Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
BUNDABERG INSHORE
With the weather around the Bundaberg area looking a bit up and down over the past week, Sunday is looking to be the best day on the weekend to poke your nose out the front to have a fish. There have been plenty of schoolie mackerel along the coast. Try trolling smaller hard bodies or casting smaller chrome slugs once you find the fish. The Cochrane Artificial Reef is also fishing well with a few snapper and grunter being encountered by anglers rewarded with good catches. For those who want to have a go at lure fishing for them, cast out a 20g vibe and hop it back through the water column. Remember to check the latest weather forecast before heading out as it can change very quickly.
BURNETT RIVER
As the weather cools over the next month, more and more bream and blue salmon will school in the upper reaches of the Burnett River. If you’re targeting these species with bait, try using prawns and mullet. If using lures for salmon use 20g to 30g vibes hopped through the school. When targeting bream on lures, a favourite of mine is a 3” or 4” curly-tail soft plastic. Also, small crank-baits pulled down along the rock walls will catch a few fish. The prawns are still in the river, and the bottom of the tide has been the best time to throw a net for these. Put the crab pots in before you go fishing as there are still a few crabs around.
BAFFLE CREEK AND THE KOLAN RIVER
Both the Baffle and the Kolan have been fishing well for flathead, bream and whiting. With the water temperatures dropping, only a handful of mangrove jack have been reported. When targeting mangrove jack, try the rock bars in shallow water as this is where the water may be a few degrees warmer. When bait fishing try live sprat, mullet fillets, or fresh prawns. If lure fishing in these areas the 3” and 4” Z-Man Diesel Minnow rigged weedless will be an option to be rewarded with good catches.
LAKE GREGORY
This little dam is fishing very well at the moment. At this time of the year the fish school in the main basin and chew their heads off, with 20 to 50 fish being caught in a session. Casting out soft plastics, blades or even slugs you would use for tuna has been catching the most fish. The retrieval you need is to cast out over the school and let it sink to the bottom, then use either slow-roll back to the boat or a hop-and-wind retrieve. This should put plenty of fish in the boat. This time of the year is a great time to take the family out to learn how to use lures or to just enjoy catching fish.
LAKE MONDURAN
With the cooler weather coming in, the water temperature in Lake Monduran has definitely dropped, and in saying that, it can put some anglers off. However, for the mad keen barra fishermen putting in the time and effort, they are rewarded with good catches. The secret in the winter time is that afternoon sessions are usually better than mornings, because as the day goes on the sun has a chance to heat the water. Even if it is one or two degrees, that can make a big difference. Wind-blown shallow points and bays are key areas to cast a lure, as the wind pushes the warmer water into these areas which in turn make the barra feel more comfortable. Casting Jackall Squirrels, B52s and other suspending lures into these areas with a longer pause of up to 20 seconds can make a difference in your catch rate. Barra still need to feed. Maybe a little slower and not as much, but they still feed.
Keep on casting
Shane Anderson
