Brocky enjoyed a good day out chasing pelagics, and this goldie was just one in the mix.

Easing Onshore Breeze this Weekend

There was all sorts of weather over the past week, and none of it overly inviting for boaties looking beyond sheltered waters. Days of north-westerly wind and rising heat had many racing for the barra dams, prior to a couple of rounds of showers and storms blowing in with a fairly stiff south-easterly that curtailed open water activities once again.

Thankfully, the week ahead looks much better. It is still blowing from the south-east at around 15-20 knots today, but that breeze will ease dramatically this evening, just in time for the weekend. Saturday offers the pick of the weekend weather, with what looks like 10 knots from generally the south-east or east most of the day. A slight increase to somewhere shy of 15 knots that evening will pave the way for a 15 knot east-south-easterly breeze throughout Sunday. The current chance of showers will ease with the breeze, so the weekend looks fine.

Pick your days during the working week and you could be wetting a line regularly. A fairly light onshore breeze tending a little more north-easterly seems likely Monday through Tuesday, with Tuesday teasing us as a potential glamour day on the bay. Varying conditions will see out the week that could see anything from 15 knots or more from the south-east to a brief spurt of northerly before next weekend.

The moon is waxing and it won’t be long until the tides start building again, as we approach next Thursday’s full moon. Today’s first quarter phase means neap tides for the immediate future though, so expect minimal tidal flow this weekend. There is much to be excited about when looking at the week ahead, tides-wise, so long as you change tact as the week unfolds.

Marlin Fans Ready to Rumble

The weather has kept most larger boats on trailers of late, so there are a lot of marlin fans all geared up and rearing to go this weekend. The light onshore breeze will play into their hands perfectly, opening up the popular grounds of Platypus Bay and off Rooneys Point. Saturday will be absolutely chaotic up Rooneys way, whilst Sunday, with that little extra breeze, might actually offer the better bite conditions.

The lack of run in the tide is likely to be a factor in the level of success enjoyed in coming days. Word getting around is that crews that braved the horrible north-west wind last week caught a few baby blacks for their efforts, but had to really talk many of them into biting. Call it bad tides and a bad barometer if you like, but don’t ignore the fact that those crews were rewarded for making the effort in rubbish conditions. The week ahead will be vastly improved, and so should the bite.

Those of you heading up the bay for your first crack at a billfish should already have a game plan. Ensure you have plans B, C and D at the ready, as word of the fish off Rooneys will draw many hopefuls to that area. Having enjoyed a largely boatless bay for the past fortnight, there is every chance that a few marlin have swum some distance south already. The waters of central and perhaps southern Platypus Bay could produce a few fish, so consider scoping out those waters on your way north (or on your return).

Ensure you put some effort into your teaser set-up if planning to attract marlin from grounds being traversed by other vessels. Set your spread and get your speed right and keep a constant eye out for dipping birds, baitfish taking to the air, and surface commotions indicating the feeding activities of other lesser pelagics. Baby blacks are drawn to the melee created by other species feeding, whilst also prone to take swipes at loosely gathered baitfish or individuals they surprise out in the paddock.

Have suitable spin tackle at the ready, pre-rigged with a suitable soft plastic or other lure you might toss at a free-roaming marlin that doesn’t race into your spread. Have a rigged garfish at the ready if you would rather, or even a live bait swimming in your tank. Should the crowd be exaggerated and the fish a little spooky, it may be these alternative approaches that get you hooked up on the day.

Show due respect to your fellow fishos and steer clear of vessels hooked-up and fighting. Avoid driving through the shallows fringing Fraser and skirt wider whilst peering across the flats for obvious signs of target fish. Spend prime time in prime terrain when the tide goes slack, after scouting likely grounds during the run. The marlin bite can be frenetic over the turn of tide quite often, though it is fair to say, that if the bite was to be an extended one beyond those parameters, then neap tides such as these would qualify.

It seems a given that there will be quite a few marlin caught from within Hervey Bay waters this weekend and next week. Let’s all enjoy this remarkable fishery whilst making the extra effort to minimise the damage done to these future apex predators. Way too many baby blacks fail to survive encounters with fishos due to poor handling practices. If you catch a fish in the shallows, then by all means jump in the drink for the obligatory happy snap. It is a very cool shot that everyone is keen to emulate. 

Catch that billy a little wide of the shallows though; don’t be that fisho that hauls it aboard and roars off to the shallows for a faked-up photo! Skippers, get your crew tuned into best practices and keep your hard-won marlin swimming boatside whilst cameras/phones are readied and hooks removed. Be ever-wary of the noahs arks and minimise time out of the water for each fish you catch. Get the kids in on the action, as these dynamite little blacks will excite them like no other fish and it will be you looking for excuses to take them fishing in the future.

