Inshore
The inshore reefs have started turning it on over the past couple of weeks!
The school mackerel and grunter have definitely been the standout captures.
The standout techniques have definitely been fast retrieving 50g Flasha spoons vertically off the bottom and floating pilchards out the back of your boat.
Usually early mornings are the go to time to chase them as this is when the bait is most active.
There has also been some cracking grunter being caught on 20g Samaki vibes and 5” soft plastics.
If you're more into bait fishing float lining squid and pilchards should definitely get you into some of the action, also you might get a welcomed late seasoned snapper to play the game as well while chasing these big grunter.
Offshore
The offshore reefs have also been red hot over the past couple of weeks with some small weather windows letting us have a play.
The number of monster coral trout that have been caught surely has been impressive, the three best techniques has been hoping Samaki Golden Carrot Shrimp off the structure, float lining pilchards and of course live baiting.
There’s also been some cracking red emperor, grassy sweetlip and huge cobia being caught with the same techniques as trout fishing.
Remember to always focus on the tide changes, making the most out of one hour either side of the tide surely can be the game changer for the day.
Fingers crossed the weather plays the game for us this weekend and we can get out in chase of these quality fish!
Burnett River
The Burnett Rivers summer species are firing up!
Some monster barra are in the river at the moment and are starting to chew more often with anglers managing a few bites out of these fish most sessions.
A lot of anglers have struggled keeping the hooks in these barra however there has been some cracking fish landed.
Fishing the tide changes has been the key to getting a bite out of these fish, the one hour either side of the tide is when you should be fishing for these barra.
Soft vibes and slow rolled paddle tail soft plastics have been the most effective lures. Most of these barra are being found in the Town Reach but there is certainly good numbers of fish scattered throughout the river.
Towards the mouth of the river along any of the rock walls and drop offs has seen some big flathead and grunter caught.
Mullet fillets and whole sprat have been the go-to baits for these fish and for those lure-fishing an 80-100mm soft vibe has been dynamite.
Some big prawns are still being found at the Port, although these haven't been in great numbers the size has surely made up for it.
Elliott River
This time of year usually sees the Elliott fishing really well as the water temp rises which gives this system a lot of variety to choose from.
Those after some bread and butter species like bream, whiting and flathead have been fishing the shallow sand flats and drop off by either anchoring or drifting.
Using baits like yabbies, beach worms or whole sprat has definitely got some quality fish with trevally, small queenfish and grunter thrown in the mix as well.
A leader around 8-12lb has been getting the bites for this style of fishing.
In the deeper sections of the river has seen some jack, big grunter, cod and the odd barra passing through.
Any bends in the river with some good structure like rocks or fallen trees are ideal places to target these summer species.
Live poddy mullet, whole prawns and mullet fillets are the go-to baits for fishing these sections of river and will put you in with a good shot at these species.
Hopping soft plastics and soft vibes in the deeper holes is also a really effective way for the lure fishos to target these species.
Even whilst anchored up with a few baits out the back of the boat it is worth having a rod rigged up with a lure to have a few casts with.
Baffle Creek
The Baffle Creek Family Fishing Festival is done and dusted for another year and wow what an event it was!
This year was the biggest comp to date and every Junior entrant managed to score a prize of their choice between a range of rod and reel combos and tackle bags filled with lures and tackle trays.
Although the fishing was tough and many anglers struggled to find quality sized fish there was heaps of laughs and great times had during the week and on the Family Fun Day on Saturday afternoon.
This is one comp that is going to keep growing each year and surely is one you don't want to miss!
The fishing during the baffle comp was actually quite tough for most anglers, a lot of fish were caught however the size is what let most of us down.
Great numbers of bream, flathead, whiting, jack and cod were caught on a range of techniques.
Flesh baits, live baits, soft plastics and hardbodies all got their fair share of fish over the week.
Those anglers who found the better sized fish were making the most out of the run in and the run out tide fishing pressure edges throughout the river.
Any of the rock bars in this system are always great places to find bait and predators and floating live baits into the structure is always a go to.
Flicking prawn imitation lures around these rock bars is also really effective and will definitely put you in with a chance at a range of species.
Don't forget to throw the pots in over the weekend as the crabs have been in really good numbers.
Kolan River
The Kolan is fishing great with plenty of families camping at the mouth of the system catching bream, flathead, whiting and grunter on the shallow sand flats and yabbie beds.
Fresh yabbies are definitely the holy grail of bait fishing for those targeting these species.
Pumping yabbies at low tide and fishing the incoming tide is a great way to find some good quality fish as they get up onto the shallow flats in search for an easy meal.
After some solid barra have been found in this river this week they have been a lot more difficult to find, spending a few hours sounding has been the only way to find decent numbers of fish.
The rock bars and deep holes up this river is where a few good sized barra have been spotted.
For now live baits like whole prawns will be a great option to get these barra to bite, fishing the tide changes is definitely going to improve your chances as well.
For the lure fisho's a Samaki soft vibe or a Zerek Cherabin is sure to get a bite from these fish.
Great numbers of mud crab have been on the move as well, be sure to place plenty of bait in your pots and place them up the creeks in any deeper holes.
Lake Gregory
This week has seen the bass continue to be caught around the edges of the dam on small soft plastics and hardbodies.
Fishing early mornings and late afternoons has been no doubt the best time to be on the water with the bass right up in the shallows and feeding during these low light conditions.
Topwater lures have definitely started to become more effective, Cicada or frog presentations have worked best for now as they have a more subtle action to them.
Once the sun hits the water the bass have been moving slightly deeper so throwing a small hardbody or soft plastic into the shallows and working it out into the deeper water will be the go-to way to find a bass or two.
Lake Monduran
Lake Monduran has had another great week of fishing, a lot of metre plus barra are being caught at the moment along with plenty of rat barra between 60 and 70cm.
We have some really good looking conditions on the horizon with a Northerly wind forecast for most of next week, this is going to cause the water temp to rise and we should see these big barra continue to chew.
When the Northerlies are prevalent SDA Bay, Bird Bay and the South Arm of B are all great places to fish.
At the moment we are still seeing plenty of fish caught in Wiggle Bay and up the dam around Insane Bay and Hearts Bay.
Those catching most of the barra are sure to be stealthy when either sounding for fish, motoring up to a spot or even when they are fishing.
Slow rolled soft plastics around 5 to 6inches in length as well as the usual Jackall Squirrel 79SP's and Samaki Redic DS80's have been the lures doing the damage.
Playing around with your hardbodies trebles and split rings to get them sitting in the water column perfectly still will allow you to implement long pauses into your retrieve without snagging up and spooking the fish.
These long pauses are what have been getting the big barra to bite!
From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg.
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