By Jack Mangrove
WITH summer only a month away, the fishing has been great and with the promise of better to come as we move into the main part of the mackerel season, we will see the much larger spanish mackerel start to arrive.
Last season we saw quite a number of big mackerel with some fish tipping the scales at over 20kg. Look for the bird activity and you will find the fish, try using small chrome slugs cast into the bait schools with a fast retrieve, also trolling has turned up some great fish. Samaki Pace Makers are a fast moving, diving lure in a great range of colours that have been doing the job.
While you are trolling you may also pick up a juvenile marlin, they also start to turn up at this time of the year with a lot of fish taken around the Chardon’s and Sunshine Reef areas as we move into summer.
Smaller trout, snapper and sweetlip have been caught on both bait and micro jigs and soft plastics around the closer reefs like Sunshine.
If you’re after the bigger sizes, head out to the deeper reefs around the Barwon Banks, Hards and Double Island.
Good sized whiting have been prowling around the river mouth and the frying pan during low light hours.
Using live bait – like worms and yabbies – has produced some nice table fish, surface poppers like the river2sea bubble pops have also been doing the job.
Trevally and tailor have been feeding off the surface in the low light hours of the morning in and around Woods Bay and have responded well to poppers and walk the dog type lures.
Fishing those drop offs near sand and mud banks has resulted in some quality flathead.
Small fish baits like small pilchards, hardy heads and white bait cast up and worked over those edges have been the most productive technique.
The upper reach of the river has been producing with some nice sized mangrove jack, jewfish and trevally using live baits like poddy mullet and herring has been best for those large fish.
On the beaches, the stretch between Teewah to Double Island on Noosa’s North Shore have been holding a good number of tailor, morning and night on the incoming tide is the best.
Whiting, flathead, dart and the odd nice size trevally have all been taken of the beaches.
On the rocks around the Noosa National Park we are seeing small mac tuna, small jew and kingies.
Whole large pilchards on ganged hooks are the standard but some anglers are having success with larger stick baits and poppers.
On behalf of Jack Mangrove, best of luck on your fishing adventures!
