Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
With a drop in swell at the start of the week and light offshore winds, we have seen lots of anglers head out wide to DI and the Barwon Banks to make the most of the conditions. Fish falling to well-presented baits were big snapper, pearl perch, red emperor, tusk fish and moses perch. For the majority of anglers fishing in closer it’s all about Snapper and getting a big PB knobby as this is the perfect time for snapper offshore. If you have a baitrunner style reel now is the time to start using it. Areas to fish include Chardon’s reef, North reef and Sunshine reef. Soft plastics including Z-man 7” inch jerk shads and Gulp Squid vicious worked slowly on light 4/0-6/0 jig heads and 40lb leader has been working well. Other fish taking plastics include pearl perch, sweetlip and coral trout. Baits to use include mullet chunks, squid and whole fish baits presented on gang hook floaters. Be sure to create a steady burley trail consisting of a burley log, cubed pilchards mixed in with tuna oil and sand. Dropping your pilchard floaters down this burly trail is the best way to get that PB so hang on!
Surf fishing has been working well with anglers heading up to Rainbow beach, DI and along the north shore stretch. Fishing the deeper gutters and drop off’s on lighter gear is catching yellowfin bream, dart, flathead and chopper tailor to 50cm with the better fish caught in lower light periods. 20-40g slugs including the River2Sea sea rock have caught some great fish when retrieved back at high speed through the surf zone. Gang hooked whole pilchard baits have been working well for Tailor and bigger Flathead. Fresh Tailor fillets have been working well on bigger Jewfish during the evening times. Be sure to give these big fish time to run and take your bait properly before setting your hooks.
Noosa River has produced some great fish this week with the cooler cleaner waters. Around the lower estuary especially Munna point and Munna bridge quality golden trevally and GT have been caught on prawn profile plastics and smaller grub style plastics in the 2-3.5” size range. Jigheads in 1/6th-1/8th #2 hook give the best presentation in conjunction with a lighter 6-8lb leader. Baits to use include whole whitebait and small pilchards rigged on 1/0 and 2/0 gang hooks. In the ski run a few school sized jew fish have shown up and have been caught on a range of soft vibes and 3-4” sized plastics on 1/8th size jigheads. With soft vibes try using big lifts and short pauses to get the best action. Fish Candy Jack Hammer come rigged with quality decoy hooks and a great action which is sure to call in the fish. Flathead have been on the bite around the river mouth and dog beach and up around the entrance of Lake Weyba. These bigger fish love a well presented soft plastic on 1/4oz jig head and a 3-4 inch paddle tail. Soft plastics to use include Entice bungy bait paddler in motor oil colour and Zman streakz curly tail in opening night colour both in 4 inch size.
Lake MacDonald and Borumba Dam are starting to quieten down with the cooler air temperatures. Fish can be found in the shallows seeking warmer water as the sun starts to rise. Fishing the calmer waters around weedy edges is best and be sure to slow your retrieve down. Small surface lures like Atomic K9 Bulldog and Ecogear PX55 work well for a quieter approach when fish can be spooked easily. As the sun rises overhead try Bassman spinnerbaits cast against weed edges and steeper banks and retrieved with a steady slow cranking retrieve to entice a reaction bite.
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!
