Jewies are a prime target at present. Drop in and hassle Kealan at Fisho's for tips on land-based missions.
Onshore Breeze Returns to Welcome the New Moon
With the exception of the past two days, we have had to work around a little more breeze than we would like over the past week. Hard to say that the conditions haven't been pleasant though, all the same. Milder evenings and cool days are enjoyable, and it looks like we are in for more of the same next week.
Listening to those that dodged work and revelled in the excellent conditions just passed will be frustrating whilst you consider alternative options in the breezy days ahead. A 15-20 knot south-easter is set to prevail until at least early in the working week, so it looks like close inshore waters and our estuaries will be the preferred options once again. There will be increasing shower activity into the weekend too, but nothing too drenching.
The light at the end of the tunnel might be the glamour weather the online sites are spruiking for late next week – or is that just more of the usual tease? A slow-moving high in the Tasman will see a weak ridge persist along the Qld coastline, suggesting moderate trade winds and a few scattered showers until that ridge breaks down as the next southern high trapses steadily east.
Taking advantage of lighter inshore winds super early in the morning might seem worthy, until you realise you will be charging into wind-against-tide conditions and/or high tide in semi-exposed waters. If the winds remain light enough – then yay. If not – then nay. The new moon tides will be massive, peaking with evening highs to 4.18m from afternoon lows as low as 0.48m. This will mean extra-strong tidal flow, which is great for the fishing, but not so much for the boating.
Dave was one of several fishos to get amongst the cobia in the bay.
Legal reds are rarer than ever in Hervey Bay waters, so Dave was stoked with this 5-kilo model.
Bream Arrive in Numbers Beneath Urangan Pier
Herring schools vacated Urangan Pier waters a week or so ago when the westerly winds prevailed. That breeze swung back onshore last weekend, and the herring returned en-masse. Schools of bream were hot on their tails too it seems, as numbers of scrappy breambos turned it on thereafter.
Scrounging a feed, or toying with a handful of fish in past weeks was soon forgotten, as numbers of quality bream were all of a sudden being swung over the rails by a number of fishos. Fish to better than 40cm were landed, and there are bound to be even better fish caught this new moon. These bigger tides might create a few challenges for unfamiliar fishos, but these spawn-run bream should continue to bite well through key periods day and night.
Look back over our most recent fishing reports for tips on bait fishing and lure fishing for pier bream. Cranka Crabs have already proven their worth on some solid fish, and the new soft plastic offerings coupled with purpose-specific matching jig heads will come into their own now too. You can always go 'old school' and dance small appropriately-weighted jerkshad-style and prawn-shaped softies amongst the pylons, but you will have to contend with some carnage from the resident pike.
Put those pike to good use by pinning them in the snout with a decent hook and return them to the drink alive for a flathead or a jewfish. Work the tides appropriately, and you could catch flatties by day or both species by night. Be ready for a tiger squid should any show up too; by ensuring you have squid jigs handy and light enough tackle to deploy them.
Tasty rods those Samurais, eh Kealan. Bassday Sugapens tempted plenty of quality fish on a local flats mission this week.
Kealan is a Urangan Pier specialist who enjoys tricking bigger bream into eating Cranka Crabs.
Terry Allwood from Flick It Charters taking time out from Mondy for a calamari-gathering session in the bay.
Coral trout will still scoff a Live Shrimp softie inshore in winter if you head deeper and focus on tide turns.
Flats Bream and Local Foreshore Options
Given that the bream are now in serious migration-mode with intent to spawn (evidenced by the spray you will cop from any males you handle), quite a few local fishos will be dusting off the ultra-light finesse tackle and targeting them exclusively. Local town beach frontages offer access to passing schools of bream, with rocky outcrops such as Torquay Rocks and the Groynes at Shelly Beach holding fish for longer periods.
Even better numbers can be found by wandering the rocky foreshores Pialba to Gatakers Bay, or by focussing on Urangan Harbour, River Heads and the Booral Flats (wind permitting). The opportunity to fish for flats bream either down there, nearer the harbour, or elsewhere around creek mouths should not be overlooked if you are a bream fan.
Topwater opportunities abound, and you can mix up your session with tiny blades, micro hardbodies and a huge range of softies. So many lures adorn the walls at Fisho's these days that have bream stamped all over them. Just ask the lads for some advice if new to the game. Ensuring you go armed with light fluorocarbon leaders when using sub-surface lures will give you a definite edge amongst warier old bream, whilst giving you bonus abrasion resistance qualities to boot.
You might trip over schools of whiting whilst hunting for bream. They will often intercept the same lures, but need an extra burst of speed to get excited most of the time. Dancing topwater lures in a steady splash and stall style retrieve will have the bream up and taking swipes, whilst faster more constant retrieves will trigger strikes from the whiting.
Carry some heavier leader or a second outfit and you can mix it with the flathead that are becoming more common around our creek mouths. Those same fish can be found upstream in our local creeks too, pretty much right through any given system. Add the chances of blue salmon and little queenies and your session wandering a local stream or flat could be quite exciting. Oh, and needless to say – don't forget to carry at least one squid jig.
