Fisho’s Weekly Fishing Report – 28th November, 2025

Dane scored his PB 118cm barra fishing weighted flies with Terry from Flick It Fishing Charters last weekend.

Oppressive Heat and Stormy Weather Prevails

We’ve endured some wild weather on the Fraser Coast this week. Monday’s massive storm band created havoc in parts and downed trees with its ferocious winds. We fared better than many of our SEQ neighbours, but it has been a wild ride. 

Better than 100mm has been tipped out of rain gauges in Hervey Bay township from just the last two major events. Localised run-off from built-up areas has been notable, but no significant stream rises are recorded, as yet. There are more storms on the way apparently, so prepare yourselves and stay off the water or seek shelter when the nasty ones are approaching. 

Today’s lighter northerly breeze is about as good as we have seen for a few days, yet it is still highly unappealing for bay-trippers. The BOM suggests an increasing northerly this afternoon on the one day where storms are less likely, so perhaps head for a creek or a river and give the bay a miss today and altogether this weekend.

Storms are forecast for both Saturday and Sunday, so expect more of that incessant heat we have been suffering lately. North to north-westers to 20 knots is the official call, yet much stronger winds could be anticipated as the storms approach, followed by howling winds from the opposite direction during or thereafter. Not a time to be out in a boat on exposed waters. Much better to be in the air con in your favourite fishing tackle shop cashing in on the Black Friday Sales – hint hint!

Wind predictions beyond the weekend vary so significantly from one weather site to the next, that I am not going to make the call. Expect more heat and the chance of further storms until a cooler change finally arrives later next week. It is the first quarter moon phase today, so we are smack-bang in the midst of another round of neap tides. They will be on the make again hereafter, so happy days in that respect, even if our options are drastically limited.

New Artificial Reefs to be Laid in Hervey Bay Next Week

Great news came to light in recent days as MSQ issued a Notice to Mariners of the intention to deploy 88 concrete artificial reef structures in our waters, just out from Pt Vernon. A barge and its supporting tug are scheduled to commence deployment from this Sunday 30th November until Thursday 4th December, weather permitting. 

They will be operating between the hours of 4am and 4pm, so boaties are advised to navigate with caution in the vicinity of the installation area. The following GPS co-ordinates draw a line around the new artificial reef site:

SE Corner: Lat 25°14.116’ S Long 152°50.346E

SW Corner: Lat 25°14.432S Long 152°50.215E

NW Corner: Lat 25°14.082S Long 152°49.372E

NE Corner: Lat 25°13.767S Long 152°49.503E

We trust that GPS co-ordinates for the individual structures will become public knowledge in the near future, in one form or another. Regardless, boaties sporting today’s impressive scanning technology won’t take long to identify each new hotspot. 

This new arti is a real shot in the arm for our local fishing public. These new reef sites will take some months to “come to life”, though fish life will start moving in almost immediately if history is anything to go by. Comparing the potential of these new reefs to the ‘unofficial’ artis some intrepid fishos have dumped off that coastline in the past, we can expect a host of desirable fish species to call these new sites home in the future.

Seasonal migrations along with baitfish and crustacean movements will dictate who is home at any given time in the future, yet you can expect the likes of snapper, nannygai, cod, coral trout, grassy sweetlip, blackall, reef jacks, various perches, barred grunter and tuskfish; just to name a few. Mackerel, queenfish, trevally and tuna are obviously going to make their presence felt at times too, as will the dreaded noahs arks that have inundated every other popular reef site in the bay.

Gatakers Bay and Burrum Heads boat ramps are busy places when the weather is decent already, so you can imagine a surge in popularity in the near future. All-in-all, wonderful news for all of us, and a much-needed addition to the limited inshore reef options Hervey Bay currently offers. A spin-off advantage may result too, in the form of less pressure on existing reef sites. All good news, no matter how you look at it. Many thanks to those that made this happen – well done!

We look forward to news of the future instalment of another 15 concrete pyramids between Woodgate Beach and Elliot Heads in the near future. These will be similar to the already successful and proven artificial reefs called the Hardy and Simpson. No doubt those reefs will be even more exciting for snapper fishos and those that are fans of spanish mackerel and trevally.

Big Variety in Small Numbers at the Pier

Foul weather and dirtying water aside, it has been a rather interesting week at the Urangan Pier. No doubt the coolest of captures has been the big GTs, but there have been a good mix of pelagics and estuarine species calling its waters home recently. If you have sturdy enough tackle and are up to the challenge, then take on the GTs, otherwise there are many alternative target species. 

Swags of baitfish have drawn in a few queenfish at high tide over the sand-bar and into the first channel. There has even been the odd golden trevally caught this week. Large flathead have been scoffing live baits in the shallows too, but their numbers are minimal and the chances of the flathead being oversized is very real, so don’t expect to be taking too many home for dinner. 

