The Spanish mackerel are definitely the standout fish on the inshore reefs at the moment.
One of the most fun ways to chase this species is definitely working poppers on the surface.
The aerial show Spanish mackerel put on is crazy.
One of my favourite poppers to use for them is the Halco Rooster popper.
The grunter and squire have been in good numbers as well.
If bait fishing on the bottom, soft vibes or larger sized prawns are the go.
The schoolie mackerel and grey mackerel are in really good numbers as well. Fast retrieving Flasha spoons and floating pilchards is the way to catch them.
New moon tides a positive for offshore fishing
The shallows out at the Bunker Group this weekend should be red hot.
With the big new moon tides, the coral trout and red throat emperor should be super active.
Using pilchards as bait, and 5” soft plastics will get you the bite.
If you’re keen to chase the reds in the deeper water, I’d definitely be making sure you’re fishing one hour each side of the top and bottom of the tides.
Flathead on the Burnett River
The Burnett River has been producing some very nice flathead over the past week.
Plenty of them are being caught on 3” paddle tail soft plastics and smaller sized hard body lures.
I’ve always liked chasing the flathead on the outgoing tide when the water gets dirtier.
It will be well worth having a flick for a barramundi and mangrove jack as well before we start getting days with cooler temperature.
Mangrove jack biting at Kolan and Baffle
The mangrove jack are still biting really well in both these systems.
Twitching hardbody lures out of mangrove roots and rock bars has been the most effective technique.
There’s been some very nice whiting being caught in these two systems as well.
Pumping yabbies at low tide and fishing the incoming tide on a nice sandbar should get you a very nice feed of whiting.
Also don’t forget to throw the crab pots in because the crabs should be on the move with the big new moon tides.
Fish with confidence at Lake Monduran
Lake Monduran has been producing some very nice barra again this week.
Fishing the tops of trees in the deeper water with paddle tail soft plastics and Jackal Squirrels has been the standout technique.
If the barra are hugging the bottom be sure to put a soft vibe on.
Remember to fish with confidence, you never know when that one metre plus fish will smash your lure!
Black jewfish no-take species
Black jewfish are now a no-take species on the East Coast.
Strong penalties will apply to any commercial or recreational fisher found to be taking black jewfish.
The black jewfish fishery on the East Coast is closed to commercial and recreational fishing for the remainder of the season.
The season will reopen on 1 January 2022.
The fishery remains open in the Gulf of Carpentaria, where recreational fishers are reminded that possession limits (1 per person) and boat limits (2 per vessel) apply.
Fish must be kept whole while on a boat.
The black jewfish fishery is the only fishery in Queensland that will be closed to recreational fishers as a result of commercial catch limits being reached.
This is because of the extremely high risk of black marketing of this species.
Research is underway to better understand the sustainability of this species and inform future changes to fishing rules.
Till next time, keep it real
Mitch Beyer, Tackle World Bundaberg
Other fishing stories: Mangrove jacks make for fun fishing in the Burnett
