By Jack Mangrove
With the weather gods shining down on the coast last week those lucky enough to be fishing were greeted with light winds. Noosa Bar still had 2-3 feet of swell rolling through but crossings for most were easy. Spanish mackerel very much on the chew the reef of choice was Halls and Sunshine reef. With over a dozen boats present some big fish were landed on livies and floated pilchards. Soft plastics, slugs and jigs also worked when deep dropped and cranked back at speed, but there were packs of small mackerel sitting down deep that took many lures. A little later in the week a monster 44kg yellowfin tuna was taken by a local jet ski angler and landed on 30lb gear. This goes to show that you never know what could be lurking in the shallows. Sunshine Reef was providing anglers with some huge coral trout over 7kg mark. These fish are taking live slimy mackerel and yakka dropped down to the bottom. Other reefies included parrot, squire and tuskies which were taken on paternoster rigs and slab baits of mullet and pilchard chunks. Out wider North reef has spotties, longtail tuna, coral trout, pearl perch and smaller snapper but closer in is definitely the better option.
Surf fishing has improved with the dropping swell and catches of bream, dart and the occasional tailor have been reported all along the coastline during the day. Look for early morning tuna busting up and birds diving. These fish all taking 20-30 grams slugs cast directly at the bust ups and cranked back at speed.
The Noosa River has been fishing better this week with a break in the rains and the higher spring tides during the weekend. This let the river get a bit of a flush out and with it catches of smaller queenfish, trevally, bream, whiting, jewfish and bigger flatties were reported. Fishing all along the sandy drop offs between Gympie Terrace toward the river mouth will get you into these fish. They love a wide range of lures including hardbodies, soft plastics and whole fish baits all fished slowly. This area is a great place to find whiting and bream as they are all often found together. Trevally can be found all the way up the river system and mixed in with jewies. These fish both love larger 3 inch soft plastics and soft vibes on heavier 12-16lb leaders. Be sure to use sent in the murkier waters and give the fish chance to find your lure. Mud crabs and sand crabs are still very much on the move and with lighter currents toward the end of the week you need not worry about pots getting picked up in a stronger current.
Freshwater impoundments are also benefiting from the warmer day temps and less rain. The water clarity has improved greatly and the bass are schooling up in the deeper sections. The edges are always worth fishing with hardbodies around the 60-80mm size. Be sure to increase the pause time before ripping them out and away from the cover. Slow rolling soft plastics along the bottom is also working well with 3/8th jig heads and darker coloured 2-3 inch paddle tail soft plastics.
So on behalf of Jack Mangrove, best of luck on your fishing adventures!
