Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Winter weather continues – With the coast certainly feeling the cold this week, the continual bout of westerly wind has been felt by all. During the week we had some rain, strong wind and a jump in swell. As if by magic, all that dropped out for the weekend. Noosa fishing
Many anglers loaded up on the Saturday to go chase reef fish out wide. The popular reefs of Sunshine and North had a wide range of fish on offer. With some standouts including sweetlip, tuskfish, cobia, tuna and even a few mackerel. Last week, there were spotted mackerel swimming about, so who knows what may turn up? Trolling is always worth a try and the new Nomad Vertrex Max 110mm deep vibe is sure to get the attention of any passing fish. This lure gets down to 4m and is the perfect late-season mackerel bait size. In close, there has been a great run on trevally and some tailor around the headlands. These fish can be targeted on light estuary setups and are a heap of fun once hooked.
From the beaches, the swell definitely created some new gutters, which is seeing the continued run of dart keep most anglers busy. Evening fishing or as the sun sets is one of the best times to get a line out. Many fish, including trevally and tailor, will feed in the last 30 minutes of light and if you can time it right, those last few minutes can be some furious fishing. Small soft plastics and light rigged bait of pilchard and herring will certainly get picked up in the wash or current. Noosa fishing
The river remains stable with an abundance of species getting caught and released. Every winter, diamond trevally turn up with the occasional horse-sized fish. One reaching 95cm was caught in only a few meters of water on a soft plastic, which goes to show you need not fish in deep water for big fish. Besides diamonds, giant trevally and tailor have been causing mayhem in and around Woods Bay. This part of Noosa is popular for these fish because the bay acts as a natural barrier for predatory fish to push baitfish against. During a high tide in low light, try throwing surface lures such as the Bassday Sugapen and Crystal Pop and retrieve these at speed for the strike. For non-lure anglers, a well-rigged hardyhead, whitebait or herring will gain interest from bream and flathead. Try to fish a run-out tide and try your chances anywhere in the main channel around the mouth. Lure anglers will do well with small soft vibes as Noosa continues to run quite dirty. Vibes emit huge vibration that predatory fish will hone in on, so always try these if you are struggling for the bite.
Away from the river, dams are starting to see signs of bass schooling up. The dams are still dirty, but fishing sessions in winter can be some of the greatest to experience bulk numbers of bass on lures. Keep in mind that these fish are schooling up, so use 3/8 jig heads on 3” minnows and slow wind these through schooled up fish. If this doesn’t work, you can try jigging blades and vibes over the schooled-up fish. Check out the Storm Gomoku Ultra Blade for a lure that won’t get fouled on the bottom but drives the bass nuts.
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 Tackle World Noosa, Noosa Boating and Outdoors and 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!
