By Davo's Tackle World Fishing Report
What a wet and blustery Easter! The coast sure copped a drenching with huge falls from sustained downpours throughout the Easter break.
Although wet we didn’t see any flash flooding the rivers swelled and become very dirty. This weather put a much needed break in the offshore fishing which will see the reef fishing come really good with a drop in swell and winds predicted. All too often after a prolonged rain event the fishing can be epic and with a drop in temps the fish will be feeding hard, especially on the lead up to the new moon.
Offshore the inshore reefs will be dirty but live baits on run out tides should be dynamite on trout and big lipper. Snapper will also be featuring as the water temps start to drop and the amount of bait getting pushed out into the bay will see the tuna not far away. Noosa is known as a good prawn river so you can expect prawn profile soft plastics to work very well. Some great options include the Chasebaits flick prawn, Storm shrimp and Zerek ultimate shrimp. Don’t think these are just an estuary plastic so put a big jighead through these and send them down deep and hang on!
Another overlooked lure style are soft vibes. The Nomad Vertrex has become popular and with BKK treble hooks as standard this is ready to fish out of the box. If you are after a Spanish mackerel try to find the dirty water line/tide change line. All too often anglers will burn through this but it can be a great place to find feeding pelagics. This line often holds bait fish and a temperature break which many fish enjoy. You will also see a current line around this area so watch sounders and see the breaks in temperature and get some big lures and dead baits down deep and work these lines if struggling to find a feed.
Surf fishing is often over looked when conditions blow hard and the swell is up. This is however a great time to fish as reefs become exposed and new gutters are formed. Larger predatory fish can feed in the daytime as the turbulent water offers camouflage. Using fresh oily baits is a must, so big slimy mackerel, mullet strip and pilchards are the go on snelled rigs and bait thread to keep baits in place during rougher conditions. We have a wide range of surf casting rods from light surf to rock and heavy big fish surf fishing. If getting started then the Penn Spinfisher is a great starter reel that is built to resist sand and salt.
The Noosa River is now pumping and it’s brown! Much like last week’s report you are best to fish close to and even around the river mouth. You will also notice that the high tide or incoming tide may not happen even many hours after the posted time. With the river so full of fresh water the pressure of this is stronger than that of the tide so don’t think the times are wrong. If this is the case you may want to try and fish around the Noosa Sound, Woods Bay and the Frying Pan which all offer some respite from the stronger currents at times. Bigger bream and trevally, especially GT will be on the prowl feeding on prawns and other prey items getting washed out. Fresh baits of worm, mullet and pilchard will work well. Try to use lighter lines and sinkers to give your bait the best possible presentation and keep soft plastics loaded up with scent like the new Gulp. This is a gel and stays on soft plastics very well. After dark as we run toward the new moon often produces mangrove jacks. These fish will often break cover and feed in the open around tide changes. If you know the times of tide changes give it a try with big paddle tail soft plastics and fresh baits.
The freshwater continues to fish hard. Lake Macdonald hit 115% capacity and has been spilling consistently. SEQ water are holding Borumba at 80% so as always extreme caution should be taken once beyond the ski zone. There should be a few opportunities as we see the end of the rains and some warmer weather hitting the water. Surface fishing is still viable and the bass will be on the prowl for insects falling from trees after the rains.
Now for all the latest information log onto www.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!
