By JACK MANGROVE
WITH the warmer weather still with us and water temperatures a balmy 25 degrees, the river is still producing some great fish, at the Dog Beach the whiting are still in good numbers, in fact a lot of the lower reaches of the river are producing some great whiting. With the fish being well and truly legal size.
There are a few elbow slappers around that have been belting poppers and stick-baits off the surface, the River2sea Skinny Dogs have been working a treat with a nice walk-the-dog action.
Some quality size bream have been caught at Woods Bay and around the Hilton Terrace stretch of the river. Ecogear CX 35 Hardbodies and Squidgy Wrigglers have been working well. Prawns, small strip bait of mullet and bonito fillets have also done the trick.
There have been plenty of flathead caught throughout the river and at the river mouth. Bouncing soft plastics and blades along the bottom has been very successful along with trolling hard body lures like the Zerek Tango Shads. A few larger specimens have been taken on live herring. Trevally have also been in good numbers, surface popper in the low light periods should see a result.
We’ve seen some nice jacks over the last week taken on live baits, soft vibes and plastics. Structure is still the key so areas like the river mouth, Tewantin Harbour and Noosa Sound have been the prime areas to target. We have also seen some good fish coming from upstream, between the lakes. There have been some quality prawns in the river, the prawns are drawn to light on the water so concentrate your efforts around jetties and piers with a light attached. Not only are prawns good to eat, but live prawns make outstanding baits.
Offshore has been abuzz with good quality coral trout and mackerel, the closer reefs have seen long tail and Mack tuna belting large schools of baitfish; metal slugs and soft plastic have been doing the job. Up on North Reef it has been all about the mackerel, good schools of quality spanish and spotted mackerel have been giving anglers a great time with some anglers doing battle with good sized fish.
With the weather turning a little average in the later part of last week, a lot of anglers stayed close to home so Sunshine Reef, Halls Reef and Jew Sholes were the best bet. Good mixed bags of fish were reported including sweetlip, snapper, tuskies and quality coral trout.
On the beaches, the dart are still in good number with the larger fish a little further out, good whiting are in the closer gutters, as well as the dart. Night fishing has seen some good jew down around Coolum. Tailor are also in the mix with Maroochy and Noosa River mouths a good spot to try on the high tide.
So on behalf of Jack Mangrove, best of luck on your fishing adventures!