Springtime Options Out on the Bay

Recent weather hasn’t been kind to boaties on the bay, so the fish have had a reprieve from fishing efforts. The reefs along the Gutters and off Rooneys were giving up a mix of reefies prior to recent winds, and to some extend were largely shark-free. It seems unlikely that the sharks will be so kind in the near future, so perhaps a visit to those waters will prove fruitful before they return with a vengeance.

Jigging plastics, slow-pitch jigs and the like can undo a few coral trout and other species quite quickly, so these methods are preferred in the sharky waters we must fish in these days. Such techniques enable a crew to keep on the move and avoid unnecessary carnage when found by the noahs. Discipline is necessary to lessen your impact on these easily-ravaged ecosystems though, so move on after one incidence of shark depredation, not two or three or more.

Hopefully, if you make it to the northern bay, then you avoid the sharks and come home with a mix of reef fish for the table. This weekend, the neaps might suggest the likes of coral trout and grassy sweetlip will lead the charge, whilst later next week, with more run in the tide, the same species may be joined in the esky by tuskies, reds, snapper and nannygai.

There is every chance that the odd cobia will cruise up to visiting boats for a gander, or announce their presence by scoffing a lure or bait sent below for other species. Those that make the effort to secure live baits will increase their chances of cobia encounters, and quite possibly score the best of the trout or reds too (sharks permitting). Don’t be surprised to suffer a few bite-offs, as large school mackerel abound beyond the fringes of the reef systems, whilst spaniards are possible from the reefs themselves this time of year.

Trevally numbers will continue to thin out from northern bay waters, though you will struggle to avoid them altogether if fishing the more dramatic reefs as yet. Whilst the yakka schools remain within Platypus Bay, they will continue to attract snapper and trevally. Your chances of catching snapper get smaller with each passing moon at this time, so make the most of your next trips up that way. The 25 Fathom Hole might still host a couple, and has had no effort of late, so swing by that way and drift a few plastics past the fringes if there seems to be yakkas present.

An Easier feed from Inshore Waters

That same north wind that keeps boaties off the bay, also brings in the summer species, and southern Hervey Bay and the upper straits come alive with an increasing number of fish. Obviously, mackerel lead the charge in this respect, and their numbers have continued to swell.

Reports of significant numbers of schoolies off Gatakers Bay have done the rounds of late. Wind-permitting, it has been a short run to grounds alive with mackerel. They have been found wide of the Eli Creek flats, off Gatakers itself, west of Gatakers Bay and off Point Vernon. Trollers have pounded through less-than-ideal seas for a feed, and will likely do so again soon in much better conditions.

The Burrum 8 Mile has been the standout for sheer numbers at times recently. Schoolies have been the main catch, but the odd trevally has also been hooked, along with an occasional spaniard. Sharks have given everyone a hiding some days, and it seems likely that they will continue to do so. These neap tides may not trigger the best bite, but before mid-week there will be sufficient run to get the mackerel on the move. The Fairway, the NU2 and other grounds across the banks are all likely to host schools of school mackerel this week (so long as there are baitfish gathered of course).

The good old Bait Grounds continues to keep mackerel fans busy. The abundance of pike and herring gathered there of late has attracted not only schoolies, but broadies and goldies too. So, if you are so inclined, do the reef fishos a favour and go thin out the mackerel so they can catch their live baits in peace. And for the reef fishos heading for the Bait Grounds; ensure you have plenty of spare jigs.

Regular readers that paid attention to my fishing reports of past years should have already enjoyed a degree of success from our shallow reefs. The art of trolling for coral trout and the like has become very popular and such increased effort in recent years has had a toll. So too, spearfishing, which can be outright devastating to our shallow reef inhabitants, so the dirty waters created by persistent northerly winds of late have been a blessing for fishos.

An influx of grassy sweetlip has joined the coral trout, the blackall, the cod and other reefies on our shallow reef systems and offers bait fishos a better than even chance of a feed at this time. The quality of the sweeties peaks over late spring, prior to the arrival of summer when it is only those willing to fish pre-dawn or after dark that get to mix it with the better quality fish from the shallows.

Local trout trollers have a few favourite lures that have produced the goods over the years, and yours truly was instrumental in securing constant wall space for legendary trout slayers used 20+ years ago that still warrant spots on our ever-evolving lure walls to this day. It takes a bit to impress me in these stakes nowadays, but a recent addition to our range has done just that. 

