By Jack Mangrove
With the recent weather events it is quite obvious that offshore angler have been a little challenged when it comes to getting outside. For those that did make it out before the big swells arrived Sunshine Reef has still been producing some good spanish mackerel, it has also been a great spot for Coral Trout, venus tusk fish, Maori cod, pearl perch, sweetlip and tuna. The odd school of keeper size Cobia have also been cursing around. Tuna are in good numbers with the odd fish caught in Laguna Bay area. For the larger boats that have headed a little further afield, Double Island has still been fishing well for snapper, gold spot cod, moses perch, sweetlip, pearl perch and good sized venus tusk fish. The Barwon Banks have also fished well for snapper, venus tusk fish, squire, hussar, Maori cod, red throat emperor, snapper and the odd red emperor.
On the Beaches, Bream were on the bite in the gutters around Sunshine and Marcus Beaches towards the top of the tide over the last week. Flathead have also been in the gutters taking frog mouth pilchards on gang hooks, as well as fresh mullet strips. Dart are still spread all along the beaches with the top of the tide the most productive. Great fun for the kids is to get them casting metal lures, the way the dart are at the moment they will hit a fast moving slug with the added benefit of tailor and trevally also in the same area. Great sized whiting have been coming from the beaches near the river mouths. Live worms, pippies and pealed prawns have been the bait of choice.
In the river; Whiting have been in particularly good numbers with the amount of food in the river. As whiting are predominantly bottom feeders so running sinker rigs loaded with peeled prawns, worms, or yabbies have been dynamite. Trevally are also on the chew, and Woods Bays have seen some quality fish taken! Schools of baitfish are regularly chased around by hungry trevally and are easily spotted by looking for splashes on the surface. Small surface popper and surface walkers have been doing most of the damage. Soft plastics imitating a prawn seem to be a very popular option at the moment as there are plenty of prawns in the system. For the night angler creeping quietly around structure like Tewantin Harbor and the structure around the sound should see you tangling with mangrove jack. Fishing a slow rolled paddle vibes around the deep holes in the river will also give you a really good chance of tangling with one of these prized fish. Flathead have also been plentiful right throughout the system, If you love your bait, then give baits like, frog mouth pillies, live poddy mullet/herring, whitebait and fresh mullet strips a go. For the crabbers there have been an abundance of crabs around with a little fresh water in the system, mud crabbers try the deeper sections near mangroves while for the sand crabs set your pots a little closer to the mouth. Of course the best bait is fresh Mullet.
So on behalf of Jack Mangrove, best of luck on your fishing adventures!
