As the weather starts to cool down and the water temperature drops, the barramundi and mangrove jack get harder to catch.
The winter fish species like bream, whiting, grunter and big flathead come out to play, so put away the heavy gear and try a bit of light fishing.
Fresh bait is best. Pump a few yabbies at low tide and fish the incoming tide over the flats for a good feed of whiting or bream.
For good size flathead, drift over the flats, hopping a 3” to 4” soft plastic off the bottom.
That should pick you up a feed.
Bundaberg inshore: Windy weekend ahead
With the weather looking a bit windy for the weekend, hanging around the mouth of the Burnett River casting a few slugs or trolling a hard body lure may catch you a feed of pelagics.
We have been getting good reports of schoolie mackerel, tuna, queenfish and trevally all being caught.
Always check the weather report before venturing too far out.
Kolan and Baffle still producing muddies
These two rivers are very well known for the barra and mangrove jack, but like other rivers, as the water cools, they produce grunter, bream and good sized whiting.
Also, before heading out for a fish, put the crab pots in.
A few mud crabs are still being caught.
Catch a big one at Lake Gregory
During the cooler months on this little lake, fishing the weed edges early in the morning with either surface lures, spinnerbaits or jerk baits will account for large size fish.
As the sun rises, fish will move to the warmer water to school.
Casting blade lures or 3” soft plastics out over the school and using a slow retrieve should account for numbers of fish.
Barra still feeding in cooler weather
As the water cools a little on this lake, it can be good for some and bad for others.
It all depends on how you look at it. Is it too cold for the fish or is it too cold for the angler?
Barra still need to feed, whether it’s summer or winter.
I’ve heard of anglers having their best sessions through winter.
Personally, I have had a couple of good sessions myself.
Not expecting too much when the water temperature was 18 degrees, I ended up catching two fish in under fifteen minutes!
Like in summertime, the barra will move out into the deeper water if it gets too hot in the shallows and vice versa moving into the shallows where it’s warm and if the barra feel more comfortable, this is where they will feed.
Casting up into the shallows with a suspending lure like the Jackall Squirrels and B52’s, letting them sit there for a longer period of time, will usually catch a few more fish.
Fishing the bite time in dams is most important.
Whether it’s a tide change or moon rise, being in an area where the water temperature is 1 degree Celsius or more can improve your catch rate.
Keep on casting
Shane Anderson
Tackle World Bundaberg
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