Suss out the picture hereabouts of the Barambah Deton8tor lures from renowned Aussie lure-maker Matt Fraser. These lures are built incredibly tough, sporting through-body wire and strong BKK hooks and rings (no hardware upgrades required). Their original design might have been aimed at our freshwater natives, but how many of our other top gun trout trolling lures originated from similar intent. Jack fishos, barra fishos and of course those chasing inland natives will all benefit from a few Deton8tors in their boxes, but I believe it is those trolling for coral trout that will be back for more on a regular basis.

The unique tight-swimming action of the Deton8tor and its stout profile are perfectly matched to trout trolling scenarios where you want a lure to crash dive then swim straight at reasonable speed. Check out the stomach contents of your next few coral trout or just view any underwater footage and you might admire the similarities in profile between the trout’s fodder (small demersals and other baitfish) and these ripper new lures. 

The Barambah Deton8tor is bound to slay the coral trout this trolling season, not to mention the big river predators.

Our deeper inshore reefs were starting to become shark-infested prior to the recent blows, so be prepared to bounce from spot to spot the next time you fish them. Hopefully the abundance of mackerel draws the sharks’ attention away from the reefies for a while, but that may be wishful thinking. Trout and cod are becoming more active, whilst sweetlip numbers continue to grow. There may be a few snapper lingering inshore, and if you find one, then there is every chance any such fish is a male; too spent to follow the schools back out of the bay.

Spend some time jigging around inshore shipwrecks and you might encounter a school of golden trevally. Don’t get too attached to your jigs or softies though, as the mackerel are a real issue on some sites. Large queenfish have been turning up randomly all over the southern bay of late. You might need to try deep ledges to find them over the neaps, but once the tides get a wriggle on, the usual flats and bay island fringes will be worth a look. 

Warming Waters Excite Our Estuarine Predators

Every year is different on our rivers and in our creeks. Some spring seasons you might be sick of catching threadies and focus on barra and jacks by now, but this has not been one of those seasons. Perhaps we are still feeling the effects of the unseasonal August rains, but our local rivers have not produced the numbers of fish so far that they normally might.

Yes, the mangrove jacks have started to bite more regularly, yet we are told that many schools of barra have been harder to tempt. The apparent lack of numbers of the latter is a common theme of occasional discussions with some river regulars, but it is hard to know if they are sussing out the right waters. Better tides and more stable weather following on from the first real storms of the season should see barra, jacks and threadies more active and much easier to tempt in the future.

The lower reaches of the Mary and the Susan have been the most productive waters in those systems of late, but as the spring wears on, a lot of fishos will scout around further and further upstream. Right now, they might find a few threadies and plenty of blue salmon, but it seems that the large schools of threadfin are hard to track down. Luckily for us these days, we have side-scanners and soft vibes so it is only a matter of time (and miles) before you are hovering above a school of likely candidates.

The Burrum system offers easier fishing at present. Barra and jacks are becoming easier to tempt and there are some fine specimens spread throughout the system. Once again, unless you are there all the time, you will need to do some miles to find the best waters and the fish. The mid reaches offer such a plethora of prime habitat that you will be spoilt for choice. Settle for prime jack spots or keep scanning in search of barra and salmon? Your choice, and if you get lucky, then you might catch all three from the one site.

There will be plenty of bream and flathead caught from the Burrum system this week, and perhaps just as many from the lower Mary. The straits, and Fraser’s western flats and creeks, offer even better options for flathead fans though, so if they are your main focus, then get over there and into them. The bigger tides early next week will be most conducive. Whiting fans will be planning trips closer to the full moon.

Grunter numbers should continue to improve as our waters warm, particularly down the straits. As always, hopping small prawn imitation plastics is the best way to find them, and once you do so, you can experiment a little if you wish. Try the creeks on the bigger tides and look for grunter along deeper ledges and feeder channels over the neaps.

Red Hot Fishing on Fraser Island

This tailor season has certainly been one to remember. It kicked off early and has shown no sign of slowing as yet. In fact, from what we have heard this week, the tailor are just getting bigger and are just as thick as ever. 60cm tailor are commonplace and greenbacks bettering the 70cm mark have been caught here and there. 

The weather wasn’t very kind to those attempting to fish the headlands immediately after the season opened, but plenty have made the most of breaks in the wind since. Indian Head was a hotspot this week just gone. The swell was still up a bit, but the extra whitewater just made for happy hunting grounds for the tailor. Many persisted with bait fishing tactics, whilst more active fishos tossed stickbaits, metals and super-shallow diving minnows into the sudsy stuff. Many retrieves were intercepted regularly and at times it has been a fish-a-cast.

