Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
Drier times ahead – Well, we certainly got smashed! As a result, the rivers saw record levels of floodwater and sediment. For the Noosa River and many other systems, this means a lot of displaced fish and larger congregations of baitfish. For the angler, this translates to finding larger schools of fish that should be very hungry. Sunshine Coast Noosa
Offshore has been on hold for many due to heavy swell hitting the bar. We did see a mid-week lull and bigger boats took the opportunity to punch out to North Reef for a good number of reef fish. As expected, the dirty water has reached out far and wide making for great reef fishing, with cobia, pearl perch and snapper on the chew for the bait anglers. Popular bait are squid, pilchard and mullet strip. The pelagics will require some finding, so try trolling some lures while you’re underway, especially if conditions are a bit rough. Higher speed lures such as the Nomad DTX Minnow range let you cover ground quicker, giving you the chance of finding a big mackerel or even a wahoo. Sunshine Coast Noosa
Surf fishing has been hindered by a lot of debris washing up along the coastline, including a huge section of pontoon down the coast. If swimming or surfing, take care because there is going to be a lot of debris floating around. For anglers, the chance of jewfish remains strong, especially with the moon a few days ago. Daytime fishing should hold good numbers of whiting, which often feed hard after a heavy rain. Sunshine Coast Noosa
The river has been quiet, but it pays to try multiple spots in the lower estuary during an incoming tide. You will notice a delay in the posted high tide times due to the backlog of freshwater in the system, which could see a delay in the tide turn by several hours. This cleaner water will have fish feeding, and boat anglers should try to fish the dirty water line because fish will follow and feed in this line. The river mouth, dog beach and the current line are several spots to try.
Bait anglers will want to use pilchard, squid, mullet and even mullet gut. These bait types have a high oil content or simply smell great to a fish. You will need to keep the bait in an area for longer if fishing hard on the bottom as the scent trail will need to be picked up by your target fish. To help things along a little, pick up some pre-mix berley and tuna oil. Making small balls and adding these to your fishing area can turn a slow bite into non-stop action.
As we come out of the new moon phase, evening anglers will find areas where the possibility of landing a mangrove jack exists. Jack are apex predators and love to ambush their prey, so think about areas where they are likely to hang out. During tide turns they will break cover and can be caught out in the open. A word of warning though, because jack know where home is, they will always charge back there once hooked. Make sure you are running a 40lb leader or more, and if lure angling, look at Samaki and Zerek soft vibes and big paddle tail plastics.
Roads heading to Lake Borumba are underwater and Lake MacDonald is closed to all on water activities. Be sure to check on the Seqwater website for up-to-date information and details on locations you intend travelling to.
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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