Welcome to winter on the Sunshine Coast!
The temperature has certainly been dropping at night, but we’ve still been lucky enough to enjoy beautiful sunny days. The upcoming week looks good, with mostly pleasant temps ranging from 9-24C and showers forecast for next Tuesday.
Offshore conditions look fairly good for the coming weekend and into next week, with the wind predicted to pick up on Tuesday. The solunar calendar shows Saturday, Sunday and Monday as the pick of the days for fishing efficiency.
Offshore
Noosa local reefs have been producing some quality snapper, pearl perch, grass sweetlip, gold spot cod, venus tuskfish, mulloway and the occasional spanish mackerel. Plenty of mack and longtail tuna are still on the move too.
Glenn from Deep End Fishing Charters reports that good catches are being had offshore from Mooloolaba, with plenty of good-sized pearl perch, snapper and grass sweetlip.
Smithy from Smithy’s Fishing Charters also reported great catches, including amberjack, kingfish, snapper, pearl perch, tuskfish and hussar at the Hards and snapper in the shipping channel.
Estuary
The Maroochy River has been on fire with the cooler early mornings. Flathead are thick and can be found soaking up the sun in the shallows. Prawn imitation and paddle tail plastics are your best options for lure fishing. Crossfire Lures have been claiming some great flatties up to 90cm.
Trevally species are starting to fire and are great to target on light gear. Major Craft Jigpara Micro 7g metal jigs jigged back at speed have claimed plenty of golden and diamond trevally over the past week. The trusty Pro Lure Clone Prawn jigged at speed also works a treat.
Some bigger jewfish are turning up, with catches up to 98cm. Fresh squid and live bait have been a popular way to target them. Pro Lure Live Cray soft plastics slowly sunk to the bottom around bridge pylons and other structure have delivered great results.
Freshwater
As of today, June 1, the protected season for Australian bass commences, and will remain in effect until August 31, 2023.
Over the cooler months, this species migrates towards certain estuary areas for their spawning period.
This protective measure is put in place to safeguard them during this crucial time, thereby ensuring their continued abundance for future generations of anglers.
Throughout this closure period, Australian bass are designated as a no-take species across all tidal waters in Queensland.
Do you have a hot tip or an awesome catch you’d like us to feature in our fishing reports? Send us a message on Facebook or Instagram, or email us at info@baitmasterfishing.com.au
Call in to see us at 311 David Low Way in Bli Bli or check us out online at baitmasterfishing.com.au
Tight lines!
Trent and Corinne
Bait Master Fishing and Tackle