Offshore fishing set to fire on Sunshine Coast

March 23, 2018

Offshore fishing at this time of the year is always weather dependent, with a bit of luck we should see some good days to get out on the water and take advantage of the pelagic’s that are on offer. It’s that the time of year when the big mackerel are around and trolling can be very rewarding. Deep diving lures trolled at a good pace along the edges of the reef will defiantly improve your chances. Some of the great options in deep divers at the moment are the Halco Laser pro’s, the Samaki Pacemakers, and of course the Nomad Range. For the Smaller craft, offshore fishing at Sunshine Reef has again been worthwhile. Not only is it a shorter journey but the list of quality species taken has been impressive. Coral trout, sweetlip, and mori cod are all on the list from the bottom, on the pelagic side of things tuna, spotted mackerel and big spanish mackerel have all been taken. Halls Reef is also firing at the moment with plenty of tuna on offer. For those that did the offshore fishing trip up to Double Island Point or out to the Barwon Banks plenty of quality fish were on offer including jew, cod, snapper, pearl perch, cobia and sweetlip. We are also seeing some big mackerel with plenty of large fish cursing the deeper clearer waters. Live baits like yakka’s and slimies have been the gun baits.

The Noosa River has been fishing well with trevally and tailor action on the increase. With tailor and a variety of trevally feeding on prawns and baitfish in the lower part of the system with majority of the action has been centred around Woods Bays. Mangrove jack captures are definitely on the increase with the most successful fisherman getting out at night; these fish tend to feed more aggressively around the new moon period and when there is a bit of average weather around. Good sized fish have been taken from the mouth all the way up to the lakes on anything from prawns to live bait, soft plastics and hardbodies. Casting around structure is the best bet so the pontoon and jetties in the Noosa Sound are the perfect home for these ambush predators. For those after a feed of flathead, the mud flats along the Tewantin stretch of the river is always worth a go. The New Squidgy Bio Tough range of soft plastics have been a hit with the flathead and come in a great range of sizes, shapes and colours. Whiting activity is also good with some elbow slappers getting caught around the shallow sand flats of the frying pan and the dog beach. These tasty fish are great fun with small surface lures worked across the top of the water. I like the Sugapen surface walkers from Bassday, with a good walk the dog action the whiting can’t resist. For those that enjoy a spot of crabbing, now is the perfect time to put in a few pots out. With the recent rains and cooler temperatures there are more about and they are full and super sweet. There are many myths about the best bait for catching crabs; from chicken carcass too tins of cat food, but the most consistent method has been good fresh mullet.

On the beach, the Noosa North Shore has again been the spot to be, or to be more precise, the stretch between Teewah and Double Island. With the new moon Jew fish have been on the mind of most anglers heading that way, fresh mullet, tailor fillets and large clumps of beach worms have all done the job. Fishing at night has been the most successful over the last few days. In the closer gutters, whiting, bream and the ever present dart have been plentiful and taking prawn, worms and smaller baitfish like hardy heads and whitebait. No need to cast a mile as most of the time they are just about swimming at your feet.

In the Fresh, Lake McDonald has been producing some big Bass around the Bubble trial and Three Ways areas. Trolled hard bodies, tail spinners and 3’ plastics in curly tails have been successful in finding these fish. In Lake Borumba Saratoga have been in good numbers, fishing surface walkers, Jackall Squirrel hard bodies, and Bassman spinnerbaits has gotten the job done. Bass have also been taken in the Noosa Everglades, cicada profile lures first thing in the mornings has been very successful.

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 Outdoor in Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola to find out where the fish are biting, and remember Tight Lines and Bent Spines!