Fisho’s Weekly Fishing Report – 6th March, 2026

Flats fishing for barra is a great option over bigger tides such as those of the recent full moon. Joe with yet another quality fish.

Another Big Rain Event Heading Our Way

Here we go again folks. Yet another wet weekend for our neck of the woods, as a heavy rain-bearing low pressure system creeps down from the tropics. At least we got to enjoy the blood moon Tuesday night under clear skies, and what a special event it was for those lucky enough to be out on the water fishing.

Today’s 15-20 knot east to south-easterly will ease to 10 knots and tend more easterly Saturday. The wind may be light, but the rain will be substantial, so only the uber-keen will head out. Sunday should kick off with light winds again, though it looks like a potential deluge with some pretty wild winds in the mix late in the day that could exceed 30 knots from the south-east. All in all, a pretty woeful weekend for we fishos, so consider some much-needed maintenance or perhaps a little retail therapy at Fisho’s.

Stronger south-easterly winds are likely Monday as the low spins off our coast and the rains continue to fall. Just how much rain we might cop is an unknown, and the winds may vary to those currently forecast. Monitor closely and rely on only the latest forecasts only as longer term appears to be pure conjecture, as low pressure systems are and always will be volatile systems whose movements are difficult to predict. Plan for a drenching and any less will be a bonus.

Easing winds Tuesday will be welcome, and might see a mid-week window open thereafter for bay fishos. Let’s see what eventuates. With the moon now waning and the tides draining there isn’t too much to be upset about as far as missed opportunities go this weekend. The last quarter phase commences Wednesday and this means making tides thereafter, so fingers crossed for better weather next weekend. Don’t look ahead now though, as it looks damp and depressing once again.

All Sorts of Fish at the Pier Over the Full Moon

Plenty of herring and a slowly building aggregation of pike is drawing a number of pelagic species to Urangan Pier waters. Catches from the past week included at least one large spanish mackerel, a few schoolies, queenfish and GTs. Visits by these predators have been somewhat sporadic and a little unreliable, so it has been a lucky dip from day to day.

The GTs are still semi-resident, but they are ultra-wary and at times downright shy. Their brutish attitude is curbed over summer by being stung so many times by hooks attached to the lines of folks that just couldn’t handle them amongst the pylons. Lessons are learned quickly in their world and the old adage ‘one bitten twice shy’ most certainly applies to GTs. Cunning and stealthy hook placement helps to trick the warier individuals, whilst every fish lost (or released) is just that bit wiser and harder to tempt next time.

On a much smaller scale, on substantially lighter tackle, there were folks out there catching themselves a modest feed of whiting on the approach of the full moon. Repeats of such success will be much more challenging now that the tides have lost their oomph, but fish in the area might be tempted to bite by the inbound inclement weather and potential fodder-flushing that it can bring.

Beach Fishos Be Ready for a Fresh Flush this Week

Talk of decent catches of whiting from Toogoom to Woodgate over the full moon period were encouraging. One fisho relayed his tale of catching a mere 3 whiting for his efforts with bait, before returning for another assault armed with topwater offerings such as Daiwa Slippery Dog stickbaits. As so many folks have found before him, the resultant 20+ whiting landed in that session totally confirmed the effectiveness of tiny topwater offerings for ‘ting. Ample opportunity to test that theory will present itself post rain event if jelly prawns are flushed from our creeks, so ready your ultra-light tackle and don’t miss out.

As suggested prior to other recent rain events, those of you that are temporarily (or permanently) restricted to fishing from shore can capitalise on an array of opportunities any resultant flooding might create. Fishing adjacent to floodwater outflows such as the rock groynes at Shelly Beach or the stormwater pipes at Torquay might see you hooking fish attracted by the flush of food. Anything from whiting, bream and flathead to grunter, queenfish and sharks might turn up if the flooding is substantial enough. It may be a total dud too, but only those that go for a flick will know.

Timing will be ultra-important for any post-rain fishing forays. Be there while streams are building and flowing or immediately thereafter, or miss out altogether basically. That goes for the banks of the local creek mouths and the flats beyond too. Armed with a selection of prawn imitation softies and some fairly small topwater offerings, a savvy landlubber can flick a few lures and quickly assess his/her options. Active fish in such a situation are typically observed crashing their prey, so the excitement will peak should your timing be spot on. 

