Fisho's you may have noticed things have changed with our fishing report! Starting today we'll be sharing our report on Friday mornings rather than Thursday arvo so you can start your weekend with the most accurate info.

Jamie with the class of greenback you can catch on Fraser this time of year.

Looking Good for the Lead Up to the Full Moon

What a great week we’ve enjoyed here on the Fraser Coast. The weather just got better and better as the week wore on, and the Mighty Maroons embarrassed the try-hard blues once again. Great work boys – what a game! 

Why is it that the weather is so often so good and the tides just right on State of Origin night? Ah well, you can make up for lost opportunity over the next couple of nights if you wish, as the scene is set for some great fishing just before the full moon. If you got out today, then you are in for a treat. Light winds early, with barely a 10-knot southeasterly sea breeze this evening under a waxing moon.

Saturday is looking great too. Around 10 knots of southeasterly early tending easterly through the day will give boaties the chance to head far and wide. The cloud cover will start to build Sunday and the breeze will pick up a little, with up to 15 knots from the east seeming likely. No filthy southwesters to stuff things up this weekend!

Unfortunately, that is where the best of the weather breaks for a couple of days. Increasing onshore winds will drag light showers onto our coastline and into the hinterland. We could see up to 20 knots or more from the east or southeast Monday into Tuesday. Mid-week could improve, with a good chance of light winds preceding another major change by next weekend.

The moon is waxing and will complete this cycle over the night of the full moon on Sunday. Great tides indeed, for so many species, as the “making” tide heights and increasing tidal flow bring enhanced feeding opportunities for forage species and predators alike.

Still plenty of mixed tuna species throughout our bays waters. Nathan with a nice longtail he tempted with a stickbait.

Fraser Island is Picture Perfect at Present

There was no place better to be than over on beautiful Fraser Island this week. The weather, the ever-clearing waters, the ideal beach conditions and plenty of hungry fish provided great times and cherished memories for those lucky enough to be wandering its sandy shores.

On the fishing front, there was many highlights this week – and no reason for any of these surf fisheries to slow down prior to the full moon. Whiting have been willing and eager to pounce on worm or pippy baits flicked into the many low tide gutters scattered along the eastern beach. They have been mobile, shifting gutters overnight at times, and have been found along the southern stretch of beach as well as to the north.

The whiting will hit their peak over the moon and taper off as the tides do. Until then, enjoy this great fishery on your lightest tackle and those big elbow-slappers we all-too-rarely find here on the mainland will soon have your rod bent over double. 

You might score a little bycatch in the form of dart and the odd flathead too, and if your chosen gutter has any rocky content, then tarwhine or even bream are possible. In fact, some very solid tarwhine have been scoffing pippy baits in the gutters throughout the central sector and up around the fringes of the headlands this week. 

Jamie Lineburg with a couple of quality tarwhine from rocky outcrops on Frasers surf beach.

Ben Lineburg with a beautiful wrasse from one of Frasers headlands. Just one example of the spectacular bi-catch possible whilst fishing the rocks.

 

Depending upon your location and how lucky you are on the day, you might even encounter the odd serious predator as one local did this week. A case of high-speed predation was witnessed when a dart was snatched and headed for the horizon at blistering speed. Spaniard perhaps? No-one will ever know as that event ended abruptly - but with so many spaniards cruising south at present one might hazard a guess as to the culprit.

Many keen surf fishos will be happy to hear of the great little run of tailor over on Fraser at present. Quality fish, which will dwarf many of their smaller brethren that will arrive en-masse in coming months, have been found along the central stretch of beach, as well as up north of the headlands. Some of these fish have been true greenbacks too, that certainly pulled the stretch out of some guys’ lines, and are worthy of bragging rights for this time of year.

It might be fair to say that Fraser’s surf beach rarely looks more glorious than it does at this time. If you get the chance, then get over there quick-smart. Beach traveling conditions are great, with a wide beach and very few high tide gutters. Many of the rocky outcrops can be traversed, with only minimal rock exposure in some cases. There is a low tide gutter restricting access around Poyungan Rocks, so everyone is pretty much using the alternative track for now.

The whole eastern shoreline is weed-free right now and you are spoiled for choice gutters-wise. There are a couple of decent high tide gutters down the southern end and they are producing fish at times. The island abounds with low tide gutters and many have a decent depth to them too. Basically, the more you travel, the more you will find.

