Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Well… as the title suggests Australia Day started off perfectly, but it soon turned to squalls and a lot more rain than predicted. Those who made it offshore were rewarded with a mixed bag of species from mackerel to cobia and some standout reef fish came off the bottom. North Reef has been fishing well following the extended break and some huge pearl perch have been on the list. Mid-water and on the bottom, cobia have been picking up live bait and soft plastics. If ever you are planning to go offshore, always have a few live bait rigs onboard because they can help turn a bad day into one of the best. Around the pinnacles, smaller jewfish around the 1m mark and under have been caught – again on plastics and live bait. Soft plastics such as the new Berkley Gulp shrimp in the larger sizes will always work wonders on the reef, as what reef fish doesn’t love a prawn? Sunshine Coast Noosa
Sunshine Reef and south heading toward Coolum have seen pelagic action with mackerel showing up. Things are a bit on the warm side for longtails, however there have been reports of yellowfin tuna out wide around the banks, so always be prepared with a stickbait or casting slug on a rod. The successful TT Hardcore Slug continues to get smashed by standout fish. Sunshine Coast Noosa
Off the beaches we continue to see whiting around the 20-35cm mark, with most fish taking beachworm. For those able to cast out further, smaller mackerel have been taken off the rocks around Coolum, with fish taking a liking to pilchard and metal slugs. Sunshine Coast Noosa
The Noosa River has been fishing well with some solid flathead and mangrove jack being caught after dark. For lure anglers, bigger soft plastics with a big paddle tail have been working well – such as the Keitech Swing Impact Fat in 5.8” size rigged on 3/8 jig heads and slow rolled along the bottom on the turn of a tide. You will need bigger rods to cast these lures, but they certainly attract the big fish. Take a look at Samaki Zing G3 spinning rods – they have a lot of power and are able to deliver a big cast.
Daytime fishing is providing smaller flathead in the 40-60cm size along the sandy drop-offs towards the mouth from the boat ramp. Flathead are a great target species for new lure anglers because they aren’t too fussy. Try various grubs and paddle tail plastics in the 3” size, with Berkley PowerBait a proven option to get you started.
If you have some crab pots, it’s well worth putting these out because crabs have continued to show up. We always carry an extensive range of pots, rope and floats to get you started, as well as rigging tips and locations for those new to crabbing.
Freshwater is warming up and starting to clear on the big dams and lakes in the region. Bass are still harder to find while things clear, but there has been a noticeable topwater bite period during the end of the day and at first light. A constant performing lure has to be the Lucky Craft Sammy 65, which everything will hit and is by far the easiest to work. For those fishing deep, grab a few Storm Gomoku micro blades and work the schooled up fish and timber drop-offs for the bite.
Now for all the latest information, log onto www.fishingnoosa.com.au for up-to-date bar and fishing reports, and don’t forget to drop into Tackle World Noosa, Noosa Boating and Outdoors and Northshore Bait & Tackle in Marcoola for all the right equipment, bait and advice to get you catching.
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