Aedan continues to catch big nannies when he heads wide.
Onshore Trade Winds Prevail
If you are feeling frustrated because of the past week of windy weather, then you aren’t going to like this week’s forecast. A typical autumn weather pattern is well-entrenched at present, with high pressure systems tracking eastwards south of the continent. The resultant onshore winds for our part of the world are set in for the
foreseeable future, so boaties will be looking for shelter or brownie points this week (yet again).
A strong wind warning was issued yesterday for Hervey Bay waters that remains in force throughout today and Saturday. South-easterly winds to 30 knots will pretty much write-off boating and fishing in all but the most protected of waters. Sunday is looking slightly better, but only just. South-easterly winds to 25 knots is the call, with marginally lighter winds briefly at dawn.
The working week doesn’t look too flash either, sadly, as persistent south-easterly trade winds prevail at around 20 knots until at least mid-week. There will be a string of fast-moving showers riding these onshore winds that could cross our paths any and every day. Much akin to last week’s showers, that ended up leaving a surprising 30mm+ in Torquay rain gauges.
Making matters worse is the position of the moon this week, as yet another full moon crosses our skies in unfavourable weather. Making tides leading to Tuesday’s full moon will be ‘wasted’ by most folks whilst a hardy few make the most of the opportunities sheltered waters offer. The ‘May moon’ is one close to the hearts of many a long-term local no doubt – most of whom will be left wondering what might have been. Ah well, let’s see if anything within this report can inspire you into action during a wild and windy week.
Deep droppers can only dream about getting offshore this week.
The flamies are safe from deep droppers this weekend.
Double Island Point Fishing Charters will be back into the reefies down south earlier than we will get out this week.
Masses of Baitfish Beneath Urangan Pier
Assuming you can handle the howling wind, a wander out towards the deep end of the Urangan Pier might find you hooked up to a sizeable speedster. Hordes of herring are amassed beneath the pier at present, and the making tides this week could draw passing pelagics in for a fiesta.
Whilst it has been mostly broad-barred mackerel, flathead and the odd estuary cod hauled over the rails the past week, the week ahead could see tuna, queenies and more mackerel come within range. Admittedly, it will be quite challenging out there when the wind is at its strongest, so few will venture forth this weekend. Those that do will experience wind-created issues with live baits and bellies in lines etc, so opting for a spin outfit, some spoons and an energetic attitude could prove more fruitful.
Whispers of pier bream will be doing the rounds soon. So far, it’s been a mere smattering of smaller fish more inclined to excite the littlest kids than the true bream fans. Cooler weather behind this full moon would be a trigger to kick-start their annual spawning migration. So many bream are well downstream in our rivers and creeks already, courtesy of late wet season rains, so when they amass to migrate it will be on for young and old.
Chunky brown maoris like this one of Aedan's are always welcome additions to the esky.
Aedan and crew won't be short of prime fish fillets any time soon.
Whiting Exciting Beach and Mudflat Fishos
We’ve experienced relatively consistent beach whiting seasons here in Hervey Bay township for many years. Kicking off in August and tapering off by November, the run of “summeries” along our town beaches rarely expanded beyond those months. Times have changed now however, as already we are seeing promising signs of a more productive whiting fishery for other months of the year, courtesy of reduced gillnetting effort in the bay.
Yes, the late winter-spring spawning run will still occur (and very likely be better than ever), whilst times such as these see a decent feed in the offing for keen whiting fans. There has been enough whiting caught in town and on the outskirts already this week to suggest that the upcoming full moon period will be worth considering. Dancing tiny topwater lures with the breeze at your back will limit your options location-wise, whilst bait fishos can punch appropriately-weighted offerings into the churned-up waters elsewhere.
The stretches of beach fronting Urangan have been the most productive this week. The otherwise highly productive Booral Flats to the south might be feeding this stretch as strong onshore winds unsettle fish from those shallow muddy flats. Otherwise, some time spent gauging your options out Toogoom or Burrum Heads way could prove fruitful. If the beaches are too windblown, then a retreat into Beelbi Creek or the Burrum River will be the go.
