Saltwater Playground fishing charter clients get to tangle with spanish mackerel amongst other pelagics this time of year.
Winds Easing as Showers Increase
Leaving the windy weather of the past week in the rear-view mirror, we can hopefully look forward to better boating conditions in coming days. Showers are very likely to increase in frequency and we might even see a little light rain early next week, before things hopefully improve thereafter.
Today's 15-20 knot south-easter is scheduled to ease a tad overnight, leaving us with a weekend forecast of 10-15 knots from that same direction. The 15-knot part of that prediction seems most likely, with lighter winds close inshore early morning and maybe 10 knots overnight. Not ideal, but an improvement at least.
The wind is likely to tend more easterly Monday, then north-easterly Tuesday, as the high that has been causing all the angst drifts slowly beyond the kiwis. These winds will drag more moisture onshore as the trough between the two consecutive highs tracking eastward across the bight and the Tasman passes overhead. So, it might get a bit damp early in the working week, but that will all clear as a chilly south-westerly change comes through mid-week and our skies clear.
Making this forecast less palatable is the position of the moon. It will be a new moon this Sunday, and this particular phase is not one to miss if you are a snapper fan, a flats fanatic, or simply keen to keep prawns on the menu. Massive tides and significant tidal flow will dominate the next few days, so monitor the daily forecasts as they unfold, and make the most of this weekend if you get the chance.
Cute little sooty grunter kept Fishos' staffer, Damo, busy amongst the bass when he headed bush recently.
Bass came thick and fast on Damo's latest local freshwater fishin' mission.
Bream Fishos Get Your Pier Gear Ready
Just as I offered my take on techniques for catching Urangan Pier flathead last week, I can now make a few suggestions for the upcoming bream season. They might not be there in numbers as yet, but they are on their way, and this weekend's new moon may well trigger an influx of bream. If not, then the next full moon is sure to fire.
Starting with your basic tackle, the Urangan Pier bream demand a little more oomph than the same fish targeted in more forgiving environs. Barnacle-encrusted pylons a mere 12-feet apart offer larger bream ample opportunity to dust you up, so your rod will need a little more leverage power than the ultra-finesse tackle used on the flats etc. You will also need to haul the bream aloft too, so noodle rods aren't ever going to achieve that task without catastrophic failure.
Bait fishos will favour softer-tipped rods which allow a wary old bream to move off with a bait before the hooks are set. Timing will be everything, as always, so you will have to learn to ignore the rattling bites and tugs of the lesser bream whilst waiting for the committed take of the ones you want. Letting a little line slip with the current is a great (almost mandatory) tactic if you want to fool the smarter bream.
Resist all striking and forward motions that drag your dead bait unnaturally against the prevailing tide. Strike when your line pulls taught and the bream is making off with your bait. If you are positioned appropriately – that is, standing almost over a pylon on the up-current side of the pier, and fishing your bait at an angle diagonally across the gap between the pylons – then you should have the best angle and advantage when it comes to muscling a bruiser bream from beneath.
If you visualise this scene correctly, then you would realise you are fishing 'upside down' back under the pier, not throwing your bait out away from the structure on the other down-current side. Others will do that. Ignore them and catch the bigger fish lurking beneath your/their feet.
Running sinker rigs are the go, with a 12-15lb leader of around 75cm. Your sinker weight will dictate your success, and that weight will need to vary as the tidal strength does. Basically, no sinker at all when the tide is dead slack, increased by small increments as the tide strengthens (and the reverse applies as the tide peaks and begins to slacken). Much akin to bait fishing for snapper, just on a miniature scale.
Pier regulars will mostly use fresh herring as their bait, and rightly so. Herring are the dominant food source by far, and they sustain the bream whilst they visit the pier. Smaller bream will also eat a host of other baits like mullet etc, but the biggest fish are predators in their own right and will smash live herring as well as freshly-deceased models. Pickers will be at their worst in daylight and not nearly as bad after dark.
Bait presentation will also dictate success, so make the effort to pin your baits appropriately. Some weird and wonderful (yet occasionally successful) local pier bream rigs evolved over the years, but none really cut it when up against a seasoned fisho that can present a butterflied herring well.
To do so, take a freshly killed herring and run your knife straight down either side of the fish along its backbone, from just behind the gills to the tail. The end result should be two fillets attached to the head and gill section. Discard the backbone to lessen the chances of a spinning effect.
