Well, finally the weather gods smiled down upon us. No matter what your style of fishing we all had a chance to enjoy some amazing weather.
Offshore, we had mackerel, snapper, tuna, sweetlip, trout, cobia and a pile of other reef fish. Most anglers stayed in close from Sunday onward due to the westerly winds and found places like Sunshine, Sunrise, Arkwright shoal, Coolum reef and of course north from the Noosa bar toward and including Double Island the better places to be.
The building tides and clean waters have driven in the bait and the fish have followed. For tuna anglers and mackerel many got into the action by casting a simple Gillies baitfish slug around 15-20 grams. If this is you and are having trouble with distance, be sure to load up your reel with a quality casting braid to help you reach the schools. Take a look at Shimano Grappler and YGK X-Braid.
For those not casting at tuna, the gang-hooked pilchard has claimed many great fish including some big Spanish which will continue to hang around throughout June.
Other fish on most anglers’ lips have to be snapper. Generally speaking the perfect eating size are pan size or those around 50cm with trophy fish best returned. For those looking to land a snapper while the waters are super clean you are best to use 20-25lb leaders on lighter rods like the Shimano Raider snapper series.
Surf fishing is seeing some jewies and a few reports of tailor are starting to come through. Although not plentiful it’s great to see they are coming in and appear to be getting caught during the daytime. These fish are taking pilchards with jewies taking mullet and squid after dark. If fishing baits for jew you are best to use a snell rig with 5/0 and 7/0 octopus circle hooks and 60lb leader. For those of you with baitrunner reels there is nothing like seeing a big fish tear off with your line before engaging the reel to start the fight so be sure to bring them in for a fresh spool of line.
The Noosa river is seeing an influx of trevally and even some queenfish. These fish are taking small metal jigs retrieved at speed around the lower estuary area. Try your luck around Gympie Terrace and the Noosa Sound region. For those who are land based you are best to focus efforts around the sand bags and the dog beach. If flicking p[plastics and working lures close to the bottom, then you can try small minnow style baits like the Zerek flash minnow.
Flathead continue to turn up in good numbers with plenty of smaller 45-50cm fish holding around the mouth during he run out tides. With the water still running darker you can fish heavier leaders in the 12lb range and try heavy vibration lures like the storm ultra-blade in 10 gram sizes.
Lastly the dams and lakes in the region are still up at 100 per cent capacity and are fishing hard. The previously mentioned blades and micro jigs all work well when the bass are hard to tempt during cold conditions. Keeping baits and lures small is important during the winter as fish often only require a small feed. Try to fish in area that receive the most sun and work all weed beds in the immediate area as weed can hold water which warms by several degrees making this a favored spot for bass to hold.
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!