Mackerel-wise, it has been small numbers of larger broadies that have had the locals spinning their hearts out, whilst a few average-sized schoolies rocked up occasionally some days too. Flasha spoons continue their dominance in the spinning stakes, whilst live baits pinned to gang hooks are still favoured by the less energetic fishos.

Dirtier water has offered cover for blue salmon to make raids on the herring, and some of those blues have been quite sizeable. A 94cm fish sounds like the best this week, and that is nothing to sneeze at from a land-based platform in Hervey Bay. Large grunter have also been caught this week, and likely will again during the coming week. The bigger tides may favour their foraging habits, but this weather and the cover of darkness should keep some of them nearby and feeding.

Fish the Run-Off Hotspots Along Our Beaches

The best reports of whiting over the recent darks came from those fishing the rock groynes at Shelley Beach. The same location was popular amongst garfish fans, who spent the higher stages of the early run-out securing a feed of these little morsels. Some might have even caught these ‘mini-marlin’ to use at another time up the bay catching the real marlin.

Freshwater run-off from our streets etc flushes out across our beaches at sites such as the abovementioned groynes, as well as the pipes crossing Torquay Beach. Even trickles of excess water washing across the sand into a subtle gutter formation qualify as a run-off hotspot when the storms send buckets of water our way. 

These locations flush a whole new menu of potential forage seaward for the likes of whiting and bream to pounce on, and even draw the attention of much larger predators such as flathead, queenfish, grunter, blue salmon and small sharks. They may only be a hotspot briefly, so capitalise on major rain events (if they eventuate) and soak a yabby or prawn, or flick a few likely lures amongst the suds and test the theory after a future storm. 

Whiting fans probably enjoyed their best bite over the dark of the moon, so it will be nearly a week before they get excited again. In the meantime, putting some effort in to catch grunter is highly recommended. The stirred-up waters created by the pounding waves from the northerly winds offers prime feeding opportunities for grunter along our beaches and rocky foreshores. Very large fish are on the cards too, so keep your cool if you hook something that screams off and thumps it out doggedly. Not all such runs are from vermin.

Sharks are bound to become common captures from our beaches and jetties in coming weeks and months. Some will be fun-sized critters the kids can have a ball with; others will be so sizeable that standard tackle will not subdue them. Night time is the right time for shark fishing in shallow water, though chances are there will be smaller models caught regularly in daylight if our waters become more turbid from future winds and rains.

Grunter are cool bycatch when trolling for trout at Gatakers. Luke enjoys regular success trolling Grumpy Lures Trout Candies.

Jack Jones got up in the skinny water on the flats and scored this line-burning goldie.

Spaniards and Queenies on Local Inshore Reefs

As school mackerel become widespread throughout Hervey Bay waters, they also make their way down the straits. Kingfisher Bay Resort’s jetty has played host to a few schoolies of late (both types no doubt) and the deeper shipping channels further south will also get a visit at some time. Mackerel fishos have been hampered by the weather lately, so pinpointing the whereabouts of the best mackerel schools lately has been a moot point. Maybe we can offer better insight next week.

In the meantime, the summer migration of spanish mackerel inshore seems to have commenced. Average-sized spaniards are turning up on several inshore reefs, where they are predating on anything from herring and juvenile demersals in the deeper waters to garfish in the shallows. Try the reefs across the ‘banks’ such as the Outer Banks, the Simpson arti or Sammies, or head south of there and try the Roy Rufus. Some very impressive spaniards are likely later in summer, but for now, some of the fish being caught might even be deemed edible (ie; not too risky for ciguatera).

Big queenies school on some of our artificial reef sites and also along the more dramatic ledges skirting Fraser’s western flanks at this time. Great fun on topwater or a huge range of softies, these big queenies deserve some respect if the bull sharks happen to be in attendance. Steer away if they find you, and don’t be that idiot that sits there laughing as queenie after queenie eats live baits and gets monstered by sharks.

The recent darks saw the local trolling brigade out in force over our shallow fringing reefs. Coral trout were the main target as usual, and some decent specimens were caught. Trolling deeper with lures capable of touching down near the outer edge of the reefs (5-6m deep) proved fruitful, catching bycatch of cod as well as trout. Grunter also took a swipe at trolled lures, yet those that found schools and settled in with baits were the ones bragging about numbers.

Pan-sized bar cheek trout are being caught close inshore by various means. Carl was happy with this pending seafood delight.

RMG Scorpions are just one of many deeper diving lures you can put to work on the coral trout along the outer edge of our shallow reefs.

