By Jack Mangrove
We have spotties, Spanish and school mackerel in the bays, off the rocks and out wider. If you had the chance then the winds did drop earlier in the week which saw a lucky few get stuck into the action. Most anglers were following the birds and casting a range of metal slugs and small high speed stickbaits on lighter 7ft spin combo’s. These fish are not big and don’t require anything heavier than 15lb braid and 20lb leaders, so leave the heavy stuff for the bottom bashing and enjoy the lightning fast runs these fish offer.
Out wider on the reefs of Sunshine and Chardons, conditions are still a bit lumpy but we have seen coral trout, pearl perch, sweetlip, various cod species and small snapper coming off the bottom. These fish will take fresh flesh baits and chunk baits of mullet and pilchard fished on the trusty paternoster rig. If you are after a cobia or tuna as well as mackerel then break out the gang hooked pilchard floater with a tinsel teaser. This method is responsible for landing some huge fish and continues to work very well, especially if on anchor.
In the estuary some great flathead have been caught along the various the drop offs, especially around Weyba Bridge, Dog Beach, Back of Noosa Sound toward Lake Weyba and the Frying Pan. These fish have been taking a range of soft plastics, live yabbies and prawn baits. The whiting have been coming out in good numbers especially around the Frying Pan, Lake Weyba and along Gympie Terrace. These fish have not only been taking fresh baits of worms and yabbies, but hitting smaller surface poppers and stickbaits. Mangrove jacks have been a little quieter, but up river away from the crowds is the best option with the Jew Hole and the various deep water holes and rocky patches between the lakes providing a great place to target them. The best baits are live baits of mullet and herring and even fresh dead bait like mullet fished as a strip on a 3/0-4/0 octopus style hook and 20-30lb leader as a great starting point.
Off the beaches the swell has kept most anglers away but the bigger headlands of Yaroomba and Arkwright have been producing jewfish, lipper, bream, dart and the odd tailor. Running single hook Paternoster rigs help to keep your hook away from the snaggy bottom with mullet, pilchard and fresh worm baits the better option, especially during the last hour of daylight.
The freshwater is still a bit quiet but reports of decent Saratoga have been taking subsurface lures rather than surface lures so put in a few pauses and be patient as saratoga will follow lures for 15-20 meters before hitting them. For the bass anglers working small spinnerbaits and casting weedless rigged paddletail plastics into the lilies and twitched out has collected a few strikes. Also using small vibes and blades on the schooled up bass in the deeper sections is a sure fire way to get a hit!
So on behalf of Jack Mangrove, best of luck on your fishing adventures!