There is bound to be numbers of bream within the lower reaches of those streams, as well as quite a few flatties. The same goes for O’Regans and Eli Creeks to a lesser extent. Grunter are a better chance with the full moon in the mix, as are queenies and perhaps a few salmon.
Word of a hefty haul of salmon, barra and other fish from our foreshore waters, netted totally illegally by some unscrupulous so-and-sos, is horrendous to hear. Those fish are history now, cashed-in and lost forever. Windy weather and the cover of darkness enable such despicable actions, so keep an eye open for any such suspicious activity and dob the mongrels in if you have to. Perhaps save the 24hr Qld Fisheries Fishwatch Hotline 1800 017 116 in your phone, just in case.
Steven Harvey was very proud of his first ever fingermark.
Rosy jobfish are often found in large schools. Not all are as big as this one of Aedan's though.
Only taking a couple of big nannies from a favourite honey hole ensures there are some there for your next trip.
Gatakers Bay Popular When the Trade Winds Howl
Few locations offer protection from the prevailing trade winds like Gatakers Bay. Launching from the ramp there enables you to go for a troll or anchor up and fish for reefies. Your chances of catching any decent coral trout on the troll at this time of year might be slim, but there is always the mackerel. Schools of baitfish have sought the same protection that you seek and the mackerel have moved in close to predate on them.
It is mostly schoolies and broadies off Gatakers at present, but the chance of a spaniard is quite real. Trolling your usual trout lollies will get the bite from a mackerel, but their tendency to bite off shorter-profiled lures can be quite frustrating. Long, slimmer minnow-style lures appeal even more and the right ones are capable of quite a wick of speed. Trolling the right lures at around 6-7 knots will soon let you know if you are traversing the right waters.
The reefs at Gatakers Bay and Pt Vernon have been fairly quiet for reefies. A trout is still possible, as is a cod or some sweeties, but all of these fish are more inclined to be elsewhere in deeper waters at this time of year. A school of grunter might save the day if you are lucky. Anchoring so that your boat isn’t yawing with the breeze can save you a lot of frustration (ensuring you avoid the no anchoring zones of course). A little berley was a great ploy in the past, but with such a ridiculous population of sharks, both large and small these days, such tactics might attract the wrong attention.
Feedback from those that took on the wind inshore and tried for reefies suggests the cod and trout are still on the bite in deeper waters. Grassies and nannies are also on the chew, suiting bait fishos keen to lean back on the anchor. The sharks remain a major hassle inshore, so let’s hope they back off when the snapper arrive. The May full moon would normally herald a snapper bite from select inshore hotspots. Few have made any concerted effort yet this autumn, and this moon might slip by largely unfished.
Baitfish schools are quite mobile inshore at present. Cooling waters will see more of their kin arrive en-masse soon, and right behind them will be the snapper schools. You might chance a few squire or the odd big old knobby when the winds ease, but numbers of snapper won’t arrive until our waters cool further. The water temp has dropped, but it remains around 22-23C at present.
Aimee had fun trolling for mackerel off Gatakers Bay in windy conditions.
Cod are commonly caught all through the bay, the straits and our rivers. Suckers for live baits and lures, they will bite well 'til it gets too cold.
Sweeties will be happy to scoff your baits next time you get out.
Spaniards Invade Hervey Bay
Mention of an abundance of spanish mackerel has been a common theme in our fishing reports every week for some time. As thick as they have seemed to be up until now, they just got thicker! The Arch Cliffs 6 Mile has been the happy hunting grounds of numbers of spaniards of late, and they are even more prolific up there right now. Some might get a crack at them in capable vessels when the wind isn’t howling this week. Making the effort to get there for the dawn session would be prudent, particularly if you want to get connected to a high-flyer on a stickbait.
There are spaniards elsewhere, from the Outer Banks to the top of the bay. Their recent protection might be thanked for the surge in their abundance, or maybe it is just a cyclical thing of nature. Spaniards were never really under threat of over-fishing in Hervey Bay waters as locals knew they were too high a risk of ciguatera to keep. Those that risk it risk it these days, but too much history ensures they remain on the throwback list for those with serious years on our waters.