Mac Tuna Thick Whilst Spotties Still on Their Way

Squillions of tiny baitfish have been the drawcard for the masses of mac tuna you can find in Hervey Bay and the straits right now. Sure, they are a pest or a mere distraction to most fishos, but the kids absolutely love ‘em. When they can get them to bite that is, as they continue to prove challenging close inshore at present. Matching the hatch remains key to success, so a good armoury of very small slugs and small jerkshads etc is a must until those little baitfish grow further and larger lures match that hatch.

Reports of large solo longtails, and small pods or large fish cruising the Station Hill flats should be enough to get a few folks excited. Chasing these big black barrels in skinny water is one aspect of the Hervey Bay sports fishery that gained notoriety via DVDs etc years ago. Its popularity is its downfall however, as boat traffic is not conducive to keeping easily-spooked fish in the shallows. Get up there and beat the crowds to the prize and it will be screaming drags and rooster-tails all round.

The end of November is nigh and we are yet to be reporting on spotted mackerel schools in the northern bay. You can pretty much thank the prevailing northerly winds for that, as those winds spell bad news for Hervey Bay spotty fans. Being a species that feeds into the wind, we need more south-easters to draw them in whilst they migrate south.

We have already been bypassed by an early biomass, which has apparently turned up off Double Island Point and Noosa recently. Should the weather finally turn in our favour next week, then those fishos cruising the northern bay looking for marlin etc might have some interesting observations to share. If that is you, then ensure you have plenty of metal slugs in the 20–50-gram range on board, as you just might be the first to trip over the new season spotties.

Never one to let his son out-fish him, Brett Bartlett got amongst the big queenies with Braith.

Mrs Reader was stoked to catch this fine spanish mackerel. Expect more to move closer inshore next month.

Heavy Tackle Billfish Scene Hots Up Offshore

Weather constraints have limited offshore outings, but when a recent window or two opened, a few locals hit the wide blue yonder trolling for billfish on heavy tackle. One particularly successful day just recently saw one crew record 11 bites in 3 hours that saw them tag both black and blue marlin out over the continental shelf. The biggest of the marlin caught was an estimated 600lb black, whilst a fish bettering 800lb got away. Quite an entertaining few hours you might say.

Another crew didn’t enjoy anywhere near the same success, being very much restricted in their endeavours on a much rougher day. They had some fun with rat yellowfin bycatch but that was about it out wide, before heading for the Sandy Cape Shoals to try for spaniards. Alas, no joy there either, and with no desire to get pounded on their way north, they settled for a run back to the bay.

Hervey Bay’s juvenile black marlin are still being caught when the weather enables access to the top of the bay. Rooneys and the waters from Station hill to Wathumba remain most popular and continue to produce the odd fish. Many hopefuls are coming home empty-handed though, so it is still slim pickings up there for now. Everyone has their fingers crossed for a surge of fish following the spotted mackerel into the bay – if ever these northerlies let up!

Can You Get Better Conditions for Jack Fishing?

While everyone else is cursing the filthy weather, truly dedicated mangrove jack fans are rubbing their hands together right now. This year’s jack season has been a ripper so far, and this coming weekend in particular should be a doozie. Excessive heat followed by storms shadowing the afternoon sun is the perfect recipe for a seriously aggressive jack attack.

Head for the Burrum, or even better, the Gregory, and try your luck. There are countless rock bars and snags etc that you can cast your lures at, or you can soak a mullet fillet and simply slay some for dinner. The neap tides will make life easier for lure fishos this weekend, and some of you are bound to enjoy success on topwater – if you try. 

The low light periods of dawn and dusk have their appeal, particularly when it is this hot. A mangrove jack’s huge eyes are not built for staring into bright sunshine, so find the shade, or the structures that offer ambush points up in the water column whilst blocking the sun. Go deep when the sun is high in the sky if you can handle the heat, and be ready to rumble with arguably the most brutal brawler in our estuaries.

Head for the creeks of the straits instead if you prefer. You might even score better numbers down there. Sand flies and mozzies will welcome you, so be prepared for that. It takes a hardy soul to contend with the mangrove-lined creeks of the straits at dawn or dusk, so daytime sessions or later at night are favoured by many of us.

Try the Mary system for threadfin and see if their numbers have improved. Surely, they have by now. They can still be found in the Burrum system and are well-represented throughout much of the straits, so if the Mary doesn’t appeal, you have options. The same streams are home to everything from whiting and bream to grunter and blue salmon too, so a hot sticky day up a local creek is bound to be entertaining.

It might pay to take some crab pots and give them a soak too perhaps. Stormy weather threatens the mud crabs with a freshwater bath (which they aren’t fans of) so they are starting to move out of their backwater burrows. Commercial sand crabbers are doing it tough out on the bay of late we are told, so maybe it will be muddies in lieu of sandies amongst your next seafood banquet.

Good luck out there y’all …… Jase