Plenty of action in the Noosa River

Craig Mullet with a couple of nice mackerel.

By Jack Mangrove

The Noosa River has again been the savior of many anglers as the wind continues to blow from the south.
The cool mornings have really brought the surface action on with reports flowing in of trevally, tailor and even queenfish getting caught on surface lures around the Woods Bay area of the River.
Small bait fish have been the main target for these feisty surface feeders, which is why lures around the 5-7cm range have ben ideal.
Another fish that has been responding well to a surface lure skipped across the surface has been whiting. The whiting have been pushing up into the shallows on the run in tide, which makes them easy targets with long casts in the shallows.
The Frying Pan has been a popular place to try this type of fishing, with the shallow water and plenty of yabby holes making for perfect whiting territory.
Elsewhere in the river, big bream have started moving through the system, with the rock bar outside Tewantin Boat Harbour holding some good-sized specimens.
Noosa’s night fishing has also been excellent, especially on the last of the run out tide.
Slowly working a prawn profile soft plastic around the Ski Run stretch has been particularly good on the flathead and trevally, with the added bonus of small jewfish thrown into the mix.
On the offshore scene, mackerel are still making their presence known, with the closer reefs such as Jew Sholes and Sunshine Reef holding fish.
The best tactics so far have been floating a pilchard on a set of gangs rigged with a small skirt for a bit of added attraction, along with trolling deep diving lures and varying speed.
In Laguna Bay, plenty of tuna continue to be caught with both Mack and long tail on offer, casting slugs on a medium to fast retrieve has been the most popular way of tangling with one.
With the weather permitting, Sunshine Reef has again given up some nice fish with coral trout, sweetlip, tuskies, and snapper all boated.
On the beaches, Sunshine and Marcus beaches have been really firing with jewfish, dart and large winter bream all on the menu. With the onset of the cooler weather and some nice gutters and holes starting to appear we should see a lot more of this activity.
Tailor has been caught up toward Teewah but are a little sporadic as the schools are only just starting to move up the coast. As we move more into the cooler months we should see some good school heading north.
So on behalf of Jack Mangrove, best of luck on your fishing adventures!