No doubt there will be plenty of broad-barred mackerel and school mackerel out there in the bay when the winds ease. They will be cursed regularly by snapper fishos presenting plastics and jigs as they snip off lure after lure. Golden trevally will also trick quite a few fishos into thinking they’ve hooked the mother of all snapper in coming weeks too no doubt. The disappointing tell-tale consistent tail-thump of the trevally being something all snapper fishos become familiar with in time.
Spanish mackerel are prolific in the bay, so get out there amongst them when the wind eases.
School cobes are roaming the northern bay, with a few creeping south with the sand crabs.
Tuna Ride the Making Tides into the Straits
Longtail tuna were hard to spot in the open waters of the southern bay in recent days apparently. Mac tuna were out there in schools that blew up randomly, but few longtails. They will be there somewhere. Windy weather has kept the fleet of tuna fans off the water for the most part all week, so little insight can be offered beyond the relatively protected waters of southern Platypus Bay.
Quite notable however, is the continued run of larger longtails that have taken a liking to the waters of the Great Sandy Straits. Schools of flighty longtails continue to terrorise the baitfish traversing our inshore shipping channels, and more and more are making way further south into the straits. Big tuna too, in the 20-kilo class, that have tested a few fishos’ stamina in the fast-moving waters.
The sharks have not been kind to those hooking large longtails unfortunately. Free-spooling tactics have been deployed with limited success, whilst any efforts to bully such large tuna into submission have largely drawn the noahs even quicker. The big bull sharks own our inshore waters these days, and we pay a Trump-sized tariff to share their domain with them.
Luckily for queenfish fans, they often have their fun with the queenies up on the flats where the big bulls so rarely roam. The bigger full moon tides will most certainly stir our queenies into action this week. Few, if any, will get to enjoy that bite unfortunately. Anyone that does will certainly earn their fish in this week’s conditions.
Longtails may come within range of sheltered waters this week, so have a spin rod and tuna lures ready just in case.
The average longtail is getting bigger by the week. Some of the biggest are cruising the straits at present.
Flynn had fun chasing tuna, as fish like this chunky mac gave him a workout.
Kingfisher Bay is a Haven Out of the Wind
Fraser Island offers tremendous protection from the south-east trade winds, but you still have to make it over there. Not worth considering in 30 knots surely, but maybe 20 or so in the right vessel with the right skipper and crew. Miles of terrain can be explored once over there. Reef fish, pelagics and many of our best estuarine predators are on offer, but none are worth risking life and limb for.
Opting to leave the boat at home and jump on the Kingfisher Bay barge out of River Heads is a saner idea. The jetty over there has been fishing quite well at times recently, and will continue to do so whilst ever an abundance of baitfish are gathered beneath.
There has been broad-barred mackerel caught at Kingfisher this week. Jewies have been copping an absolute caning by the kids and other keen fishos for many weeks, so you can probably expect more undersized fish than keepers. Flatties are a most consistent catch for live baiters, with a few being caught on lures by folks wandering the foreshores as well.
Schools of quality whiting often cruise right past the jetty at times, though most are caught by folks working the fringing stretches of beach. The run of large whiting up Moon Creek way was notable a few weeks ago, and whispers of decent catches from Fraser’s western shores abound, so there is every chance anyone keen enough could be enjoying whiting for dinner after a full moon session over along Fraser.
There are salmon to be caught further down the straits, from both the mainland and Fraser’s creek systems. Both species too, with blues and threadies both making their way into the creeks to predate on the amassing prawns and baitfish. Grunter are quite prolific within the network of channels down that way. They aren’t everywhere, so focus on waters beyond a creek system or waters fringed by rock and gravel.
Tri from Fraser Guided Fishing has been putting his clients onto the bay's prolific longtail tuna.
It was a lap full of golden trevally for the Brown boys back when the weather was better.
Visit Dirty Mary if you Want Crabs
So much for the BS some were trying to spruik a couple of weeks ago about the mud crabs going quiet with the cool change. Not in these parts folks, as a number of crabbers could attest from last week’s efforts. The muddies are still on the charge and serious numbers are invading pots in our creeks and rivers.
