Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
With a few days of opportunity early in the week, the local reefs were the popular options. Sunshine Reef has certainly been popular and for good reason. Good catches of cobia, coral trout, mackerel and tuna are at the top of the list. Other species in the mix include snapper, tusk fish, pearlies and various cod species. We still have a lot of sharks present so be sure to tighten up your drag to get the get the fish in as quick as possible.
For the lure anglers soft plastics like Chasebaits 5 and 7 inch fork baits are popular as they get to the bottom quickly and allow for good distance casting. Be sure to drift when working plastics for better presentation and keep an eye on your sounder to mark any good ground as you go. Slow jigs are also another great lure to use with the Zetz slow blatt oval in 40-60 grams perfect for lighter current days. These have a very slow fall rate with a lot of flutter and often get picked up by bigger fish like cobia, coral trout and jewfish taking a liking to them. Be sure to upgrade stock hooks as they do bend on the big fish, especially on higher drag settings.
If running baits then Chicko’s reef rig is a great option that allows you to target coral trout and sweetlip at the same time. Other options are 60lb double hook paternoster rigs fished with fresh mullet chunk and pilchard baits. Don’t forget to cast out a pilchard floater on a 4/0 3 hook gang rig. These are deadly when fishing low current days and have time to drift downward naturally. If you are losing rigs then Tru-Turn strip bait rigs are designed for fishing slab baits and have a length of wire attached to prevent bite offs.
The local gutters along the North Shore and south of Sunshine Beach are still going strong with dart, bream, whiting the main species. These fish only require lighter surf and estuary combo’s and provide the most fun. Simple running sinker rigs with beach worms, pipi or mullet strip works best. There have been a few tailor running in the estuary so there is every chance of picking one up around the various river mouths.
In the estuaries we have seen prawns pushed downstream by the recent rains. These have fired up the fish, especially the mangrove jacks and trevally. Quite often where you see trevally busting on the surface there will be mangrove jacks sitting just below following the school, especially at night. Lures to use include Gladiator prawns, Chasebaits flick prawn 95mm and Zerek shrimps. If looking for that surface bite then medium sized poppers including Lucky Craft G-Splash and Bassday Backfire are two great options that fish well. Places to concentrate your efforts would be around the bridges of Weyba and Donella as well as Woods bays and the deeper channels toward the frying pan if in a boat. Flathead are also present toward the river mouth and around the sand bags of the dog beach. These fish are still relatively small and common in the mid 50cm size. They will take curly tail and grub style soft plastics as well as small micro jigs like the Majorcraft Jigpara and Blue Blue jigs. Let these drop to the bottom and use the single to double hop retrieve for best results. Whiting are still present throughout the estuary and are hitting surface poppers and stickbaits. They are also happy to take worms and yabbies so inspect your pump washers before you go as we have replacements in-store. Sand flats are the best place to find big whiting so look around the frying pan, Weyba and along Gympie Terrace toward Goat Island. Mud crabs have also shown up along the mangrove edges upriver, so be sure to set a few pots before you start fishing. Make sure your pots are always out of the main boating channel and clearly marked before you leave them. Don’t forget to check out our 4 pots deals and crabbing supplies.
The freshwater dams have had a recent top up this week and with Lake Mac Donald’s work now delayed until 2020 it is still worth a visit. Being boat friendly gives more people a shot at the bass and saratoga that live there. It is important to note that you are only allowed to use electric motors once on the water. Davos Boating carries a great selection of Minn Kota motors and Humminbird sounders. Borumba has seen some cracking toga landed with most fish taking sub surface lures including Westin swim and Rapala Twitchin Mullet. First light has been the best time with fish feeding very hard on the bony bream. Froggerz and Vortex spinnerbaits also claiming some fat bass and toga during the daytime. If in the market for a new baitcaster reel, come and check out the new Shimano Curado DC. This feature packed reel lets you cast in any conditions and avoid the dreaded birds nest!
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 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!
