is by far the most satisfying method.
You can also head south and once over the bar work from Sunshine Reef towards Castaways and Coolum.
Taking a range of 70-90mm walkers and poppers is the best op- tion, with the Bassday Sugapen 95 an excel- lent lure that even whit- ing will hit.
Lures to use are weed- less rigged soft plastics, soft vibes, hard-bodies and surface poppers.
Cast net leads add ex- tra weight if you want to troll with any speed, though remember to break the backbone of dead bait to help them swim.
These lures stay most- ly on the surface and leave long bubble trails, which is something mahi mahi and wahoo love.
In the Noosa River, trevally are hitting small surface lures ear- ly in the morning dur- ing a high tide.
These fish are apex predators and when they hit, it is super ag- gressive.
When tuna and mack-
Your lure type will depend on the time of day and the current, but large soft plastics such as Keitech Swing Im- pact Fat work well at night, with poppers and weedless rigged plas- tics more useful during the day.
Spotted mackerel will be out in force in December and Jack Dekort will be try- ing to catch models similar to this one.
Page 48 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, December 2020
This rod is fully rigged with Fuji Fazlite guides and has a great
Speaking of whiting, they are a great sur- face target, particularly if fishing 2kg line on super light 1-3kg spin setups.
Depending on rain- fall, try the snags in the Noosa River between the lakes.
One of my favourite spin rods has to be the Abu Garcia Rayrex 1-3kg.
The previously men- tioned lures also work * continued P50 www.bnbfishing.com.au