Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Perfect conditions
What a turn out for the books, with some simply perfect days. The sun was out and the temperature is on the rise. This has had some quality fish moving, especially inland and on the estuaries. Offshore we have had a mixed bag of conditions, ranging from a solid mid-week swell to a variable wind building in the late morning. NOOSA
For those offshore, snapper are still very much on the menu, as are pearl perch. We have also had a few reports of school mackerel out in the deeper water of the banks. With most of these fish sitting close to the bottom, those anglers dropping bait on 8-ball sinkers and snelled octopus hooks are doing well. Of course, the humble pilchard floater has picked up a few longtail tuna in the 3-4kg size, which make great eating. We have also seen a few good-sized cobia around 6-8kg and again perfect eating size. Given that mackerel are around, we can only assume they will continue to make their presence felt. This makes having a pack of Superflex Single Strand Game Wire handy for times when mono isn’t enough. If you need to learn how to tie a haywire twist, make sure you ask us how because this is how to attach hooks to this wire and requires no tools.
NOOSA
From the surf, there are still a few tailor passing through the river mouth at dawn and dusk. Gang hooks in the 3/0-5/0 size are preferred, with many options from Halco that even come with a short wire trace attached. From here you can use Ocean Stream Elastic Bait Thread to secure a pilchard for big powerful casts and stop small fish running away with your bait. For those fishing during the day, we are seeing bigger whiting and bream showing up in the inshore gutters. To make things better, pick up a bag of pre-made I Catch Berley Pellets and throw small handfuls into the surf to fire the fish up. NOOSA
Inside the river, flathead continue to hang around the mouth, along with some big bream. Both of these fish can be caught on pilchard, mullet, whitebait and squid bait. Lure anglers will do well with soft plastics and the new Keitech colours are in, making the 3” Easy Shiner a great go-to. When fishing soft plastics, make sure you use a loop knot to give your plastic the best action. We always talk about action in lures and presentation, and this helps a lot. While you’re at it, try using scent from Pro-Cure. These gel scents stay on very well and have helped many a novice angler catch trophy fish. NOOSA
Further upriver can be a lure fisho’s paradise, with lots of snags to cast at. The area beyond the lakes opens out to several kilometres of pristine waters, with trevally, jewfish and mangrove jack calling it home. Beyond this, you can fish the mouth of Lake Cootharaba for flathead or head even further across the lake and enter the everglades to fish for wild Australian bass, which will start to fire up with the warmer weather. In this spot, a well-placed Tiemco Cicada Soft Shell Surface lure will get crunched! No matter where you fish these school holidays, things are warming up along with the fishing. NOOSA
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!