There is ample pippies to be found along the whole beach at present. The worming is also great right now, according to the pro wormers that supply our store with the spoils of their labour. Remember that bag limits apply to bait species as well as fish, so gather what you can use fresh and alive only and just give yourself time to gather more at the start of each fishing session.

Fraser's rocky outcrops deserve respect by 4WDers. Inland tracks can always be used when in doubt.

 

Urangan Pier is Fishing Well Again

The annual bream run is ramping up and the Urangan Pier is a great platform for landlubbers to target them in earnest. The approaching full moon offers prime tides and the windless evenings are quite pleasant if you rug up, so why not give them a serious crack. Its rather easy really - whether you prefer to target them on lures or if bait is more your thing.

One thing you will need is a good back (or physio), as you will find yourself hunched over the pier’s rails more often than not whilst presenting your baits or lures to the bream beneath your feet. Get out there during the day and you can catch plenty of herring, which are very abundant right now. Evening sessions will mean resorting to alternative baits such as mullet fillet or gut, or utilising those same herring you caught prior to sundown.

On the lure front, many pier regulars and a few visitors favour the deadly little Cranka Crabs. These well-proven lures are best fished with a “do nothing” or “dead sticking” style adjacent to the pier’s pylons. Presenting the crabs at the right angle to avoid snagging is easily learnt by simply watching the flow of water beneath. Do so when the tide slackens for best results and don’t give these big pier bream too much string or your lure will just be more “jewellery” for them or another adornment of the pylons. 

Many plastics and micro blade-styles lures work well on pier bream, and of course other bream elsewhere. You will need to avoid the pike of course, and this can be quite tricky at times, so be willing to keep mobile. Of course, pike make fine strip baits for bream if you wish, but they are even better as live baits for flathead or other large predators such as jewfish, goldies or queenfish.

So far this week, the main pelagic action has been from passing schools of tuna. Longtails have occasionally come within casting range, but it is the frequency of the visits by schools of mack tuna that has been exciting the kids. Flicking live herring in front of marauding packs of tuna is exciting enough and certainly effective, though many will opt for their favoured spoon or metal slug and crank or jig them in front of the highly mobile tuna.

Occasionally the tuna make raids on the first channel waters or up on the sandbank when the tide is high, but it is mostly flathead being sought from those shallows. Live pike are still the gun bait for flathead fishos, however, herring will suffice. Evening sessions with the kids can pick up quality bream in the first channel when the tide is in, particularly under the glow of a full moon. The long 900m+ walk out to the deep end is worth the effort to improve the odds though.

A selection of some of the most productive crustacean and curly tail baits for targeting bream this winter. Don't forget to jazz up your offering with a dab of scent.

 

Full Moon Means More Action for Landlubbers

If you prefer sand between your toes, then you can wander our local beaches looking for whiting over the full moon period. It is likely to be quite hit and miss in town proper, but if you head for the fringes and try the beaches stretching west from town, you should score a feed. Avoid any weedy areas though, as some are saying there is a degree of snotty weed suspended in the waters out from some creeks. Seems odd for this time of year, but we can just add that to the ever-growing list of weird things that are happening in our waters these days.

Bream are increasingly plentiful and can be found at the river mouths and around the fringes of the local rocks. The Urangan Harbour walls might be worth a try, but smaller tides would make that task much easier. If you plan to wander our rocky foreshores or manmade structures, then ensure your carry some appropriate squid jigs. The chances of you picking up a feed of tiger squid right now is vastly better than those that are failing to do so in boats around the usual haunts.

Spinning slugs or spoons from the Pt Vernon foreshores could be productive this week. There has been plenty of school mackerel not far offshore of late and passing schools of sizeable tailor have also been spotted. Add the chance of queenfish and small GTs and you have every reason to carry a selection of stickbaits and poppers with you as well.

Flathead are another great shore-based target at present, and they can be found in many areas. Creek and river mouths are quite obvious and at their best during the later stages of the ebb tide or early flood. Hopping the right plastics, or better still, twitching a super-shallow-swimming hardbody such as a Daiwa Double Clutch over or around the fringes of the rocky shores can pick up some real stonkers too.