Pin the herring through the firm snout behind the lips vertically with a hook about size 1 – 2/0 depending on bait size and hook quality. Get even fancier and rig two tarpon hooks back-to-back (reverse gang) and you are really ahead of the game. Don't stress about all that hookless flesh trailing the head as that is there to add life-like motion and feed the pickers whilst they draw the bigger bream's attention. Those bigger bream will 'stand' back and watch as their compadres tear at your bait. No weird forward movements and a little line-slipping from you and they will move in to steal the prize.
Pier bream can be quite sizeable, reaching at least 1 kilo in weight or around 42cm, quite regularly. Larger fish are a serious handful, believe it or not, as their dogged attempts to trash you are often successful amongst the pier's pylons. Give them no quarter and just enough drag slippage to maintain your line and hook integrity and you could be bragging to onlookers time and time again.
If all this sounds too hard or complicated, then resort to soaking baits of herring fillet, pike fillet, or other baits in a similar fashion. You may not catch the trophy fish, but you will still catch bream if you make some effort with bait presentation etc. Consider fluorocarbon leader as it cannot be seen by warier bream and sports much higher abrasion resistance qualities to boot.
As the season unfolds, bream will make their way to the beach end of the pier with the night high tides, but undeniably the best area to concentrate your efforts will be the slope and the deeper waters out near the deep end. This same area is great for flathead too, so maybe you can break-up your bream session with a little live baiting for flatties this winter.
Flathead have been one fish keeping pier-goers eager this week, even though the flatties are as about as keen as us in windy conditions. Jewfish have been another targetable species that more skilled regulars have managed to procure recently. Baitfish have been scarce, again, so resorting to appropriate lures has been the downfall of the odd jew. The herring will come back, and they may have already done so. Here's hoping they attract hordes of bream, some flatties, more jews and a swag of mackerel too.
Jedd Hardy ducked over to Kingfisher Bay Resort's jetty and caught his first ever spanish mackerel.
Brett admiring his latest jewfish capture. You don't need to burn any fuel at all to catch these guys.
Kahyl pulled this beaut painted cray on a recent dive in the bay.
The Tarr boys are one of many livescoping crews that will enjoy ongoing success over winter on Lake Monduran.
Inshore Fishos Awaiting Arrival of Snapper
Any snapper that may have migrated into the southern bay can think themselves lucky the weather has been so windy. Many keen snapper fans are chafing at the bit to get out there and catch the first real knobbies of the season, and this weekend's new moon period offers excellent tides.
Modern-day snapper fishos are more likely to drift over fish found on their sounders and present them with an array of soft plastics and jigs than to put the effort in with baits. The lure fishing option is vastly less labour intensive and enables you to drive straight to the fishing grounds without needing to gather live baits etc first. Both techniques work, yet quality of presentation will determine success no matter which way you lean.
Snapper hotspots of the past are likely to see schools visit over coming weeks and months. These spots include the Roy Rufus artificial reef, Moon Ledge, the Outer Banks, the Simpson arti, Mickeys and the Burrum 8 Mile. Numerous other areas close inshore can produce the occasional knobby snapper and numbers of squire. Places often overlooked such as Urangan Channel, the Channel Hole, the Fairway (after dark) and Maringa Bommie.
How much bait has gathered and is holding in any one of these areas will have a profound bearing on the chances of snapper lingering. They are highly nomadic fish that will wander off and return to grounds within a tide, let alone a moon phase. Trollers can tell you about catching big knobbies well wide of any known structure, and these are likely just fish grazing or hanging out in the paddock waiting for the prime time to launch an assault on the tucker gathered at a favoured reef site.
Dawn and dusk offer prime times regardless of tide. This is partly because of the low-light advantage predators enjoy, but also because this is when baitfish regather after wandering around all night, or conversely, begin to scatter for that nightly wander. This makes the baitfish more susceptible to marauding predators like snapper, so this is when you should be out there mixing it with them.
It would be irresponsible to mention snapper without a warning about sharks at this time. The bulls are vicious and entrenched in many of the hotspots mentioned above. They are even becoming an issue on more and more isolated and little-known spots throughout the bay, which is very disappointing.
Kindly respect the long-lived nature of snapper and think of the fact that ripper 80cm fish can be decades old. Get the heck out of there if the sharks turn up and do not continue fishing a spot after any depredation. You may be the umpteenth fisho to visit some hotspots on a good day, so you can see how the attrition can add up so dramatically.
Snapper bycatch (or appealing targets in their own right) include grunter, cod, trout, nannygai and sweetlip inshore at this time of year. No complaints there from most folks keen on a feed, whilst other bycatch such as the ubiquitous golden trevally, mackerel and 'trash' species have fewer fans amongst true snapper aficionados. Catch some fine-eating squire if you get the chance before the true snapper schools arrive, and make the most of the day of the new moon and the day after if the weather allows.
