With very little rain over the last week the rivers and creeks are really starting to colour up. Fishing in these conditions can be a little tough and will have to think about your lure choices. As the oud saying goes darker water darker lure and this is because the fish see the silhouette more than the actual colours so darker or solid colour lures seem to work best.
Trevally are in good numbers and are feeding on the large bait schools around the creek and river mouths at the start of the run in tide. Fast moving slugs and soft plastics have been the go, give the Halco Twisty is silver a try or for the plastics angler Zman Streakz on a ¼ Jig head is a great option. Both these can be recovered at speed.
There are some great flathead around the entrances to Karlo and Snapper creek, this fish are sitting in wait for prawns and bait fish brought down after the big tides. Casting small fish baits like pilchards, whitebait or hardy heads upstream and working them slowly back on the tide has been very successful. Plastics anglers have been using predominately darker coloured paddle tail soft plastics to give off vibration in the clear water.
Mangrove jacks have been having a fine old time ambushing small bait fish as they make their way downstream to more saline waters, fishing around structure has been the prime area to find them so bridge pylons and moored boats are a great place to start. Live baits of poddy mullet or herring has been the most productive method. Those that have been up early have been picking up some nice fish on the morning bite using surface lures like the Bassday Sugapens and the Shimano Risewalk in the 65mm size.
The crabs have been in good numbers over the last couple of weeks with a bit more fr4esh in the system, looking for those deeper holes with more saline water is a great place to start. There has been plenty of jennies in the pots which have to be returned. Mullet soaked in tuna oil has been a top bait.
On the offshore scene Christmas eve eve was the best day of the Christmas long weekend, Areas that fired included North, Double Island, the Hards and Barwon banks. Snapper, grass sweetlip, spanish and spotted mackerel were all the chew. Try quality baits like pillies and local squid to ensure better catches.
Down south Sunshine Reef saw pelagic’s on fire with quality mackerel on the menu. There has been a mix of Mack and long tail tuna around with plenty of bust ups visible from the shoreline. Small bait fish presentation slugs like the Halco twisty and the TT Hatdcore have taken some nice fish, while the spanish were taking live yakka’s and floated dead baits down the burley trail. Mack tuna and long tail tun have been on the boil up in Hervey Bay, smaller metal lures cast to the edges of the schools have been working well.
On the beaches, there are some great Gutters forming with the larger swells. Nice whiting, bream, flathead and larger dart have all come from the gutters. Fishing the river mouths on the run in tide has also been very successful, good quality trevally and bream have been taken around Pincushion Island and the sand bags at Cotton Tree. Pilchards, mullet fillet and prawns have all been prime baits.
The Mary has certainly changed over the last week with plenty of dumping rain the river has changed colour and is that bit murky. The fish are still there but a little harder to find. If you are chasing bass, then the good old spinner bait is the way to go with plenty of flash and rattle the fish will find it easier.
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 Gympie’s Newest tackle store “The tackle Shop”, Tackle World Noosa, 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!
