Page 32 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing mag

Spoilt for choice on Wthe Sunshine Coast
ITH spanish almost gone, winter is the
Sunshine Coast
by GRANT BUDD
Kim McLeod hooked a snapper with a 5” Z-man DieZel MinnowZ in pearl.
This massive 53cm bass was caught on an ice jig in Somerset by Arna Love.
For the beach fishos jewfish and tailor are prime targets.
For those after bigger snapper, North Reef and Chardons Reef are two great areas to start with.
These are some of my favourite colours and proven performers.
time when several spe- cies are on everyones’ lips.
slow jigs, soft plastics and of course a sim- ple paternoster rig with squid or fresh mullet.
pink shine, pink pearl and pearl prawn.
In rivers, an influx of golden trevally have made their presence known, and offshore snapper are coming on before their one month seasonal closure starts on July 15 for breeding.
The deeper water of the Hards and the Banks has been dishing up the goods for those with bigger long-range boats.
Many anglers think the best way to fish these is to leave the rod in the rod holder.
Offshore we are seeing better conditions as far as wind goes and rain events help keep sea conditions calmer.
Many ways are used to target these old fish and now is the time to break out baitrunner reels and load them up with mono such as Platypus Lo-Stretch for the best floated pilchard pres- entation.
I can tell you that I’ve heard many stories of broken rods and lost gear from doing this.
With rain, the inshore reefs have started to fish very well, with chunky sweetlip getting caught.
A big snapper, jew, coral trout and cobia will snap a rod or tear rod holders from boats in the blink of an eye if drags are incorrectly set.
These fish love everything in terms of bait and lures, so try
Of course, this is best done during lighter wind and current situ- ations.
Light jigging is be- coming more and more popular, and with lighter 20lb gear and matching leaders.
Catching bream on lures
* from P30
for bream, but you
morning and after- noon.
be are considering all sorts of options – from closing the beaches permanent- ly to implementing a permit system, which will cost all users more money.
will need to get the bait past any flathead and tailor, which have also been present on the beaches.
A ngels, Seven Mile and Lighthouse beaches have all been good spots to try, but the formation move around fairly quickly, so you may have to check them out be- fore your next fishing trip to make sure the formation is still ac- ceptable.
The bulk of the cap- tured tailor have been in the 1-2kg range, but we have had a couple above 3kg re- cently.
I can only hope that the behaviour by a small minority doesn’t continue in future, as it is a special privilege to venture down to the beach, enjoy mother nature, perhaps catch dinner and leave qui- etly.
As is usually the case, larger fish have been taking cut baits of mullet, yellowtail or bonito at night, whereas smaller fish have been showing up around the rocks and walls and happily chasing down metal spinners during low light periods in the
While I’m on the subject of Ballina beaches, it has been very disappointing that over the past year or so a small number of people have been driving on the sand dunes and driving er- ratically on the beach.
Please treat it as the special place it is or we may lose it all together.
The powers that
‘Til next time – tight lines!
Well, that’s all from me
Page 32 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2020
* continued P34 www.bnb shing.com.au
Be sure to pick up some burley in the form of a pre-made bomb or pellets and mix it all together with some tuna oil and sand.
Rods like the Storm Gomoku Vanuatu with a polyethylene rating of 2-4 are perfect for many species on our lo- cal reefs.
It is important to send yourburleyoutinsmall amounts often as op- posed to a lot all at once.
Slow fall jigs like Blue Blue SeaRide and Palms Slow Blatt Cast Oval work very well with up- graded 3/0 Decoy twin pike assist hooks.
Too much can attract sharks and once they move in, it is time to move on.
When after these big- ger fish it is better to use one set of assists.
Undoubtably, a pil- chard floater is not on- ly reserved for snapper, with this time of year producing bigger cobia to 15kg.
Running two sets of twin assists often sees the jig lost to the reef or caught in the face of the fish, which makes fighting it much longer and harder.
Soft plastics are one of the most popular ways to target bigger fish and simple jerk shad or curl tail grub styles are the undoing of many fish.
Areas to target these are Jew Shoal, Sunshine Reef, Chardons and North Reef as well as further afield to Double Island.
When you come in be sure to grab a few col- ours such as nuked pil- chard, nuclear chicken,
You can also expect