Low swell and calm winds in Noosa to start the week off

WELL spring has sprung and we had clear skies, low swell and calm winds to start the week off. Light south west winds made fishing in the inshore reefs a pleasure and protection was found by those in the estuary along Gympie Terrace and further up between the lakes. Overall the fishing has seen an improvement as of late with a mixed bag of trevally in the river system, bigger flathead, good sized whiting and bream as well as a spring time mangrove jack or two.

Overall it would certainly pay to move around if in a boat as the salinity content is going to be pretty consistent in the river due to the lack of rain. This means that fish will be spread far and wide. If after whiting, flathead and bream be sure to look around the river mouth. This area is changing rapidly and sand is uncovering rocks and boulders previously covered which means food and cover for fish. The northern side of the river has the frying pan on offer and some of the deeper channels can offer other species coming in and out of the system. Best baits here would have to be live beach worm on a fine worm hook and very light weight. This lets your bait get carried about and find the fish.

If after flathead come inside the river mouth and fish the dog beach and the mouth of Woods Bay. There are many drop offs here and the current pours out giving the flatties a shot at a passing whiting or mullet. If lure fishing diving lures work very well with Lucky Craft pointers a great option in herring colour. For bait anglers using whole fish baits and squid strips work well on snelled or gang hook rigs. Be sure to release any fish over 60cm as this month is their breeding season.

Upstream away from boat traffic small jewies are still getting caught on baits and soft plastics in the 3-4″ size range. Take a look at Entice Viber plastics as these are very tough and have great vibration. Should you hook a fish be sure to get a solid hook set and use a fish friendly net to ensure your capture is safely netted. The Ski run can be a great place to fish the edges and sound up bait fish. Trevally frequent these areas and jack will sit under any laydowns waiting for a passing prey item.

Offshore has seen DI and North reef featuring snapper, amberjack, Maori cod, peral perch, cobia and even longtail tuna. In closer Sunshine reef has quietened a little and the snapper are a little smaller than previous weeks, but these fish are great fun on lighter estuary combo’s and 4 inch soft plastics. Running 15-20lb keeps it light enough to have a lot of fun and still catch a decent sized fish. The headlands of Noosa and Arkwright has had brids working small baitballs. The fish causing this have not been confirmed but are likely to be small queenfish, tailor, school mackerel or tuna. It would be a great place to have a try with a small slug and spin gear if in the area during an early morning. On the beaches one lucky angler landed a big jewie on a popper so you never know what could happen!

Freshwater continues to warm up and as we move further into spring the saratoga should be holding their young in their mouths. This will mean they will be quieter but very hungry once they let them go. Some big bass are appearing in Lake MacDonald and getting caught around the weed edges on suspending jerk baits. The Norries Laydown minnow is perfect for this area, just be sure to have a long pause between ripping it.

Lastly be sure to get up to speed with the recent changes made to snapper and pearl perch by fisheries QLD. These are efective as of Spetember 1, 2019 and snappper now have a max boat limit of 8 for recreational anglers. If there are two or more of you on one boat then the max is eight snapper. Pearl perch now have a max size of 38cm. Many anglers report these fish shrinking once on ice so to be safe 40cm fish are safe to keep.

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 Outdoors in Noosa and  Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle in 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!