Cool water species on the chew

Stuart Hargraves with a nice red throat.

By Jack Mangrove

With this cooler weather we are really starting to see those cooler water species come on the bite! Snapper, tailor and large winter bream have all be firing.
Offshore there have already been some great reports with good pearl perch and snapper from the Barwon Banks with parrot, amberjack and Moses Perch also amongst them.
Up on North Reef snapper and squire have also been hitting the decks in good numbers as well as tuna. In the bay tuna are still feeding hard on bait schools with mac tuna the most prevalent but there is the odd longtail amongst them.
Sweetlip have been well spread throughout most of the major reefs, with some bigger fish caught during the lower light periods.
There has been the odd coral trout on Sunshine Reef, fishing hard to the reef is the best way to come into contact so a running sinker rig with the sinker all the way to the hook should see results.
With the whales due to start migration over the coming week, cobia will become more abundant, these fish seem to always be taken as soon as a pod of whales moves through.
In the river, the river mouth and dog beach area have been producing great numbers of quality bream, whiting and flathead drifting both live and dead baits.
Live herring and live worms have been the stand out baits and pilchards and cured worms have been the preferred dead baits.
Big schools of trevally have been prevalent throughout the Woods Bay and Noosa Sound area.
They have been responding well to surface poppers and surface walkers, prawn imitation soft plastics have also claimed some nice fish as the sun gets a little higher in the ski.
Along the Gympie Terrace stretch, using worms has been producing quality whiting over 30cm as well as good sized bream.
A little further upriver, the Tewantin stretch and the first ski run has been producing jew fish in the low lights of the morning and afternoon.
Paddle vibes have been dynamite on the jew and the odd trevally.
Lake Cooroibah has seen good numbers of pan sized flathead fishing hard body’s in the shallow water as well as soft plastics.
On the beaches, the tailor are also starting to make their migration up toward Fraser Island, the schools are a little spread out so if you are on the North Shore it may pay to keep moving to locate a school.
Good sized bream and dart are in the close gutters with the top of the tide the best to target them.
Prawns, small fish baits and worms cast to the back of the gutters and roller under the white water has seen some good bream taken.
Whiting are also about with the southern beaches around Marcus and Peregian fishing well on the run out tide.
Live worms have been the favoured baits with plenty of anglers getting a good feed.
So on behalf of Jack Mangrove, best of luck on your fishing adventures!