The full moon would normally see a surge in crabbing effort, and maybe it will again, regardless of the foul weather. Given few alternative options, some crab fans are bound to slip the pots in, and the dirty waters of the mighty Mary River are as good a place as any. The freshwater flow has slowed in the upper reaches, so the crabs are on the march back upstream. Intercept them on their travels and happy days.
Word is that the pros continue to do well on the sand crab grounds out in the bay. Heavy weather has denied average Joe a crack at them, but they will still be there when the wind eases. A few pots diligently placed in a few metres of water close inshore could score a feed over the full moon tides. Notwithstanding, if you consider the howling wind and force of the waves, such an activity is probably foolhardy. The chance of lost pots is also high, so sand crabbing is unlikely to appeal to too many people.
Mud crabs are on the march, and there is plenty of big ones in the mix - just ask Jeff.
Chasing barra in windy weather is an option, particularly within our rivers somewhere the high banks offer protection.
Bananas in the Burrum
Just as our river systems’ waters improve in quality, the banana prawns have re-emerged and are on the move. The Mary system gave up a feed of reasonably-sized prawn this week without having to drive too far from River Heads. In fact, a few brave souls continue to score enough for a feed from the ramps at times. Those brave souls being the ones willing to throw cast nets on barnacle and oyster-encrusted rocks.
More impressive this week, has been the quality of banana prawns caught from the Burrum River system. Large ‘nanas have been schooling in deeper holes and are readily spotted on a decent sounder. Cast netting efforts have been scattered to some extent, but a few classic areas are soon discovered by others when the effort becomes obvious. The full moon will create its own challenges for prawners in the Burrum this week, as will the wind. Its no fun trying to throw a cast net in 30 knots, so save your energy for periods of less wind. Fresh prawns for mum on Sunday perhaps?
The prawns aren’t the only critters attracting attention in the Burrum system at present either. Quality barra have been back on the chew, and the biggest of the mangrove jacks have schooled for their annual exodus. The big tides will ensure bait fishos have the edge on lure fishos when it comes to the jacks, but it will be even stevens on the barra scene.
If a session chasing bread’n’butter species is more to your liking, then you could have a great time catching bream in the lower Burrum River. The bream don’t have to run the gauntlet of the gillnets anymore, so expect big things from them this season. Quality bream are already schooling, so you are in with the chance of cricket scores in coming weeks. The full moon will have them, the whiting, and any grunter cruising the river, all on the chew. Throw in a few flatties from around creek mouths and the islands and its happy days on the Burrum.
Kyle put Garmin Livescope and suspending hardbodies to work on Mondy's barra and caught fish like this throughout the night.
The northern bay's trout population will get a spell again this week. Andrew will just have to go prawning and barra fishing instead.
Fraser Looked Awesome Before this Blow
A hectic Easter holiday period on Fraser Island saw it over-loved once again. The inland tracks are a lot worse for wear after such heavy traffic volume. It is quiet over there again now – just the way the island locals like it. Large seas have been battering the exposed coastline and bigger are on the way. The surf beach scene looked incredible just prior to this latest blow. Tremendous low and mid-tide gutters looked incredibly fishy up and down the beach.
We didn’t get much feedback fishing-wise from the Easter crowds, but can share a report from folks that were over there this week. Seeking shelter from the wind and waves at Waddy Point and Indian Head saw a few fishos getting amongst a modest run of chopper tailor. They also caught quite a few decent dart too.
It won’t be too long and we will be taking Fraser’s surf fishery seriously again, as the march flies have backed off and the winter fishery unfolds. In the meantime, history suggests that the month of May is a great one for beach whiting, and there should be plenty of flathead and dart about too. Mess with the choppers if you find them, but consider time spent with lighter outfits and fish that pull every bit as hard and taste substantially better.
And last, but certainly not least, make Mother’s Day special for your mum this Sunday. Treat her to some fancy food and fine gifts and make her a promise to take her fishing when conditions improve. Many mums love their fishing, and often enjoy it the most when in the company of their beloved offspring.
Good luck out there y’all …… Jase
Windy weather won't deny barra fishos a crack at the salties this week.
Christopher hit the Fitzroy and got amongst the prolific barramundi population up there.