Creek fishos could find themselves catching mangrove jacks, barra and estuary cod as the rains build. Ensuring you don’t put yourself in harm’s way should significant flooding eventuate, you should be looking to the upper reaches and backwaters for your action pre-flood. Local man-made lakes are popular amongst a massive population of fish-mad kids these days, so no doubt plenty of them will be flogging the rising waters to foam if serious rains arrive.

Bay Fish Get Another Reprieve this Weekend

Breezy weather limited opportunities for boaties to wander far into the bay over the past week, and there won’t be many boat trailers at Urangan Harbour this weekend either. Gatakers Bay ramp might have a few die-hards launching into sheltered waters if the rain is bearable, but there won’t be many folks that keen on these tides.

No change to the inshore status quo means there will still be coral trout, estuary cod, plenty of sweetlip and some blackall out there for reef fishos when the weather improves. Grunter should’ve been on the chew close inshore over the full moon and won’t be far away come better weather. With any luck, nannygai catches will improve with each of these passing weather systems, with a serious increase in numbers inshore post-flooding should that occur.

No doubt the big giant trevally that have been terrorising the baitfish and other inhabitants of our local artificial reefs are still out there maintaining the rage. They won’t be this close inshore forever, so make the most of the opportunity if wrestling with a GT appeals. Big rains will mean a major flush from our creeks and rivers and these inshore GTs are well-positioned to take advantage of any such flush. Dirty water will eventually move them on, but they will capitalise on the initial abundance before moving out to cleaner waters.

Second Spanish Mackerel Closure in Force

Spanish mackerel are once again fully protected under the second annual 3-week closure in our waters. You must not target or keep them until after the 21st March in Qld waters south of Stanage Bay. A few were caught in that week between closures recently, and there will be fish on offer after this closure concludes. Mostly quite large spaniards inshore, with true giants bettering 30 kilos being possible amongst a general run of fish averaging 15 kilos or so.

Until then, mackerel fans will have to make do with a feed of school mackerel or perhaps a broadie if they can find them. Schoolies made an appearance at The Fairway this week, but it sounds as though the monster bull shark and its smaller brethren that are lurking thereabouts enjoyed a better feed than any visiting fishos.

Spotted mackerel are still being caught out in the central bay and in Platypus Bay it seems. This late run of fish is seemingly better than what should’ve been the early summer run of spotties that barely eventuated. Enjoy the bonus spotties while you can as they are well and truly overdue to migrate elsewhere. Look for them post-rain feeding with the prolific tuna schools and spin them up on small metal slugs if you see them.

Longtail tuna remain abundant across the bay, with the better numbers found from the 6 Mile into northern Platypus Bay this week. Few got to get amongst them due to the wind, so those that did had ample schools to bounce around when and if the sharks found them. Speaking of sharks, word is that some unlucky individual was bitten whilst snorkelling at renowned diving hotspot Lady Elliot Island. Struth, we Aussies seem to suffer a lot of shark attacks in waters the naive greenies would have us believe are supposedly so under-populated with sharks, eh?!

Straits Appeal as Rivers Run Dirtier

Many folks are catching quality estuarine predators down the Great Sandy Straits, and doing so on lures in waters much cleaner that what can be found in our rivers. The full moon tides lifted silt from the river bottom and exacerbated the already tainted waters further recently. The potential of flooding from this latest rain event would only worsen that water quality. Not that the fish are minding the brown water; just frustrated lure fishos keener on clearer waters.

Barramundi, threadfin salmon, jewfish and grunter are being caught down the straits, along with the odd flathead, plenty of cod and a renewed abundance of blue salmon. The blues are on the move since the water colour is changing and they are actively swiping at a range of lures, live baits and even dead prawn or herring baits. Their much cooler cousins are still easy enough options on soft vibes and other lures, but are about to change hunting tactics should floods impact our region. More on that subject in future reports should it actually happen.

You cannot go wrong with a humble prawn imitation soft plastic in our strait’s streams and channel country. The same offerings weighted a bit heavier will get you hooked into any reef fish lurking along the ledges lining Fraser’s western shores down there too, so you can never have too many prawn imitations on board. Luckily for you, Fisho’s is brimming with all the very best prawn lures on the market today, and more are being unloaded and made available as you read this. We are truly spoilt these days and the fish stopped having any chance quite some time ago.

