By JACK MANGROVE
AFTER the recent fresh, it’s definitely time to pop those crab pots out in the river and give them a good old soak. Now fresh bait is the key to catching a good buck! Also bait your pots heavy if you’re leaving them in overnight. It’s also a good idea to check up on the quality of your crab pots making
sure to erect them first before going crabbing, the one thing that you want to check over is the entry holes into the pot. Over time the holes can become loose so they might need readjusting with a couple of small zip ties on the outside ends to strengthen the entry points up. Remember the rules
for crabbing that you’re only allowed four pots per person. For any more information, just jump onto the www.daf.qld.gov.au. The best spots to put your crab pots in the Noosa River would be right up in the upper reaches, so anywhere between the Lakes and up to Lake Cootharaba would be a great place to start.
Fishing up between the lakes on an early morning/ late evening can pay off with some quality mangrove Jack as well as trevally and school Jew coming from the deeper holes. Soft vibes fished slowly can be an effective way to catch a feed. Live bait fishing is arguably the best way to target
bigger predatory fish, with that recent fresh we should see another good run of river prawns working their way through the system which in turn will help fishing as a whole.
There have been some cracking flathead in the Noosa River lately with fish up to 80cm not uncommon. Try concentrating your time up towards Lake Weyba. Drifting live baits as well as froggies and whitebait can see some good success.
Offshore; there have been the odd small windows of opportunity to make a run outside with Spanish mackerel making a healthy appearance off the coastal waters. The hot spots are North, Chardons and wide Sunshine Reef systems. Firstly, find the fish by trolling deep diving hardbodies
then once you hook up try grabbing a couple of heavy metal slugs out and start jigging for them it is one of the most exciting styles of fishing.
So on behalf of Jack Mangrove, best of luck on your fishing adventures.