Big grassy sweetlip added to the day's catch for this happy Saltwater Playground charter client.
Glow Freak fillet mats are unique solutions for slippery fish, coming in 80cm and 130cm lengths to suit all fishos.
Tuna are Weirdly Scarce Apparently
Maybe it's just the lack of opportunity to get out on the bay, but anyone asked about tuna sightings over the past week or so has had very little to offer. High winds would normally see increased numbers in Platypus Bay in autumn, and a south-bound migration into the southern bay and upper straits. Perhaps improved weather this weekend might shed a little light on the subject, so for now we will leave that topic open for conjecture.
Limiting weather has still enabled a few crews to wander our close inshore sheltered waters where sizeable broad-barred mackerel have been the stand-out. Big broadies are being reported from around the bay islands, from shallow fringing reefs and from areas at the upper cusp of the straits such as Kingfisher Bay.
Spin them up on Flasha spoons like so many locals have done for eons, or seek them out by trolling smaller diving lures capable of around 6-8 knots. These bigger broadies are serious predators on our flats, and used to be netted in big numbers after dark in very skinny water. Seems they have been a very notable beneficiary of the reduced gill-netting effort in the bay and straits, which many folks are quite pleased about.
School mackerel were well-spread prior to this latest blow. There were schoolies off Woodgate, the Burrum coast, at the Fairway and across the Outer Banks. Schoolies were extra-thick up the island in Platypus Bay too, so they are bound to feature in catches when you get out there next (whether you like it or not). Spaniards have been almost as widely-spread, yet favouring the reefs of the northern bay, Platypus Bay (where they are a no-take species) and occasionally down into our shipping channels all the way to Kingfisher Bay.
Queenfish and golden trevally are two inshore pelagic species that you can target in fairly protected waters over this dark of the moon. The flats and swirling current lines that surround the bay islands are great starting points for those still working them out. Going armed with some topwater offerings for the queenies and a mix of jerkshad-style or prawn imitation plastics for both species will have you in the hunt.
Luke with 95cm of fat broad-barred mackerel caught on the troll.
This mighty 110cm broadie of Luke's was taken spinning with a Flasha spoon.
Rod got out in a rare glass-out and found spanish mackerel on the chew.
Great Sandy Straits Flats Fishery Beckons
This new moon and these tides are excellent for flats fishos keen to mix it with the vast array of species that feed in our skinniest of waters. You might find golden trevally, queenfish and broadies not far from Urangan or Gatakers Bay boat ramps, whilst the same species plus a few others could entertain you over there on Fraser Island's endless flats.
Head down the straits and there may be more of the same, or perhaps even cooler species to encounter. Think big barramundi, threadfin salmon, schools of blue salmon, sizeable grunter, flathead and maybe even some diamond trevally, or, if you are extra-lucky, a permit.
Flats fishing is primo when massive tides offer predators the chance to scrounge right up to and amongst the mangroves. It can be just as if not more exciting when that big tide drains and the same predators go into overdrive devouring all sorts of morsels forced from cover by the receding waters.
Some of the most visible predators at present will be marauding packs of blue salmon. They are actively terrorising herring schools through various tracts of the straits, including the Turkey Strait, as well as the lower reaches of the Mary and Susan rivers. Many are quite large too, demanding heavier leaders and a bit of fancy leg-work when they get boatside.
Threadies spotted in clearer water towards high tide can be notoriously hard to tempt. Smaller plastics are the solution there perhaps; either paddle-tailed or a prawn imitation. Work them over with soft vibes during the mid ebb tide if you find them lurking in deeper waters, then go looking for them at the outflow of muddy drains etc as they gorge themselves on jelly prawn nearer low tide.
Threadies are highly susceptible to fast-twitched hard bodies at present and are often encountered as bycatch when fishing for barra. More twitch and stall for the barra, whilst even more twitch and next to no stall will tempt the threadies. Take it from an old hand, trolling your way back along a line of snags or a bank where you just drifted whilst battling your last barra can often produce bonus threadies with the right lure. Mine is the Jaz Rapide – you can choose your own.
Grunter fans will be cheering this weekend if they work the channels, ledges and creeks down the straits. Quality fish are abundant, but you will need to time your efforts appropriately. Look for them up in skinny water whilst the tide is rising, then again during the first of the ebb. About mid-tide down, you can start your drifts in deeper waters in the creek channels and catch the fish moving back down with the tide and the tucker. Soft plastic prawns are as good as any offering in all these scenarios, whilst soft vibes can be ultra-appealing to larger grunter too.
Fisho's staffer, Scotty, with a solid Irukandji Mega Prawn-munching threadfin salmon.