The Mary River is running rather dirty at present, exaggerated by a minor flush through the adjoining Susan River. Silt will settle once these bigger tides subside, but for now, you are best concentrating your efforts well downstream. Barra and threadies will be the main target species for most lure fishos, but taking the lighter tackle for a spin and targeting grunter could be productive if recent results from river locals are anything to go by.

Burrum’s Popularity Impacting Catches

As with any fishery, too much attention can see results decline as fishing effort from the masses increases. The Burrum river system is a case in point, where increasing pressure on somewhat sedentary fish populations has seen fish turn shy and/or relocate of late. The system continues to fish well, in the general scheme of things, though more effort elsewhere is the go for those that were enjoying the easily accessed and productive spots of recent times.

Barra continue to be the major drawcard for visiting and local fishos, and some awesome fish are being caught, regardless of the dirtier water. Metre-plus barra are more abundant in the Burrum now that they have been since major flooding many moons ago. Protected from the past onslaught of gill-netting, the Burrum’s barra these days only have we recreational anglers to worry about (oh, and the bull sharks of course).

Luckily for the barra, the vast majority of modern-day fishos are happy to release large barramundi unharmed. It is somewhat shameful to be caught with or share images of dead metre-beaters these days, so the influence of others doing the right thing for so long is steadily impacting and changing the behaviour of those that were once inclined to kill all fish, regardless of size, prestige or future breeding value. 

Mangrove jacks continue to bite well throughout the Burrum system, and will be extra-vicious as this inclement weather unfolds. Downstream movements are likely should flooding occur, and the river’s biggest and baddest will start gathering for the mass exodus that they cannot resist this time of year. Picture jacks schooling to migrate beyond the confines of the river for ‘bluer pastures’ on our reefs. River jacks are only juveniles compared to their reef jack brethren, where mature fish can achieve whopping dimensions well offshore.

Intercept these jacks on their migration and you could enjoy some of the best jack fishing anyone has ever witnessed. Fish averaging 50-60cm or so can be cunning to tempt with the wrong offerings, and brutally vicious towards the right ones. Change tactics from what might’ve been your river go-to lures and baits and think more reef fish equivalents and larger offerings. Lose some sleep and fish the witching hour and beyond, and be ready for a serious towelling-up if you go under-gunned. Something to ponder for the months of March/April and a highly worthy fishery for those with the skill and determination it demands.

A full moon grunter bite was on the cards for Burrum fishos, and that bite isn’t necessarily done just yet. The Burrum’s waters are dirtier post-moon than they were prior, so downstream movements of grunter have made them more accessible and easier to find. The flats and channels in the vicinity of the convergence of the Burrum’s feeder rivers is a great place to start looking for grunter (and other species) as are the waters closer to the heads.

Muddies on the March and Prawns Amassing

Past rains and the full moon tides have had the mud crabs on the move, and many folks are enjoying the feast this time of year offers. Quality crabs, full to the brim with meat, are being potted down the straits and within our river systems. Fraser’s western creeks are crabbing particularly well, as are some of the mainland streams some distance down the straits. Quite a few are bragging class crabs too, reaching a whopping 21cm.

Further rains will only improve the crabbing, but it will also morph into a different version of the current fishery. Enough rain to create major flooding will mean a mass exodus from the high-flowing rivers and creeks. Downstream pot placement, or indeed placement beyond the streams altogether will be warranted in that event. On the other hand, minor localised flooding will mean most crabs will remain within the confines of our creeks and rivers. Either way, there will be crabs aplenty and new grounds will come alive in time.

Given the masses of small prawns gathering in our rivers, a major rain event could see a dramatic downstream shift that will ultimately aggregate the prawns in the usual hotspots nearer the river mouths. There are already prawns there for those that could be bothered going for a throw. Full blown flooding will flush the better prawn whilst the smallest progeny will thrive and grow quickly in the largely saltless waters.

We will be enjoying many a meal of tasty banana prawns in coming weeks and months one way or another. Get your top pocket cast nets ready, or invest in a new one if you need to. We stock a great range from stables such as Pro Throw, Wilson Ezy Cast and Pro Cast and Jarvis Walker Maxicast and Fintek. Serious top pocket only nets with chain bottoms, and top and bottom pocket nets with lead join the you-beaut new Maxicast top and bottom pocket nets adorned with chain. Many fantastic options for all budgets and prawning applications. It’s time to get semi-serious as serious prawning and a much better class of banana prawn is just around the corner.

Good luck out there y’all …… Jase