Well, we certainly got smashed! As a result, the rivers saw record levels of flood water and sediment.
For the Noosa River, and many more, this means a lot of displaced fish and larger congregations of baitfish. For the angler, this means you could find larger schools of fish which should be very hungry.
Offshore has been on hold for many due to heavy swell hitting the bar. We did see a mid-week lull and bigger boats punched out to North Reef for a good number of reef fish. As expected, the dirty water has reached out far and wide making for great reef fishing with cobia, pearlies and snapper on the chew for the bait anglers. Popular baits are squid, pilchards and mullet strip. The pelagics will require some finding so try trolling some lures while you are underway, especially if conditions are a bit rough. Higher speed lures like the Nomad DTX range let you cover ground quicker giving you the chance of finding a big mackerel or even a wahoo.
Surf fishing has seen a lot of debris washing up along the coast line including a huge section of pontoon down the coast. If swimming or surfing, please take care as there is going to be a lot of debris floating around. For anglers the chance of jewfish remains strong, especially now we have had the moon a few days ago. Daytime fishing should hold good numbers of whiting which often feed hard after a heavy rain.
The river has been quiet, but it pays to try multiple spots in the lower estuary during the incoming tides. You will notice a delay in the posted high tide times due to the backlog of freshwater in the system which could see a delay in the tide turn by several hours. This cleaner water will see fish feeding and boat anglers should try and fish the dirty water line as fish will follow and feed in this line. The river mouth, dog beach and the current line are several spots you can try.
Bait anglers will want to use pilchards, squid and mullet and even mullet gut. These baits have high oil content or simply smell great to a fish. You will need to keep baits in an area for longer if fishing hard on the bottom as the scent trail will need to be picked up by your target fish. To help things along a little, pick up some pre-mix burley and some tuna oil. Making small balls and adding these to your fishing area can turn a slow bite into nonstop action.
As we come out of the new moon phase, evening anglers will find areas where the possibility of landing a mangrove jack exists. Jacks are apex predators and love to ambush their prey so think about areas where they are likely to hang out. During tide turns they will break cover and can be caught out in the open. A word of warning though as jacks know where home is and will always charge back there once hooked. Make sure you are running 40lb or more leader and, if lure angling, look at Samaki and Zerek soft vibes and big paddle tail plastics.
Roads heading to Borumba are underwater and Lake MacDonald is closed to all on water activities. Be sure you check on SEQ water website for details on locations you intend to travel to for up-to-date information.
Now for all the latest information log onto fishingnoosa.com.au for up-to-date bar and fishing reports, don’t forget to drop into Tackle World Noosa, Noosa Boating and Outdoors and Northshore Bait & Tackle in Marcoola for all the right equipment, bait and advice to get you catching. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and remember Tight Lines and Bent Spines!
