Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
With a change in weather starting from the weekend we are now looking at clear skies and lighter winds. The offshore brigade have been making the most of the lower swells and lighter winds. Sunshine reef continues to be a favourite, with trout over 7KG reported. Gang hooked fresh dead baits and livies are the most effective method. With the pulling power these fish have jigging rods and 50-60lb leaders are the go as extracting these fish is won or lost in a couple of seconds. Spanish mackerel are still about, but becoming less plentiful. If on anchor just having a livie free swimming can work wonders as long as it’s not too busy on the water. Reef species are coming on with some cracking sweetlip, red throat and small snapper landed especially around North Reef. You can target these on baits, but a great way to do it is by using slow pitch or slow fall jigs. These have a lot of flutter and attraction that mimic baitfish. Soft plastics are a must if you are in a slow drift. Keep an eye on your sounder and create waypoints as your drift. If you are in the market for a sounder then why not come into the boating shop and check out the new range from Ray Marine.
In the surf the fishing has been hit and miss during the daytime but jewies continue to dominate during the low light nights as we move toward a new moon. The bigger tides this week saw some cracking fish caught and big dart reported from the various gutters during the daytime. Baits to use include fresh mullet, bonito and beach worm baits. All of the baits have a great smell and oil content so load up those hooks and you never know. Around the river mouths some nice whiting have been caught using light 6lb lines and live beach worms or yabby baits. Don’t forget to check your pump works well and be sure to pick up a spare washer if yours has perished.
The Noosa River is starting to clear up each day and the spring tides this week have certainly given it a good flush. Trevally, tailor, whiting, bream and flatties are all on offer. Lure anglers are still concentrating their efforts along the ski run and Cooroibah Lake for jewies and flatties. Further down toward the mouth bigger bream, golden trevally and flatties are found especially from the coastguard toward woods bay. The frying pan is a great place to target fish in search of warmer waters during the daytime. These shallow sand flats hold huge whiting and with that you can also expect to find the big old flatties. Woods Bays are holding a mix of trevally and tailor showing up. This fish taking a wide range of grubs, prawns and surface lures. The OSP Bent minnow has claimed a few solid tailor recently and this is a dynamite lure for big bream and jacks. Crabs are still moving around so check your pots are in good condition and be sure to keep them close to the edges and weigh them down as the currents begin to build.
Freshwater is quieter especially with the colder mornings this past week. There is no rush to be first on the water as the surface bite will be a lot later and those fish seeking warm water will be sitting deep. Have sounders running down and side scan and be sure to pepper any schools with all you have to entice a bite. The Majorcraft Jig Paras are back in stock and have proven deadly on the bass. These also work well if you upgrade to a set of Ecogear ZX hooks if the fish are not fully hitting your lure. Remember the closed season for wild bass starts from 1st June until Aug 31st which means fishing the Noosa Everglades is closed to angling. This makes now a great time to experience Lake MacDonald and Borumba. Don’t forget your SIPPS permits and have fun on the water.
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!