Fisho's staffer, Damo, has been back to the fresh chasing sooties. This chunkier than average model was the best of a bunch last trip.
Mason spent some time fishing local non-tidal waters for bass recently. Bass are off limits in tidal waters 1st June to 31st Aug in Qld by the way.
New Moon Tides Prime for Snapper
As appealing as the full moon is - take it from an old snapper fisho – the new moon and the day or two thereafter are brilliant. Our bay waters have dropped to average around 19°C and there is stacks of bait moving closer and closer inshore. All we need now is the snapper to show up (and the sharks to rack off).
The lack of snapper reports to date is highly alarming to someone who has enjoyed such past success and watched such dramatic decline year after year for so long now. It seems the residual stocks of male snapper that might have lingered in the bay post previous year's spawn are all shark … err … droppings these days, and we now have to rely on a belated season when the major biomasses of female stock migrate inshore (along with more accompanying males).
That migratory movement is no doubt underway, and it is only a matter of time before snapper turn up at the usual hotspots throughout the bay. The loss of genetic memory from the non-return of individuals because of shark depredation etc may well see vastly-less numbers arrive at past hotspots, whilst 'new' grounds elsewhere enjoy an influx of fish with differing genetic memory.
For that reason, and many others, you should be spreading your wings when the weather allows, and seeking your next snapper bounty from spots other than the over-pressured same old well-known hotspots. Sure, quality fish will still be caught from the likes of Moon, the Roy Rufus, the Simpson, the Burrum 8 Mile and various shipwrecks and home-made artificial reefs in the southern bay – sharks permitting – yet better returns for effort exist beyond those grounds.
Head offshore proper and you will find no shortage of snapper. Be that wide off Breaksea Spit or over the Wide Bay Bar down south. Obviously not an option in onshore weather in coming days, but worthy of some effort in a lighter wind or an offshore breeze. Head for the 25 Fathom Hole or for sites galore in Platypus Bay and you will find fish feeding on yakka schools in the area. No yakkas = no snapper; so, keep searching and focus on daylight and dusk periods to better your chances.
Broadies are just one of many speedsters an avid fly fisho could sight-fish in clear shallow waters in Hervey Bay.
The Muldoon boys proved that queenies like Chasebaits Curly Prawns, and would find snapper respond positively too if they find some.
Chasebaits Curly Prawn softies were put to work on the local grunter by the Muldoon boys.
Expect trevally bycatch to increase dramatically as we head deeper into winter.
Winter Whiting Spreading into the Straits
Comments from winter whiting fans grabbing bait and terminal tackle for their next assault suggest a feed of these tasty little morsels is quite easy this season. Catches continue to come from Gatakers Bay waters, as well as out from the Burrum, up Woodgate way and out near the NU2. Basically, the western side of the southern bay is winter whiting central right now, and a good feed is on offer.
The new moon tides will get the whiting feeding even harder, whilst also triggering schools to migrate to fresh grounds. At some time quite soon, the grounds between Urangan Harbour and the bottom of Woody Island will come to life, but you will need a bit better weather than this for a session down that way.
Word from down the straits suggests an easy feed is on offer out from Boonooroo, where you could even soak a few pots and expect to take home a feed of sand crabs. No word from east of River Heads at this time, though not to say those waters aren't worth investigating.
Enough school mackerel have been loitering around whiting schools off Gatakers Bay and elsewhere to suggest a little extra focussed effort might by justified. Keep it simple and pin a live bait or a pillie on a set of gangs if you like, or take the even simpler option and go for a troll. Minnow-style lures capable of 6-8 knots without blowing out will tempt the mackerel, and you might even score some interesting bycatch.
Not the sort of bycatch you want to deal with when trolling, eh Mindy. Very lucky to get that lure back!
Mindy again with more acceptable bycatch whilst trolling for trout and mackerel.
Whopper Cobia Thrilling Bay Fishos
For many folks, it would be fair to say that an XOS cobia will be the biggest fish they ever catch. Think about your own catches whilst excluding the likes of cod and sharks and you might tend to agree. No doubt a couple of fishos can agree with that statement already this winter, and we have months of potential PB cobia encounters ahead yet.
Whilst most serious reef fishos don't really plan to tangle with monster cobes, all have or will at some time. They can be found quite close inshore at present, and also right through the bay to its most northern waters. Gathering in numbers where there is ample baitfish for periods, schools of mixed-sized cobia can be a real handful and almost impossible to avoid at times.
Prominent structure attracts and holds both baitfish and cobia, yet so does some fairly flat and rubbly-type bottom. Cobia can even be found over open sandy grounds where they hoover up sand crabs as they pass. Needless to say, if you are out in the bay dropping live baits to the bottom, float-lining for snapper, fishing for spaniards, jigging or even trolling; then you are eventually going to be groaning against the will of a cobia of some size sometime soon.
