Look what the weather gods turned up following a blustery weekend! With a fading ground swell and light offshore winds anyone who had time off was headed offshore. The local reefs turned on and provided anglers with snapper, tusk fish, sweetlip, cobia and a few small tuna. The pelagics have almost gone so now is all about floating baits and plastics for a big snapper. North reef has seen some great sized jewies, pearl perch, estuary cod and even a few cobia. As usual the paternoster rig proves successful so take advantage of using two different baits at the same time. Drifting Sunshine Reef is a great idea for those using plastics and slow jigs. The light winds and light currents and winds are the perfect time to explore and get some marks into your sounders as you fish. You can also expect to find some big reef fish so be ready to strike hard. Double Island was also a popular spot with good sized snapper, small amberjack, cobia, pearl perch, big red emperor and mixed cod species hitting the decks.
With the fading swells some great gutters are now exposed and ready to fish all along the coastline. Small jewies are about as are tailor and these fish are mainly showing up in the darker hours, especially during the evening high tides. This is always a popular time to chase these fish on gang hooked whole fish baits and single worm hook rigs loaded with fresh beachworm. The headlands also provided fun for anglers using lighter estuary combos with small trevally, dart and bream on the chew. Drifting small grub style plastics through the wash is sure to get the bite as does the use of scent. Another great option is to cast a shallow diving lure along the rocks and twitch it back. This will often trigger a reaction bite from any fish sitting deep in the cover.
Lake MacDonald is still overflowing as the run off continues to empty into this catchment. Big toga and bass will sit in these areas waiting for prey items to be washed in so sit way back and use long casts to reach the bank. Grub and paddle tail plastics are key and lightly weight them so they look more natural. In Borumba try the long weed lines that extend beyond the tree line. This is a great place to find bass enjoying the warmer water as the sun beats down during the daytime. Elsewhere running deep diving, suspending hardbodies are the go as are small spoons and soft vibes.
So on behalf of Jack Mangrove, best of luck on your fishing adventures!
