By Margaret Maccoll
With some extremely hot weather last weekend and a couple of evening storms the jack fishing in the Noosa River has been epic, the night anglers have been really reaping the rewards as these fish seem to really fire up with the change in barometric pressure that come with these storms. Fishing bait most anglers have opted for live baits of either prawns or small bait fish like herring or poddy mullet, for those anglers that do not have a cast nett then larger baits of mullet or bonito have been getting some great results. Lure anglers have been using suspending hard body lures or soft plastics in dark colours with red seeming to be the most popular. Fishing the structure has been where most fish have been taken but they will come out and feed in the open under the cover of darkness. Elsewhere in the river the flathead have been in great numbers with plenty of fish taken on the outgoing tide, small fish baits like hardy heads, white bait and frog mouthed rigged on small ganged hooks has been very effective. Whiting and bream are also in good numbers and are keeping holiday makers busy with plenty fish taken around Gympie Terrace, Munna Point and the Dog Beach. The prime baits have been worms, peeled prawns and yabbies for the whiting and small cut baits like mullet and pilchards for the bream. Crabs are also up and walking with the brief influx of fresh water, placing your pots in deeper water near mangroves should see a result.
Offshore angler have been making the most of the early morning window in the weather over the last week and have turned up some exceptional catches, out of Noosa we are seeing big schools of pelagics, reports of spotted and large spanish mackerel on the closer reef as well as the outer reef have been plentiful. The best results so far are on trolled dead baits, Hervey Bay garfish and sauri’s on a weighted chin guard and a squid teaser. Bigger Spanish and Tuna love this presentation with the better fish landed along the Halls reef section. Using deep divers and medium divers around the northern end of Sunshine Reef has produced some nice fish. In the bay there are huge bait balls and plenty of bird action with small “jelly bean” Mac tuna and the odd long-tails on the surface and some mackerel underneath these bait balls, anglers have found using jerk shad style soft plastics fished along the bottom and ripped up off the bottom produced some good fish and the odd bite off indicating some bigger fish cruising the bottom. Heading out wide, those that braved the conditions were rewarded with snapper, dolphin fish (Mahi Mahi), cobia and jewies.
On the beaches, the Noosa North Shore anglers have been casting light slugs into the wash producing smaller trevally, bream and dart. Good sized flathead and whiting have been around the river mouth. These fish are responding well live worms, prawns and mullet strips. Sunshine and Castaways beach gutters and rips are a great place to fish for tailor and smaller jew, half and whole pilchard baits, mullet and bonito strips have claimed some nice fish on the high tides.
So on behalf of Jack Mangrove, best of luck on your fishing adventures!
