Warmer weather brings on great fishing

Bundaberg inshore

The inshore reefs have still been on fire with plenty of small school mackerel, big Spanish mackerel, snapper and grunter around and feeding.

The schoolie mackerel have been the easiest fish to catch this week with almost anything you can troll out the back of your boat getting a bite.

The bigger spanish have been scattered but using a large bait like a bonito, garfish or ribbonfish has tempted the big ones to come to the party.

The snapper are proving to be harder to get a bite from but there are still plenty around with a more finesse approach working best.

Lures like the Mustard Mini Ink Vader are perfect for when they are a little shut down.

Bundaberg offshore

This week leading up to Saturday's full moon has seen a lot of big bottom fish getting caught whilst they feed up into it.

Big flesh baits have been most effective when rigged on one of Buku's Game Fishing Bait Jigs.

These jigs have a unique lead weight that swims on the drop and vibrates in the swell which is something our fish haven't seen before.

This weekend’s weather is looking good for now so if it stays as predicted the fishing is going to be red hot.

The species that have been on the chew this week have been the usual coral trout, nannygai, red emperor and sweetlip.

As well as these, some monster cobia are getting caught too.

Burnett River

Another week has seen a wide variety of species being caught from the Burnett.

Flathead, grunter and some serious bream have still been caught at the rock walls near the mouth of the river with a run out tide being the best time at the moment.

Bigger flesh baits seem to be working well with mullet fillet being the standout on a run out tide, and fresh yabbies working well when the water is clearer on the run in tide.

This weekend’s full moon should see the whiting on the chew, Saturday afternoons run in tide leading into the night will be the ideal time to go out and chase some elbow slappers!

Freshly pumped yabbies are always a big whiting's favourite.

This week’s big tides has also managed to get a few quality mud crabs on the move so don't forget to throw the pots in.

Elliott River

The Elliott River has had another great week of fishing whilst the weather continues to warm.

Shallow flats have produced some cracking flathead through the week and some solid whiting have been caught.

Freshly pumped yabbies fished in shallow water on the incoming tide has worked best.

This Friday and Saturday should see some cracking whiting caught in the late afternoon with the big tides.

Further up the river has seen a lot of big grunter find their way into deep holes. Fishing a run out tide has been working best with the grunter feeding during this time.

Baffle Creek

Baffle Creek has had an awesome week of fishing which is a great encouragement for those fishing the Baffle Creek Family Fishing Festival.

The competition runs from Monday 19 September to Saturday 24 September.

As for the fishing this week the main fish getting caught have yet again been grunter and flathead.

There have been some really good sizes mixed in with a few smaller fish which is a good sign for the next couple of years.

On the lure side of things, big curl tail soft plastics are still slaying the fish, brighter colours have worked best especially on a run out tide. As for bait, medium to large sized flesh baits like mullet fillet or a live bait has caught a lot of bigger fish.

Lake Monduran

This week has seen some cracking Lake Monduran barramundi caught which is a great sign for what could be to come.

With these larger fish there has also been a few smaller models scattered but mainly fish above 80cm have been landed.

The dam is starting to warm up and so are the fish with numerous bites each session showing they are slowly getting ready for summer.

Once again, the lures doing the damage have been 4 to 5 inch soft plastics in a natural colour slow wound in shallow water right up the backs of bays.

Fishing bays that the wind has been blowing into has seen more fish being caught.

Corey Hanks
Tackle World Bundaberg