This week’s report says there has been excellent fishing throughout the region from the inshore and offshore reefs to rivers and lakes.
Inshore and Offshore Reefs
The Inshore reefs are still producing some really good numbers of school, Spanish and grey mackerel.
These fish are being found all along the coast but in particular around the mouth of the Burnett River and the 2 mile reef off Bargara.
Trolling garfish or hardbody lures are a good way to get these fish to bite and you cover plenty of ground.
Some good sized longtail tuna are beginning to be found more consistently along the coast, topwater stick baits or small metal slugs are the go to lures for these speedsters.
Well for the offshore fisho’s it is great to finally have some good weather, both today and tomorrow are cracking days to head out wide in chase of those tasty reefies.
The gutters, Warrego’s, Herold Patch and marks off 1770 have fished well for grassy sweetlip, coral trout, venus tusk fish and plenty of stud cobia.
Fishing the pressure edged side of the reefs and finding good amounts of bait has been key.
Whole squid and pilchards rigged on a set of 6/0 or 7/0 gang hooks have been the baits getting the best results.
If you are into lure fishing the Nomad Squidtrex and Samaki 127 mm live prawns have been killer.
Burnett River
The Burnett has been producing some very nice fish over the past week, however the number one target on most peoples minds has been the humble prawn with a lot of these coming from the deeper holes towards the bottom of the tide.
Remember, the best time to target prawns is towards the bottom of the tide as there is minimal current.
A top pocket cast net is a must when prawning the deeper water, and running tape around the base of the net is a great trick to ensure the net stays open as it sinks to the bottom.
With the fresh water entering the Burnett from the gates being opened at Ben Anderson Barrage we have seen good numbers of barra on the chew around Tofts rocks and in Splitters Creek.
Most of these barra have been getting caught on soft vibes, prawn imitation lures and live bait.
There’s been some welcomed bycatch with them as well, including mangrove jack, flathead and cod.
The town reach area of the Burnett is also well worth a look with threadfin salmon, barra and grunter on the chew.
Kolan River
The Kolan has continued to produce some cracking grunter this week with the go to technique definitely being fishing the sand flats and drop offs with a mix of mullet fillet and fresh yabbies.
These grunter have been on the chew all throughout the tide however the start of the incoming has seen more bites.
Be sure to have a look up the river as there is some good barra and jacks getting around.
Heaps of river prawns are also being found up past Booyan Bridge along the mud flats, a draw string cast net has been a game changer for those chasing prawns in super shallow water.
The snags at the mouth of the river has seen great numbers of big bream being caught by floating whole sprat or mullet fillet in the snags with the current.
Some good sized jacks and cod are also being caught in these areas so be prepared for one of those to eat your bait intended for a humble bream.
Elliott River
This week has seen some great fishing out of the Elliott River with a lot of people taking advantage of some solid weather and heading out for a day’s fishing. The river has produced some great sized flathead, queenfish, cod and jack.
The mouth of the river is where the flathead and queenfish have been caught most, small soft plastics have been deadly on these fish.
Along the rock bars and up river in the creeks has found some cracking cod and mangrove jack being caught especially for those using live baits. Live poddy mullet and live prawns have been the standout baits and have definitely helped most anglers get into some solid fish.
The prawns have been thick in this river so whilst up the creeks keep an eye on the deep holes for them.
Excellent fishing at Baffle Creek
Baffle Creek has been fishing red hot this week, plenty of anglers have caught some quality fish on a range of techniques.
Big flathead and grunter have been caught around the mouth of the river system with fresh baits working really well.
Freshly pumped yabbies have killed it on the incoming tide and small flesh baits like mullet fillet have got the bites during the run out tide when the water has been dirtier.
Plenty of big pelagic fish have been around and feeding, the last half of the incoming tide seems to be when most of these fish are being caught.
Fishing the fallen trees at the mouth of the river has caught some cracking trevally and queenfish lately with whole sprat and small soft plastics doing the trick.
Up river in some of the creeks and on the rock bars has still seen the mangrove jack on the chew.
Live baits is the way to go when chasing these fish and using a quality leader is a must.
Middle Channel has been a great spot for a few jack lately so it is definitely worth a look if you are heading to Baffle this weekend!
Lake Gregory
This week has continued to see some cracking bass being caught from Lake Gregory.
The bass are feeding in the shallower water and they have been super aggressive smashing soft plastics, hardbodies and topwater lures.
Small paddle tail soft plastics have been the go throughout the heat of the day along with 70-80 mm hardbody lures.
The hardbodies are most effective when twitched aggressively and allowed to sit for up to 10 seconds in between pauses.
Once the sun is on it’s way down and shadows start to get cast on the dam, this is when topwater lures have done really well.
Any frog presentation has been the best topwater lure to be using at the moment, rigging these weedless means you can get these frogs hopping over lily pads and right over the top of the weed which is where these fish have been sitting.
Lake Monduran
Lake Monduran has had a good week of fishing with plenty of barra being caught.
A lot of smaller fish are still being caught but the bigger barra are definitely starting to be easier to get a bite from.
This is likely due to the winter seasons approaching as these big barra always like to feed up before the cooler months.
With the water temp back to around the 26-28 degree mark these big barra have made their way onto the shallow points and have definitely been more inclined to feed in these areas.
This time of year targeting these fish with hardbody lures like the Daiwa Current Master’s or Jackall Squirrel’s is one of the most effective ways to get these fish to bite.
Some anglers have even found fish right up in the weed edges and lily pads allowing for some topwater frog action!
From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg.