The central sector of the surf beach remains most popular, yet it seems you can pull tailor from just about any decent gutter up and down the island. Some of the best fishing - producing some of the largest greenbacks - has been after dark, though many folks simply haven’t bothered with the nocturnal efforts – the daytime fishery has just been that good! Giant trevally of all sizes have been cruising many gutters, and reports of monumental runs, bite-offs and the odd capture confirm the ongoing presence of a few spaniards.

Chances are that jewfish fans will be out and about under a rising moon this week. They might find the tailor hard to avoid at times by the sound of things. The whole island is so alive right now, that time spent seeking out tailor-free waters has been fruitful. Whilst many of the dart are feeding with the tailor, picking up the scraps, there have been quality fish caught from relatively unformed gutters. Last word of whiting was from the southern stretches of beach, so that might be where some folks focus their efforts this full moon.

Whiting Rebound in Northerly Wash

The north wind last week triggered an ongoing bite from the whiting along our north-facing town beaches. There was even a rebound in catches from the Urangan Pier shallows. Neap tides and less stirring winds right now are likely to see catch rates decline for a few days, but you can expect a resurgence closer to the full moon. Get the topwater lures out in the meantime if you wish, as even when they aren’t ‘biting’ whiting can be excited by what they perceive to be a cheeky shrimp or yabbie fleeing above their heads. The flatter beaches are the go for these activities.

The waters out at the deep end of the Urangan Pier continue to fish reasonably well for pelagics. It has been primarily broadies attracted to the herring schools this past week. Some of the broadies getting around this season have been of impressive size too, as you may have noticed from recent photos doing the rounds. Flathead numbers have tapered off, for now, which could be indicative of their dislike of windy weather, or a sign of their general demise in that area.

Those willing to get their feet muddy and wander our local creeks might benefit from recent storm activity. Flathead that retreated from the flats will return whilst barra and jacks move with the baitfish and changing water conditions. Pack a few lures and head upstream whilst the tides have little impact and the low tides aren’t too draining. Such tight water fishing can be a real challenge, but some surprisingly large predators hunt in seriously skinny water in these parts.

Mondy Barra Shocked by the Crowds

There were some fine barra caught at Lake Monduran over the long weekend just gone, but by a large margin, more hopefuls came home empty-handed than scored. The weather was mint, with a northerly wind teetering from north-west to north-east, and plenty of sunshine and warmth - yet the bite was a very tough one for so many folks. Just the same as last year, the traffic was so out of control and constant that the barra just went into shock.

Once again, a great bite turned sour as boat traffic and the constant pinging of high-tech sounders made the barra uncomfortable enough to resist biting consistently. Having spent literally thousands of hours on this lake (and others) I have seen this scenario unfold more times than I wish to recall. Whether it was the halcyon days of Awoonga pre the big spill (and pre-high-tech) or the modern day Mondy, big barra are not fans of excess boat traffic at this time of year.

These fish seek sustenance and comfortable waters in which to feed at this time, yet they are highly mobile. They are increasingly easily spooked and learn to ignore anything slightly suss when it comes to considering what food they might inhale. Hence, the suggestion last week that you should not rely on the popular lures only and have a very broad arsenal of offerings for fussy barra. Offer them something that doesn’t put out the same vibrations as those that they have ‘heard’ so many times and often been stung by. Expect more of the same issues with what seem like lock-jawed barra in coming weeks.

The recent storms kick-started out annual storm season. Should the barra sense significant impending rains or a major wet weather event then they can throw caution to the wind and ignore their usual springtime feeding habits in favour of a mad dash for the dam wall. Spawning and gorging to increase energy levels become their priority. The former being met with frustration as they realise their exit is blocked, so gorging it is. Such events often occur November or December and typically trigger a trolling frenzy in the main basin and lower reaches of the lake. There is already a stack of fish in that zone, but they may have been outnumbered by boats just recently it seems.

You might have been there and witnessed it first hand, whilst regulars such as yours truly and many mates stepped back and avoided what proved to be utter chaos and inadequacy at the boat ramps. Stories abound of lengthy delays for launch and retrieval day and night, and the lack of parking seeing some poor folks almost needing an Uber to get back to the car or the ramp. Some simply packed up and came home in disgust, whilst others changed their plans when they arrived and moved on to Awoonga. Unfortunately for many, their most recent Mondy experience was not a good one. 

Last weekend’s craziness was triggered by a long weekend combining with northerly winds. This weekend is the precursor to the full moon which typically draws a crowd in its own right at this time of year, so the scenes of last weekend may yet be repeated once again. The weather isn’t nearly as appealing, being much cooler, with lighter winds from the east, but it is still okay. The question of whether the weather or the moon is more influential for a good barra bite has been answered undeniably over past years – and it is about to be answered once again.

Good luck out there y’all …… Jase

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