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Fishing Reports

This Fishing report is a weekly report and is updated every Friday so before you venture out check it out on fishntales. For all those magnificent fish that get caught here why not show them off in our photo gallery and rub it in. If you do not live here we will show your photo as well. Just E-mail your photo's and details to the webmaster@fishntales.com and we will show them to the world.

Just as well he did not read the fishing report.

Hervey Bay

Over the past week there have been reports of some nice summer whiting throughout the straits. Fresh bait is the key with live yabbies and worms being the best baits. Fish the incoming tide with a standard whiting rig consisting of a small ball sinker, swivel, short length of trace and a number 4-6 long shank hook. Small poppers twitched along the surface on the shallow flats have also been working well with the Ecogear px45’s and River2Sea bubblepops being the favourites. Another popular method has been sight casting small soft plastics to individual or small groups of fish. The ideal plastics for these presentations are small yabby or worm imitations. Squidgy wrigglers, pro critters and 2inch atomic guzzler prongs have been producing the goods and can be rigged on TT hidden weight jigheads as well as resin and 1-2gm jigheads. This is great fun especially when fishing with 2-4lb braid and light leaders. Come in and see the boys at Tackleworld Hervey Bay for the latest tips on catching whiting on lures.

On the pier there are still golden trevally and mac tuna being caught with the odd mackerel also being landed. With the warmer water temps we’ve also seen some queenfish hanging around the pier. Live herring fished under a float or unweighted are the baits of choice. Metal spoons like 35gm flasha’s are also popular and can be cranked back at high speed and resemble and panic stricken baitfish. Casting soft plastics around the bait school edges also works well and when twitched correctly they look like and injured baitfish. Popular plastics to try are Snapbacks, Squidgy flickbaits and Berkley powerbaits and can be rigged on ¼ to ½ ounce jigheads.

On the inshore reefs there have been catches of coral bream, blackall and the odd squire using whole prawns, hardiheads, pillies and squid. These baits are best drifted down a light berley trail with a small ball sinker directly above the hook. Light fluorocarbon leaders of around 20-30lb will also increase your chances as fluorocarbon absorbs light making it clearer under water and is also more abrasion resistant. There have also been some nice cod and coral trout starting to be caught as the water warms up. Live herring are a pretty good start and can be fished on a circle hook close to structure. When fishing for trout and cod, beef up your leader to around 50-60lb fluorocarbon for extra abrasion resistance. Soft plastics also work well with the new Berkley hollowbelly paddle tail and flickbaits doing the trick.

The spotty mackerel season has kicked off with small schools being found around the Platypus Bay area. The spotted mackerel season is relative to the weather we receive with bigger schools of fish moving into the bay with SE winds and pushing out wider with northerly winds. Metal slugs are the weapons of choice with Quarterbacks, Spanyid raiders and Lazers working well. Try to avoid using wire leaders, as you will spook fish so try using mono or fluoro shock leaders of around 50lb. There have also been good schools of longtail and mac tuna around the station hill area. Most of these fish are being caught on metal slugs like Lazers and TT jelly beans however will readily take a well-presented soft plastic or baitfish imitation fly.

There are still good schools of golden trevally throughout the bay with the odd fish being caught on the flats and plenty sitting deep. Concentrate around the bait schools and beacons using soft plastics like Snapbacks and 4inch flickbaits, metal spoons and closure flies.

In the Burrum River there have been some nice mangrove jack starting to be caught. This warm, steamy weather with afternoon storms should really stir them up and put them on the chew. Hard bodied lures like Tilsan barras, RMG scorpions and Bombers can be cast and trolled around structure and rock bars. Weedless soft plastics also work well and can be cast straight into the timber without fouling up to often. Suitable line choices are 20-30lb braid with fluorocarbon leaders between 30-50lb as these fish have very sharp teeth and never wander far from their snag.

Game Fishing Report: Courtesy members of Hervey Bay Boat Club Game Fishing Club

The game comp was a success this year with plenty of fish caught and many more jumped off. The water temp is around 25 degrees at the moment, which is seeing good numbers of predatory fish hanging round. There were plenty of sailfish up to 45kg and black marlin up to 50kg tagged with the biggest marlin for the comp being a 200kg+ blue marlin. Bait around the 13mile crossing is packed pretty tightly and has remained there for about a month now which has seen good schools of cobia between 12-15kg, a few dolphin fish up to 14kg, yellow fin and mac tuna as well as the odd wahoo. These most productive methods over the weekend were trolling skirted lures or slow trolling live baits in short.

Fraser Island Fishing report courtesy of Sailfish Apartments, Happy Valley: Ph (07) 4127 9494

Due to the weather there haven’t been any reports however there are some good gutters along the front which we anticipate to fish well when the weather permits.

Rainbow Beach Report courtesy Rainbow Beach Fishing Charters - www.rainbowbeachfishing.com.au Ph: 07 54868666

Well rain, storms, and only 2 days offshore this last week. Some nice fish were landed with pearl perch to 4 1/2 kgs, snapper to 6 kgs, moses perch, parrot, some big maori cod and gold spot cod. All species are still a bit finnicky, but for those that put in the time with livies, plastics, and light gear will reap the rewards.

Our next Charter is not till tomorrow and the weekend is looking doubtful, with strong Northerlies forecast, lets hope it changes.

On the beach scene it has been quiet with not many reports due to the blustery Soueasters early in the week. The only report has come from Inskip where some big golden trevally have been landed up to 30lb. Live whiting seems to be the go. Sand has really come back, so driving is great except for the trees towards DI Point. Lets hope common sense prevails and a clear path is created for the Holiday season. It is imperative emergency personnel have access.

Well Baitrunner is on the slip next week, as we have traded 1 motor to beat the price rise, the other was replaced 12 months ago. Next weeks report maybe very short.

Freshwater Report.

Lake Monduran Report

The fishing at Monduran is still proving to be tough with anglers having to work hard for a fish. Barra are being caught in the deeper bays and in areas with minimal boat traffic. Lures worth trying are Reidy’s judges, Arafura barras, Rapala xraps and Squidgy slick rigs. Use stealth and possibly go a bit lighter in tackle to increase your chances.

Lake Awoonga Report

Awoonga has been producing quite well over the last week with water temps up and stabilizing. It seems most fish are being caught on soft plastics with the hard bodied lures not producing at present. Try casting Squidgy slick rigs on the weedy drop offs and in the weed gaps and slow roll them out. Weedless soft plastics are also ideal and can be cast right into the middle of the weed and twitched along the surface. Squidgy boof frogs, Berkley frogs and hollow bellies are ideal for these weedless presentations.