Tailor have frequented the mouth of the Burrum River this week. The average size of the tailor has been very good too, offering good sport and a fresh feed for tailor fans in the area. Indeed, a session fishing the Burrum Heads foreshores could see you pick up anything from tailor and queenies to bream, grunter, whiting, pike and flathead. Fun for the kids at the very least, and a worthy consideration for nocturnal fishos unperturbed by the chill.

King Fisher is fishing well again, Luke with a typical sized school mackerel.

Queenfish action aplenty for Nathan. Ample opportunity to catch similar fish incoming weeks.

Winter Whiting Fishery Continues to Improve

A bag limit of winter whiting is getting easier by the week. Our waters have now cooled to around 19C and the whiting schools are turning up at all the usual early-season places. Launching from Gatakers Bay is most popular, giving easy access to nearby grounds off Toogoom, O’Reagans Creek and Pt Vernon. The quality of the whiting varies and this can often be relative to immediate pressure on a given area. 

Widen your horizons and wander off to scope out unfished waters in the vicinity and you may well trip over the motherlode. As seems to happen in these parts, your freshly-found patch will soon become very popular if the glints of your shiny whiting are noticed by those in the distance. Drifting to find winteries is the go, then if you are confident you are on a patch, then sneak the anchor over and fish on.

The waters just off Woodgate Beach are also producing a feed of winteries. Excellent size was reported a fortnight ago, yet some have lamented the lack of quality since. Again, the better fish will be there somewhere – you just have to find them - and that task is made substantially easier if you deploy the bait-spiced 3x2 bait jigs we have mentioned in recent reports.

Word from down the straits is similar this week. Patches of better whiting amongst many schools of very small fish. Taking small squid jigs is a definite suggestion if heading that way though, as quite large pencil squid have been fairly common in some areas. In fact, all winter whiting fishos should always carry squid jigs. Tiger squid also occasionally turn up unannounced and are easily tempted if they do. 

There has been a lot of school mackerel out from Gatakers Bay this week, so this suggests that whiting fishos could vary their diet quite easily. Pin a live whiting to a set of gangs whilst you fish if you wish (so long as you are outside the yellow zone), or do the same thing with a pilly drifted out the back. Go for a troll instead and your chances are enhanced even further, and with schools of mack tuna also frequenting those waters, the kids could have a ball spinning slugs as well.

Great fun for the groms. Plenty of schoolies inshore, easily trolled or spun up on spoons. Take care to released undersized fish unharmed.

A sad sight - all too frequent these days. Hopefully the cooler weather will slow the tax man down soon.

Sharks are still an issue. Claiming another victim this poor spanish mackerel.

 

Time to Hit the Flats or Wander the Straits

Cooler and very clear inshore waters has the local flats fishos quite excited. Golden trevally, queenfish and GTs are quite possible up on the sandflats fringing the western side of Fraser, whilst even permit are not out of the question and bycatch of tuna, flathead and bream can add variety to your day. 

The shallow verges of the bay islands have been largely lifeless in many areas through the week, but could well come to life with queenies, broadies and bream as the moon nears and passes. The tiger squid so eagerly pursued these days by so many are certainly conspicuous by their absence, and quite frankly, of some concern.

Broad-barred mackerel are reasonably common in the southern bay right now and can be found right up on the flats, as well as out in deeper water around reefs hosting schools of herring. Their range extends well down the straits and they even venture into some deeper creeks. You are even more likely to find blue salmon in numbers down that way and they would pull the skin off a broadie pound for pound.

Taking advantage of the big draining ebb tides over the full moon period could see you connected to all manner of estuary predators down the straits. Grunter are the main target for many, though threadfin salmon are still very viable, albeit wary, in the clearer waters. Flathead are increasingly common now and such fun when sight-fished in clear waters.

You could opt for a finesse-only outing and satiate your urge to tangle with Mr Bream on the flats. The fringing mangrove-lined shores not far from River Heads offer a fantastic high-tide bream fishery and the rocky verges nearer the heads offer fish-a-cast bream angling when they are on. The time is nigh, or is it now? You will need to go and find out.

Anyone fishing Kingfisher Bay Resort’s jetty this week might be in for a treat. There has been schools of quality whiting making their way along the beach and flats of late, and a few ripper flatties lurking near the jetty. Bream are a serious option heading into winter and jewies are also possible. A few small schoolies turned up recently, and tuna schools have come within range plenty of times.

