Lake Monduran
Lake Monduran is fishing really well with plenty of metre-plus fishing being caught over the last week.
With the dropping water temp in the lake the shallow points have had some really good numbers of fish on them.
Finding points in these windblown bays that have a mix of timber and weed on them are really good places to start.
These big barra are reacting really well to hardbody lures with long pauses.
The Samaki Redic DS80’s and Jackall Super Squirrel 79 Flat’s have been the standout lures for a lot of anglers fishing during the day.
The south arm of B has had some really good numbers of fish in it this week, along with Jacks and even down the bottom of the dam in Wiggle and Bird Bay.
Fishing hard around the bite times is what has helped anglers get a few bites in a short period of time and get some barra on the deck.
Be sure to keep and eye on the Kolan River tide changes along with moon above, rise and set times as these can all be a really good time to be casting at fish.
Remember, when fishing the dam always fish with confidence, you never know when that metre-plus barra will jump on your line!
Inshore/Offshore
This week has again seen some really good weather which has enabled plenty of keen anglers to venture inshore and offshore with great results.
The pelagic action along our coast is in top shape at the moment with spanish mackerel, long tail tuna, big queenfish and GT just to name a few being regular captures.
For those chasing the spanish early mornings and late afternoons have been the key times to be on the water.
Trolling whole gar and bonito has been very effective around the 2 Mile, Leads and south at the Artificial off Elliott Heads.
The schools of long tail tuna have not been hard to find with plenty of these fish busting up along the coast following schools of bait.
These fish have come right in close to shore due to the westerly winds and clean water.
Simply driving along the coast and watching for birds diving and fish jumping will be a dead giveaway of a school of these tuna.
Our inshore grounds have also been holding some really nice sized queenfish and GT with these fish being caught on soft plastics and topwater stickbaits or poppers.
Finding bait is key for targeting these fish, along with finding areas that have a good amount of current.
Anglers who headed offshore have also seen really good results this week with the coral trout being the standout capture for most.
These trout have been in great numbers and have been very good quality fish.
Whole pilchards or whole squid rigged on gang hooks has been the go to way to catch these trout.
If you are into lure fishing a Nomad Squidtrex or Samaki Vibelicious have been deadly when fishing between 10m and 30m of water.
Plenty of quality grass sweetlip have also been around on patchy, rubbly grounds with squid, and fresh flesh baits working really well on these fish.
Burnett River
The Burnett is cleaning up nicely and the fishing has been red hot!
Plenty of big bream are being caught along the rock walls throughout this system on whole prawns and sprat.
Using a light sinker and getting your bait to drift along the rock wall is key.
Quality flathead have also been taken along these rock walls with soft plastics working really well when hopping them along the base of the rock walls.
Despite the water temp dropping, some really nice mangrove jack are being caught in this system with again, the rock walls being the hotspots.
Mullet fillets or live poddy mullet are the go to baits and fishing into the night is a good idea if you can.
Plenty of barra have been around up the top of this system, fishing for these barra during a tide change is your best bet at getting one to bite.
Slow rolling 4in to 5in paddle tail or prawn soft plastics has been getting the bites.
Kolan River
The Kolan is fishing great and in particular this system has had a great run of big grunter this week.
These fish are being caught all throughout the river however they have been most active in the dirtier water up river and during the run out tide.
Whole sprat, strips of mullet fillet and whole prawns have all got the bite from these fish.
Targeting either rock bars or sandy drop offs has been good areas to find these fish.
For the lure anglers soft vibes like a Samaki Vibelicious is one of the best grunter lures you can throw.
Some big flathead around the 60 cm mark have been caught in the deeper holes during the run out tide, similar to the grunter these fish have loved either a whole sprat, mullet fillet or a whole prawn if you prefer bait fishing.
Some nice sized mangrove jack have also been quite prevalent around the rocky structures with live bait being by far the most effective bait.
Fishing the run out tide for these jack has seen best results and don’t be afraid to move on quite quickly even when live baiting to cover ground, this will help you find better numbers of these jack.
The Kolan has also been crabbing really well so it is still well worth dropping the pots in for a soak!
Elliott River
The Elliott is fishing great at the moment with the standout species being the dusky flathead and summer whiting!
Those pumping yabbies at low tide then fishing the incoming tide over the shallow sand bars and weed beds have absolutely slayed the whiting with the big tides this week no doubt getting these whiting on the chew.
Using a running ball sinker rig with 6 lb leader and pink/red beads and tubing has been the go to way to get these finicky fish to bite.
Great numbers of flathead have also been caught in the same areas as these whiting so having some whole sprat drifting out over the sand bars is definitely a good idea to pick up some of the flatties which are cruising over the flats with the incoming tide.
If you are into your lure fishing a Daiwa Double Clutch is one of the best flatty lures you can get, and for fishing the Elliott they are perfect for covering plenty of ground along the shallow sand flats.
The deeper holes throughout the Elliott River are producing good numbers of grunter and this is where the bigger flathead have been caught too.
Soft vibes hopped along the bottom have been picking these fish up consistently.
The crabs have been on the move in this river so be sure to throw the pots in this weekend for a tasty feed of mud crab!
The best results has come from those working their pots or dillies to find where the crabs are, however simply putting your pots in for a few hours whilst you fish has seen good results as well.
Baffle Creek
Baffle Creek has been fishing exceptionally well, offering anglers plenty of variety depending on what species they are targeting.
The standout fish recently have been mangrove jack, grunter and some ripper sized whiting.
The mangrove jack have been firing particularly around rock bars and mangrove lined banks with live poddy mullet being the go to bait.
Whole sprat and prawns have also worked well, if you are into lure fishing a slow rolled 3in to 4in paddle tail soft plastic in natural colours has been dynamite.
The whiting have been on the chew with the big tides this week aiding in a lot of anglers success, beach worms and fresh yabbies are two well known baits for these whiting and for great reasons.
Using a very light ball sinker and pink or red beads and tubing above your long shank hook has helped to attract these whiting.
Some really nice sized grunter have also been on the move along the sandy drop offs and rock bars around Winfield.
The run out tide seems to be the best time to target these fish with mullet fillet and whole sprat being great baits.
The crabbing in this system has also been producing some nice quality bucks so don’t be afraid to put some pots in!
Lake Gregory
Lake Gregory is fishing really well again this week with multiple bass over 40 cm being caught with even the occasional 50cm fish thrown in as well.
Fishing the edges of the dam with topwater lures in the low light periods has definitely seen some great results.
Using topwater lures always gets some insane surface strikes and this is what makes this style of fishing so addictive!
If you are fishing the lake later on in the day when the sun is higher these fish have moved slightly deeper so targeting the weed edges and drop offs by slow rolling soft plastics has worked well.
Mixing it up by throwing a shallow diving hardbody lure along these edges and implementing plenty of twitches and pauses into your retrieve has seen some impressive reaction bites.
Schools of bass in the deeper water have been hard to tempt a bite from this week however as the water temp continues to drop we should see these fish come on the chew.
From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg
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