Chins up Deej. The barra will continue biting into winter if you persist.
Flathead are on the chew in our rivers and down the straits. Brett Bartlett with a beauty.
Country lad, Charlie Launton, was stoked when he caught his first-ever salty barra from a local waterway recently.
Predators Moving Back Upriver
As great as the sandy straits fishery might be over these darks, some folks will be drawn to the sheltered waters of our rivers instead. The racing tides might make things a little challenging for lure fishos, so time your efforts for the tide changes if you can. Low tide will be best, but high tide has plenty of appeal in the right waters too.
Estuarine predators such as barramundi and threadfin salmon are gradually making their way back upstream in our rivers as water quality continues to improve. Of course, new moon tides will create their own turbidity as the super-strong current flow lifts sediments, so don't expect clearer waters this weekend. Stay within cooee of the lower reaches and you are in the right zone for now. Head too far upstream and your quarry will be tinier versions of what you could've been catching well downstream.
The Mary system offers barra, threadies, a few grunter, flatties and swags of blue salmon. Those birds you see cartwheeling about near River Heads are indicating where the salmon schools are working. Spot them mid ebb tide and chances are the next thing you will see will be herring roaring out of the water en masse followed by the black shoulders of the big blue salmon in hot pursuit. Chuck a lure at them and it will be game on.
The Burrum system is home to increasing numbers of barra and threadfin salmon and a much smaller population of blues. Mangrove jacks are still a very good chance up there, and if anything, this wet weather and warmer nights over the dark of the moon could play right into the hands of Burrum jack fans. They are certainly not going to get any easier to catch as the cold of winter arrives.
Flathead are abundant in the lower-mid reaches of the Burrum system. All four rivers offer a crack at the flatties, so a little light tackle fun is in the offing. Bream are bound to be on the bite with the new moon too, and will be gathering for their migratory journey to their winter spawning grounds. Bait fishos might tempt plenty in a berley trail, whilst those favouring lures can spend their time working the flats or rock bars with micro jerkbaits, wobblers or soft plastics. Given the abundance of jelly prawn, tiny topwater offerings are bound to draw bream out in skinny enough water too.
Brad joined the crowds at Woodgate and took home a fantastic feed of tasty banana prawns.
Top pockets come up swollen with bananas when the winds blow offshore at Woodgate.
Filling Up on Crabs and Prawns
Those that were at Woodgate last Saturday morning in that cool offshore southerly witnessed one of those special prawning events. At times, even without a sounder the banana prawns were easy to find as they roared to the surface and bounced about everywhere. It was a run that saw bucket limits achieved in a few decent casts, and hopefully an event that will be repeated time and time again in coming weeks.
New moon tides will have prawn on the move all over the Fraser Coast, so make some effort with a cast net this week and your family will eat like royalty. Find some in the Burrum, or in the tributaries of the Mary system. Suss out the big gutters in the vicinity of River Heads or try deeper creeks down the straits. So long as you time your efforts for the last of the ebb tide and the first of the flood, you should be bringing home a great feed.
Don't get too greedy either, as Qld Fisheries officers have been staking out boat ramps and other sly locations regularly of late. They know full well that there are folks that simply cannot stick to their bucket or boat limits, and they are poised to pounce. Possession limits apply of course, so one might imagine them paying attention to who is out prawning day after day.
Crabbing effort has been limited to muddies this week, but that hasn't been at all limiting. The crabs are on the march back upstream and many crabbers are successfully intercepting them on the way. Notable has been the incredible number of pot floats in one particular section of a local river. Dozens upon dozens of pots are parked over a small area signifying an obvious abundance, whilst also reflecting the dance the local pro crabbers have to perform when other pros from outside their area move in to poach.
These incredible scenes also indicate a particularly fruitful patch of water for finding fish, yet so many pots and so many ropes mean jeopardy for hard-fighting fish such as barra and salmon. Add the extra scent/berley in the water and the likelihood of bull sharks lurking and fishing beyond the fringes of those crab pot proliferations would seem prudent.
This is an excellent weekend for so many fisheries locally, so make the most of it if you can. I look forward to bringing you more reports and less theory next week and some more goss on the upcoming Hervey Bay Fishing Classic. Suffice to say that Fisho's Tackle World will be putting up three $500 gift vouchers as prizes for the early bird draw to be given away at the end of May. So, don't dilly dally fishos, and either scan the QR Code below of get online to https://herveybayfishingclassic.com.au/ to register your entries and to go in the draws.
Updated site map for Hervey Bay's biggest-ever fishing competition coming this July.
Good luck out there y'all …… Jase