Broadies are a great target inshore. Typically quite large for their species in our waters.

Another quality broadie, victim to a metal slug retrieved at high speed.

Change of the Guard in Our Rivers

Barra fishos can be spotted from a mile away this time of year. Their furrowed brows and fidgety movements a dead giveaway of their frustrations. Barra are still possible of course, often from downsized lures and much persistence, but it is the winter-time predators that have taken centre stage.

Those well-versed in threadfin salmon hunting tactics will find threadies of various sizes throughout the Mary system. Hordes of small sub-metre fish can fill a sounder screen and soon see every soft vibe thumped when in the mood, then turn their noses up at the flick of a switch and ignore your every offering. Make the most of June people as they get much tougher to tempt in July.

Proper stonker threadies in the 120cm+ class are still very viable this time of year. Tracking them down is apparently much easier nowadays for those fans of social media that put two and two together whilst viewing recent brag shots. The road to success is getting shorter and shorter these days, and with the significant electronic device advantages that we have at our disposal, anyone can put themselves in the frame.

Many will recall DVDs / videos produced locally years ago that saw a local guide and his TV presenter mates trolling up large threadies and barra in the Mary. That was this time of year folks, and the very same tactics work even better now, with better sounders and vastly better lures for the job. Give it a crack – your chances of tangling with true river monsters are good.

Of course, many would rather the more seasonally-appropriate approach and will head out chasing jewfish over the full moon. There have been jewies caught from the River Heads precinct this week and there will be more to come. Those that choose to fish land-based will have the vagaries of tide and potential competition to contend with, whilst boaties will better their chances with live baits or a range of lures.

Jewies are best targeted over the slack tide period. Live baiters can expect success at other times, but lure fishos will struggle to get their lures to the structure-hugging jewies without incurring some losses. Soft vibes are the number one jewie-producer for some of us, with large prawn imitations a close second. 

Trollers need to tie on their deeper divers and swim them slowly past the right locations. Bycatch can be frustrating. Thankfully the cod are getting slower the cooler our waters get, but the mackerel and blues can create downtime at primetime, when least you need it. Fraser’s western ledges offer prime trolling runs for jewies, as does the lower reaches of the Mary.

We do actually get black jewfish (northern jew) in our waters too by the way, contrary to much opinion. They are certainly not common (rare even), but they do exist and occasionally swim in tandem with mulloway jew. The differences are very obvious when you catch one. They are still open to take at present, but will again be withdrawn from permissible catches when the commercial quota is again achieved.

If the Burrum River appeals more, then you can take the light gear and score a feed of summer whiting up the river. The sandbanks and shallow channels adjacent to the mouths of the other feeder rivers would be a good starting point. Otherwise, the Burrum is now home to a better class of grunter. The same terrain that draws the whiting will have grunter passing by nearby after dark. Drift the gravelly runs hopping small plastics if you prefer.

Tailor will find you in the lower reaches if you throw lures at any surface commotion, or you can troll lures for them if that is your thing. Avoiding them will be a challenge in some spots. The jacks are now lethargic at best, and virtually a bait-only option on the cooler days. Burrum barra can be found with a little searching, but tempting them is the usual wintertime challenge. If you are up to it, then go for it!

Queenies are a consistent feature of our inshore fishery. At their best over the bigger tides. Nice fish Brock.

Snapper Schools Enter the Bay

Without a doubt, the main target species for reef fishos in the bay this week will be snapper. The good news for us is that the schools of female fish (and their male companions) have finally arrived. Still only relatively small numbers mind you, but certainly a vast improvement on recent weeks. So, if you tried to catch a snapper and failed recently, (like the vast majority), then you can try again now with more confidence.

Some lucky fishos got to enjoy the glamour weather this week and found snapper at various sites inshore. We say “found” as more were found than “caught”. All the same, some ripper knobbies made it all the way to the boat, and the sharks weren’t an issue everywhere. Unsurprisingly, these fish have been quite mobile and seemingly spook very easily, so keep that in mind while you sound them out and hop your jigs or plastics past their whereabouts.

Many inshore reefs will host snapper or receive a passing glance as these fish actively hunt their prey. Seek out the bait schools that will trigger the snapper to feed and drive away from fish holding station elsewhere that refuse to feed. Resort to baits if you wish and they will be tempted if your presentation is up to scratch.

