Bush 'n Beach Fishing Magazine Location reports & tips for fishing, boating, camping, kayaking, 4WDing in Queensland and Northern NSW
For those anglers who have been planning a trip offshore the persistent 20+ knot winds have been a bit of a pain. The great thing About Noosa Offshore is we have Laguna Bay and some close offshore reefs that still afford the opportunity to get outside. Tuna have been in great numbers with the high tides in the morning seeming to be the prime time. Lures including TT Winglet and flanker are working well when heavier casting is needed. For a big surface strike try the new skipping stick baits from Nomad called Dartwings. These lures are designed to look like a fleeing baitfish skipping across the surface, fitted with quality double hook in the front and a single in the rear makes for easy releases. For those that have been able to pick the weather windows, Reefs like sunshine and Jew Sholes have been going off, Good trout and sweetlip have come Sunshine while Jew Sholes has seen some good pelagic activity. As the weather improves Double Island will be worth the trip with spanish mackerel, long tail and yellowfin tuna the pick of species smashing trolled hard bodies. Out wider on the Barwon Banks will produce a mixed bag of snapper, pearl perch, and tusk fish.
In the Noosa River; recent rains have increased the river action with quality flathead getting caught on lures and lightly weighted fish baits like, small pilchards, hardheads and whitebait, while on the lure side of things, Zerek Tango Shads and pontoon 21 have been good on the troll. For the plastics anglers prawn profiles have been great with so many prawns in the river. Trevally have been in great numbers and have been smashing bait on the surface around the Woods Bays area, fishing surface poppers and surface walkers first thing in the morning has seen some good results, as the sun gets a little higher fishing soft vibes and large paddle tail soft plastics hard to the bottom has been the way to go. Live or cured worms have been catching quality bream and whiting along Gympie Terrace during the run out tide. Using whiting red tubing really helps the whiting to find your bait and gives you bite protection on bigger flathead. Crabs are on the move, with bigger buck potted over the last week, sand crabs have also been on offer a little closer to the mouth. Why not take advantage of Davo’s crab pot special at the moment as well as a crabbing kit which has everything to keep you legal! Fresh mullet has been best to encourage them into the pot. Further up the river the jacks are still feeding so using brighter coloured soft plastics like the Zman Swimmerz in Red Shad colour have been working very well.
On the beaches; great numbers of whiting, bream and smaller dart are present in the deeper beach gutters. Using fresh baits like strip mullet and worms is working very well. Try using a whiting prowler rig to double your chances. Fishing off the rock groynes using small grub style plastics like the Halco flutter shrimp in coffee’d shrimp colour and 1/4oz jig heads is working very well for the light tackle anglers with catches including dart, bream, trevally and flathead.
In the fresh water; Lake MacDonald is overflowing and the bass are schooling up around the bubble trail and deeper edges. Blades like the Ecogear ZX35 and the Strada Villain are great options. Lake Borumba has also seen the water levels back up. This will allow for faster safer navigation when searching for the bass and saratoga. Soft plastics slow trolled along the bottom will work as fish will sit in the warmer water. Zman Slim Swimz 2.5 inch in motor oil with 1/8th jig heads will work in shallower waters. Surface anglers will find the surface popper and walkers a great choice when targeting saratoga and early morning. Don’t forget you’re fishing permits which you can buy instore or online.
Now for all the latest information log onto www.fishingnoosa.com.au for up to date bar and fishing reports, don’t forget to drop into Davo’s Tackle World in Noosa or Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola to find out where the fish are biting, and remember Tight Lines and Bent Spines!