Kindly have some respect for these charismatic creatures and resist killing all you catch. No-one wants to see mass murder of big cobes in this day and age. Take one for a feed, or maybe two (your bag limit) if you find the smaller school fish, and let the biggest old critters swim off to thrill another bay fisho. Do so by cutting leaders to avoid gaffing if you can, and they will shed that cut-off hook in no time. A well-taken in-water photo of a monster cobe prior to release is all you will need for bragging rights, as their girth and dimensions won't need to be exaggerated.
Big cobia will feature amongst catches for reef and sports fishos in coming weeks and months.
Cradling cobia will see many a fisho appreciate how slimy they are this winter.
New Moon Sandy Straits Options Galore
The weather may not be ideal, yet it is certainly manageable for capable vessels and skippers down the Great sandy Straits. Good timing will aide safe and comfortable passage across semi-exposed waters, taking you to a plethora of hotspots and a diverse range of fisheries.
Take the finesse tackle along for the ride and go looking for bream, whiting and squid and that could be your whole day. Spend some time with slightly heavier tackle chasing flathead and grunter and you could score a fine feed whilst having a ball. Break out the 10 kilo rods and start working the last of the ebb tide for barra and threadies and your bragging rights might just go next level.
Throw in a little targeted jew fishing if you know your way around the ledges and sunken reefs down that way, and you are bound to be wrestling at least a couple of estuary cod intent on stealing your soft vibes or prawn imitations. Be ready for encounters with schools of pesky blue salmon no matter what you do or where down there as they could turn up anywhere there is a steady source of tucker.
Chase golden trevally on the flats in the upper-most reaches of the straits, or head further down and chase queenies in similarly-skinny water. You might say there is a bit going on down the straits at present, and the dark of the moon is about as good a time as any to be down there getting amongst it.
Take your crab pots for a run and soak them up a creek for muddies, or out along the fringe of a channel somewhere for some sandies. Admittedly, the best of the mud crabbing may well be confined to the major riverine systems at present, but given how good this season has been, an untapped creek is highly likely to give up some bucks. You could also throw in the cast net and add banana prawn to the seafood banquet if you can drag yourself away from the big predatory fish come low tide.
Barambah Stinger Shrimps are proving deadly on threadfin salmon. Little shakes and shudders down deep and slow draws from drains both work a treat.
Scotty from Focussed Fishing (and Fisho's) slipped up to the Fitzroy for a change of scenery and got amongst the big river predators.
River Water Clarity Improved and Fish Returning
Poking about within the lower reaches of our major river systems could be productive for a few species, whilst strong tidal flow and raised silt further upstream makes life challenging for lure fishos this weekend. The Burrum itself could give up jewfish, barra, threadies and plenty of flathead, whilst also offering fun and a feed for those using lighter tackle for bream and whiting. Will the tailor turn up this early? Maybe not, but there is a chance.
The Burrum's feeder rivers are also fishing very well, even with increased traffic due to livescopers sharing the success of their exploits on social media. Just how quickly the schools of fish cotton-on to extra pressure is notable, so if you observe fish galore that are trying to stay away from you or vacate the area altogether, then you can assume you aren't the first to fish those waters of late.
The Mary's threadfin salmon are getting easier to find and catch week by week, and they leave the Burrum's fish in their wake in the average size department. Schooled fish can still be caught easily enough on soft vibes, yet resorting to smaller prawn imitations has been a saviour when they are being cagey. Encounters with blue salmon are annoying for fishos focussed on more prestigious quarry, and those blues can vary from tiddlers to real handfuls.
Barra bit okay again this week before the tides built up steam. Favoured hardbodies continue to shine for those of us proficient in their use, whilst others scoping with large prawn imitations catch even bigger barra. Your barra fishing efforts will need to be refined this time of year for consistent success, though opportunities for trollers to get amongst the action also abound. The same goes for catching wintertime threadies on the troll. Something worth considering if you prefer putting action into your lures with your boat rather than your wrist.
River Heads and surrounds is likely to host a few interesting catches in coming days. Some claim there are mackerel in the area, which is very early perhaps. Blue salmon are just as likely to be the culprits creating the commotion drawing terns and gulls in for a look, yet the same lures will catch either species. Throw in bream from the rocky River Heads peninsula or South Head and the very strong chance of jewfish nearby and some time learning how to contend with the raging currents down there could prove fruitful.
So, Fishos, the weather might not be flash, but the tides are, and the dark of the moon creates a tremendous bite that would be a shame to miss. If you love your seafood, then go catch squid, prawns and crabs to go with some fresh fish and happy days! If it is all about the sport, then you are just as spoilt. Go get 'em!
Enter the kids into the upcoming Hervey Bay Fishing Classic and they can go target this list of readily available species.
Even crabbers can get into the prizes at the HBFC. Only 21 days to go fishos.
Variety galore for inshore and bay fishos to target in the HBFC.
Offshore fishos and deep-droppers can get amongst the prizes at the HBFC
Good luck out there y'all …… Jase