Lake Monduran
Last weekend saw the annual Humminbird Barra Classic and WOW! What an event.
Over 200 barra were caught during the two sessions showing just how good the dam is fishing despite the unfavourable conditions we have had as of late.
The majority of anglers fishing this comp have live sonar and although it isn’t a necessity it sure helps to get more fish in the boat.
As we see time and time again, getting your lure to basically touch the barra’s nose is, most of the time, what will get you a bite.
Zerek Live Mullets, Samaki Redic D80’s and Jackall Squirrel 115’s were the standout lures during this event.
Fish were caught all throughout the lake but the hot spots were up the South and North Arm of B with plenty of fish coming from these two arms.
The basin still has plenty of fish in it so if you are heading to the dam you definitely do not need to travel far to find them!
Inshore/Offshore
How good was that weather window on Monday this week!
Those who were fortunate enough to head out sure had a spectacular day on the water in glass conditions.
The bottom fishing was red hot with big large mouth nannygai and red emperor caught for those who headed North, fishing ground around the Warrego’s and marks towards the Bunker Group.
Big flesh baits got the bites from these fish with fresh hussar fillet being the standout, however a whole squid or cuttlefish also got the bites.
Plenty of nice sized sweetlip, red throat, and tusk fish were also caught on similar ground.
For those fishing the wrecks plenty of cobia ranging from 80cm right through to 140cm have been feeding. Chunks of mullet fillet or again, whole squid and cuttlefish undone a lot of these cobia.
The inshore ground proved to be very rewarding particularly for the lure fishos.
We saw great numbers of longtail tuna caught on topwater stick baits and jerk tail soft plastics.
Nice sized queenfish have also been around the schools of bait with topwater lures being a great way to target these fish.
The 2 mile is still housing good numbers of school mackerel along with grunter and grass sweetlip as the sun sets.
Flasha spoons are a great way to catch yourself a feed of these school mackerel and if you are targeting the grunter and sweetlip strips of mullet fillet have been working well.
Burnett River
The Burnett has had a really good week of fishing, the bream have been around in great numbers and have ate small chunks of mullet fillet or whole prawns.
The rock bars and bridges in town have also produced some great quality flathead, cod and jack this week.
Live baits have been the go to when fishing for these species around the rocks, paddle tail soft plastics and deep diving hardbody lures have also worked very well in these areas.
The mouth of the Burnett along the rock walls is where a lot of the bigger grunter and flathead have been caught along with some cracking bream as well.
Hopping soft vibes along the rock walls is a great way to target these grunter and flathead and small grub soft plastics have slayed the bream. Pelagic fish like trevally and queenfish have also been on the chew.
The rock walls and bridges are ideal places to target these guys, however finding the baitfish is key.
When you have found the bait try hopping soft plastics through and around the bait quite erratically to trigger a bite.
Some great numbers of crab have been found in the main sections of the river, whole mullet or fish frames have been the ideal baits to be using.
Better numbers of prawns are also being found around the Port, a quality sounder has helped to find the schools and the run out tide has been when they have been easier to find.
Kolan River
The Kolan has had a solid week of fishing with the summer species fired up and the bread and butter species continuing to be caught.
Better numbers of barra have started to show themselves in this system around deeper holes and rock bars.
Prawn imitation soft plastics have been the go to bait at the moment and be sure to target them around a tide turn for your best chance.
Securing some live bait is also a great way to get one of these barra to bite, and plenty of jack have been caught on livies as of late as well!
The flats fishing at the mouth of this system has seen good sized queenfish and trevally caught around the snags and schools of bait.
Flicking small soft plastics has by far been the most effective way to target these species.
Some big flathead and grunter are still around as well, fishing the edges of the shallow flats during the run out tide has been the best way to target these fish.
Either whole sprat and prawns or once again small soft plastics have done the trick.
Elliott River
The sand flats and yabbie beds have been producing some cracking fish in the Elliott again this week.
The humble whiting has been the standout fish being caught!
Dusting off the yabbie pump and pumping for yabbies at the low tide is a great way to secure some fresh bait.
Beach worms have also worked really well and these are ideal if you can’t make it in time for the low tide as you can just pop into the shop and grab a few packs.
Fishing the incoming tide for these whiting over the shallow flats is always a great way to catch a feed and even pick up flatties, bream and grunter that are cruising on the flats.
Some good jack and barra have also been showing themselves up the creeks of the Elliott, any rocky structures and deep holes are worth a look for these fish.
Live poddy mullet and prawns have got these jack and barra to bite.
Fishing for these species around the low tide turn has been when they have been on the chew.
Also, don’t forget to throw the pots in.
There has been some great sized muddy’s caught this week!
Those who have been leaving their pots in overnight have got the best results.
Baffle Creek
The Baffle is fishing and crabbing well again this week.
We have seen plenty of nice sized whiting on the chew during the incoming tide along the shallow sand flats especially those with yabbie beds.
Fresh yabbies is always a whiting’s favourite food so be sure to pump some yabbies at low tide and fish the start of the incoming tide over those same shallow flats.
Some cracking flathead have also been caught using this exact same method but small strips of mullet fillet have also worked well.
Whilst fishing for these flatties it is well worth flicking small soft plastics or hard body lures out along the flats as you can quite often pick up fish that are cruising the shallows.
The jacks have also been on the chew along the mangrove lined banks and the rock bars, targeting these fish during the run out tide has no doubt been the best time to be targeting these fish.
Prawn imitation soft plastics and live baits have been the two go to methods getting these jacks to bite.
The crabs have also been in great numbers in middle channel and up the creeks, plenty of smaller crabs are being found however there is definitely some cracking bucks around at the moment as well.
Lake Gregory
The bite at Lake Gregory has been tough this week.
Anglers managing to land fish during their session have fished low and slow.
Targeting bass in deeper water with vibes and blades has got the best results.
Continuing to use dark coloured lures whilst the water is dirty has also been very important in getting a bite from these fish.
Fishing shallow during the middle of the day has definitely been very slow, the ideal time for this style of fishing has been the early mornings and late afternoons.
Fishing the shallows with topwater lures during these low light periods has managed some nice bass.
From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg.
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