All quiet offshore

Aiden with a nice sooty.

With the wind still up for most of the week the offshore situation was pretty quiet.

A few larger craft managed to get out down Noosa way and picked up some nice long-tail tuna.

With a bit of luck the swell and wind will drop over this weekend and anglers will be able to get out.

Mackerel have been on everyone’s mind and I am sure there will be plenty on offer on the closer reef with all the bait that is around at the moment.

Spotties, school mackerel and Spanish have all been on offer.

Keep an eye on the sounder and look for those deeper bait schools.

Try fishing a live bait with enough sinker to slowly get the bait to the bottom, using a small wire bit leader to help with those bit-offs.

Tuna numbers will also be strong with plenty of smaller schools around the closer reefs.

There have been some schools of hardy heads and frogged-mouthed pilchards around at the moment so using larger slugs to around 40g has been a good match for the baitfish.

Casting to the edges of the schools is your best bet as this will not spook the schools so much.

Let it sink a little, then retrieve it at a steady pace.

For those that love bouncing the bottom, plenty of reef species will be on offer, and with the new moon last Wednesday, fishing the morning tides should see some good results.

With the winds still up for most of the week anglers were having to get out early to beat the breezes.

Fishing Tin Can Bay has been good for some nice flathead taken on plastics, trolled lures and live baits.

Fishing the many banks and drop-offs on the run-out tide has been the most productive.

Plenty of whiting have been on the chew with most fish taken on the run-in, with fish moving onto the flats feeding on yabbies and soldier crabs.

For those fishing the run-in tide, the trevally have been plentiful with some nice GT, big eye and golden taken.

Fast-moving plastics, stick baits and smaller micro jigs have been working well and working the creek mouths has been the most productive.

For the bait anglers, smaller pilchards, whitebait and prawns have been the go.

Crab numbers are also up, with a bit of fresh water in the systems after the recent rains.

Pot placement is important, making sure you look for those more saline deeper holes should see you come up with some nice crabs.

Fisheries keep a close eye on crabbers at this time of the year, so make sure you mark your floats and have the correct number of pots in the water.

On the beaches, the winds and swells have made things a little difficult.

There are some reports of whiting in the close gutters.

Things should start to improve over the coming days giving us a better opportunity to get on the beaches.

In the fresh, the Mary is still down on water so finding those deeper parts of the river has seen anglers with larger catches where the fish are more concentrated.

The bigger hole down past Bells Bridge has been very popular with plenty of big bass and Sooties on offer.

The weirs down past Tiaro have also seen some good reports with some very solid bass to 50cm taken.

For all the latest information log onto fishingnoosa.com.au and 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!