Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
On the Noosa North Shore beaches the dart are in great numbers. Yes there are quite a few smaller fish but there is the odd stonker with them so keep working those deeper gutters. Whiting, flathead bream and the odd trevally have also been taken from the surf. There are still some big tailor about with most fish taken under the cover of darkness, best bait has been fresh mullet. For the rock hoppers the Noosa National park has been great, the key is to get out there nice and early before the easterly starts to pick up, small snapper, sweetlip, bream and tailor have all been reported.
In the Noosa River, mangrove jack are in good numbers, getting up early and heading up river and pitching hard body lures at the banks is a perfect way to target these fish. Give the Zerek Tango shads in the 69mm size a go, these are a suspending lure that will pull down to 2.5m perfect on the baitcaster, using a baitcaster outfit will give you the pinpoint accuracy you need to get close to the snags where these fish love to live. Elsewhere in the river, there has been some great flathead taken with the drop off near sand and mud banks the perfect place to start your search. Plastics are perfect on the flathead with the slow roll and double hop retrieve seeming to work well on the run out tide. The darker brighter colors are working better in the discolored water, check out the River2sea Chasebaits in the Disco Chicken and the Blood Gold. Good size whiting are right through the lower parts of the river, the shallows of the Frying Pan and Weyba Creek are a great place to start. Fresh worm, yabbies and pippies should see some great results. There has been surface action a plenty around Woods Bays and the back of the Noosa Sound, fishing surface early morning and late afternoon has been when the action has been happening. Crabs are also plentiful in the upper reaches of the river, if we see more rain over the next couple of week this will really get them up and walking, remember you can only take the bucks and they must make size, 15 cm across the widest point of its carapace.
For the Offshore anglers the hit and run technique has been the way to go with a lot of boats crossing the bar early and heading for the closer reefs then making the run home as soon as the breezes starts to pick up. Larger craft have been able to cope with the conditions and have made the run to the banks and Double Island Reefs, reports include snapper, saddle tail sea perch, hussar, moses perch, slate bream, maori cod, amber jack, venus tusk fish, gold spot wrasse, and cobia. Black magic Flipper jig and Jigging Soul Flashy Flutter are two great jigs that work well in deeper water for those amber jack and big snapper. Chardons Reef has been another favorite reef, with red emperor, nannygai, coral trout, grassy sweetlip, pearl perch, jewfish, hussar, snapper, moses perch and quality spanish mackerel all boated. Gang hooks rigged with a whole pilchard, floated down a solid burley trail seems to be working very well especially on the pelagics. For the smaller craft Sunshine reef has again been producing with squire, moses perch, pearl perch, grassy sweetlip and coral trout.
In the fresh; the bass still seem to be sitting in the deeper parts of the dams, try fishing micro jigs like the Blue Blue minis or 1/8 weighted soft plastics like the Zman slim swims or the Fuze Triple Tails. Vibes are also getting a reaction bit so try the Entice Assault Vibes and Ecogear ZX35 blades. There is a bit of surface action around the edges this will improve over the coming weeks depending on rainfall.
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!