Bust out the scents and cheat a little if you want to test the theory that scented lures work better. Many believe, and many apply their favourite scents religiously. Some of us don’t, yet are probably missing out. After all, how many of us are GULP fans and call on these well-proven “baits” to tempt the otherwise untemptable fish?! 

If you can get out there before the weather goes pear-shaped, then look for snapper around the inshore artificial reefs and ledges. The Burrum 8 Mile is due for an evening bite, and the Outer Banks area, the Roy Rufus and Moon have all given up snapper this week.

Heading wide is a wise move, bypassing sites such as the 25 Fathom Hole and Wathumba reefs until the yakkas turn up en-masse. If you can avoid the noahs out there, and some have recently, then proper knobbies are a chance at dawn dusk or into the evening. Squire will accept virtually any bait or well-presented lure along the sandy fringes of the wider reefs and make for even better eating than their bigger brethren.

Great Snapper young fella. Expect more knobbies like this one of Will's over this moon.

Bree with one of the reds she managed to get past the men in grey suits. Great fish Bree.

A Bit Too Rough Offshore this Week

If you made it offshore in recent days then lucky you. The week ahead doesn’t look good at all. Unless you are heading out today and can handle 15 knots or more from the east on Saturday, then you will have to stay this side of the bar and maybe venture up to the northern bay. Luckily, the full moon tides are very conducive to a good bite in the bay, so you still have options aplenty.

Recent captures from the Gutters included coral trout, the odd red emperor, squire, spanish mackerel, cobia and your usual lesser reefies. The trevally hordes are still yet to arrive, which is indicative of the state of play bait-wise out there. You are still going to struggle to avoid the noahs at many sites up that way, so take plenty of fuel and keep on the move if necessary.

Oh, and just by the way – a customer asked us to clarify whether or not you are permitted to anchor in the vicinity of a FAD offshore. Nothing popped up online so a quick call to a Fisheries Officer prompted the response that there was no such ruling. Given that our customer was abused by a charter boat, maybe it was just sour grapes? If anyone knows of any such rule, kindly inform us and we will pass the word on.

Two of the most sort after demersal species on our reefs, nice fish Dylan.

If you want your trout to stand out, contrasting colours in the back ground work well. Nice fish Joep, well done Hot Reels.

Get out and get your spanish before they move on, the season is coming to a close. Another example of contrasting colours enhancing the image.

Great News for Daiwa Fans

Many of us love our Daiwa reels and are keeping up with their latest technological enhancements and gung-ho reels. We can now happily announce that we have engaged the services of a professional reel repairer and servicer duly authorised by Daiwa to attend to their whole range of reels. 

As accomplished as our recent reel repairer was, he could not repair or service many modern Daiwa reels such as the new breed of MQ (Monocoque) models, due to specialist tooling only being available to Daiwa. This created a lengthier downtime for many of us whilst we waited on the return of reels from Sydney. We can now offer a much faster turnaround time of no more than three weeks (and often less), and can again confidently put these marvellous machines in your hands knowing that we are doing you a favour.

And, at the risk of being accused of shameless plugs, we have finally renewed our stocks of the fantastic Daiwa Insulated Fish Bags. Many of you have them, and no-one has anything but good things to say about them. The perfect alternative to cumbersome and often unnecessary eskies aboard your boat, that seal perfectly and retain your prized fish at chilly temperatures for the trip home or overnight.

Take it from someone with a history of working on local charter boats, that these bags are the ducks nuts for fishing charter clients. Leave it in the car, or leave it folded and stow onboard if the vessel is big enough, and the crew can transfer your fish straight to the bag with some ice once processed at the end of the trip. No more plastic bags full of smelly fish warming in your car for the ride home.

And, seeing as we’ve gone this far with the plugs this week, suss out our fantastic range of Daiwa Infeet rods, light-weight finesse reels and ever-increasing range of cranks, chubbies, topwater lures and creature baits instore now. We’ve got absolutely everything you will need for your bream fishing adventures all under the one roof. Purpose-specific or all-round, we’ve got the lot!

Good luck out there y’all …… Jase

Not only are these bags perfect for chilling your fish, they are so well insulated they might even double as a life saving device for a pint-sized fisho on a chilly night.