Venture to new ground during pearl perch and snapper closures

With the pearl perch and snapper closure in full swing until midnight on August 15, anglers have had to venture to new ground in search of different species.

For tips on catching a snapper before the closure, click here!

Large grass emperor have been recorded in the shallower reefs off Noosa such as Sunshine and Halls, with anglers collecting fish up to 4kg on both plastics and flesh baits. For those wanting to throw a plastic, these fish cannot resist a natural presentation. Plastics such as the Z-Man 5’’ Jerk Shad have been the crowd favourite. North Reef hasn’t skipped a beat this week with anglers boating some large maori cod and tuskfish with sweetlip again in the mix. Tuskfish can be a hard species to work out, but the trick to maximising your catch is to downsize hooks so they can fit the whole bait in their small mouths. The best results have come from fishing slab baits on well-presented gang hooked rigs. Baits such as mullet fillet and bonito fillet have been the predominant successors. pearl perch

In the deeper reef patches around the Hards and Double Island regions, anglers can expect some quality cobia, estuary cod and the odd redthroat emperor to land on deck. These fish are structurally orientated so finding good ground is a large factor to finding fish. For the red emperor tragic, the lone bombies and ledges off of Double Island and south Fraser have provided anglers with good fishing and most fish being taken on slab baits including mullet and hussar fillet. pearl perch

Beach fishing is on an upward slope with tailor and mulloway season in near full swing. Anglers have been presented with some harsh weather over the last week however have prevailed with several quality catches including metre plus mulloway and chopper tailor. The Peregian Beach stretch has been the pick for mulloway anglers with large fish being caught after dark on the full and new moon periods. For those fishing lures, the Rapala X-Rap Xtreme Action Slashbait has proven itself a worthy part of the tackle box and for those bait fishing, you simply cannot beat a well-presented strip of mullet fillet. Double Island rocks has seen some action over the past week with a school of kingfish hanging off the headland. These fish are around the 80cm mark and have provided lure fishos with an action-packed fight. Lures such as the Halco Twisty Chrome and the Rapala Long Cast Shallow Stickbait have landed some awesome fish. pearl perch

The Noosa River always excels this time of year with the trevally fishing being the best on offer in nearly all of south east Queensland. These high-speed predators can get huge in our river and it is essential to have the right gear in order to convert a bite to a capture. Lures are the most effective way to target these beasts, with prawn presentations such as the Storm 360GT Coastal Shrimp being an evident worker. With the water being a chilly 19C on average, trevally have been swimming in schools to keep warm, so when one is caught it is usually a clear indicator that there are more in the area. For those wanting to soak a bait, switch the plastic prawn for a real one. A light weight running sinker rig paired with a peeled prawn has been the most successful way to catch trevally for the past week, with some quality golden, giant and diamond trevally being caught. The most success has been found around the woods bay region. For those targeting a humble bream or flathead the dog beach has been the pick with a mixture of baits working. pearl perch

CLICK HERE for the latest free digital BNB Fishing mag!!

The freshwater has been on fire this week with some cracking bass and saratoga being caught at both Lake MacDonald and Borumba Dam. Saratoga have been feeding in the warmer parts of the lakes with shallow banks and structure heavy areas being the pick. These fish will hit a surface lure such as a popper or surface walker, yet with the cooler surface water a shallow running diver has been a very valuable lure to have in the boat. Fishing the edges at Borumba has been an effective method, with the Jackall Squirrel 67SP in both Banana and HL Gold/Black being the two colours producing good numbers. A twitch twitch followed by a short pause will give anglers the greatest chance at success.

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 Outdoors in Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle in 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!