Fisho's staffer and supposed Urangan Pier tuna guru Kealan Peaker with the result of his latest efforts.
Awesome Early Springtime Weather
With the vigorous south-easterly change and yesterday's strong wind warning out of the way, the week ahead is looking particularly appealing for Fraser Coast fishos. Sunny skies and a building northerly breeze will warm things up again whilst remaining ultra-pleasant for one and all.
This morning's 20-knot south-easter is scheduled to ease gradually, and should leave us with 10-15 knots by lunchtime. Glorious conditions will greet boaties heading out early Saturday. A light and variable zephyr will barely ruffle the bay's surface until the northerly kicks in inshore during the late afternoon.
A prevailing northerly sea breeze Saturday evening will leave a little residual jiggle on the bay that early risers will experience Sunday morning, but it too is another great day with barely 10 knots from the north after a calmer morning. Being neap tides, the bay's currents won't exaggerate wave action so much, but you will face wind-against-tide for the first few hours of daylight.
The weekend weather sets the stage for the first of the working week, with basically light to no breeze early then a sea breeze each afternoon. A more defined onshore easterly seems likely by mid-week, when a stray shower or two may grace our coastline. More good weather thereafter could see the first week of the September school holidays be rather exhausting for fishing-mad kids and their just-as-keen parents.
The set of neap tides around this Saturday's first quarter phase half-moon are particularly relaxed, meaning minimal tidal flow throughout the weekend. Excellent tides for so many piscatorial pursuits, and our fish's mobility and enthusiasm for a feed will only grow with the making tides thereafter.
C'mon Dane, you can't count tiddlers like that in your daily tally at Monduran.
That's more like it Dane. Average Mondy barra are big and fat and they sure love those Jig Flies.
Activity Spikes at Urangan Pier
A significant biomass of baitfish are well-entrenched beneath Urangan Pier at present, and unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. Masses of herring (and other baitfish) are having an increasingly hard time trying to shelter from the onslaught of passing pelagic predators, as well as plenty that have taken up temporary residence.
Building in numbers over the past week or so have been school mackerel in ever-improving size classes. There are still undersized juvies that need to be returned, but for the most part, catching a mackerel for dinner shouldn't be too hard. The usual Flasha spoons as well as alternative metal slugs are the favoured way of tempting mackerel for most kids and many adult pier regulars. Gang-rigged live herring being the alternative for those with less energy to burn.
Joining the mackerel this past week has been a wave or two of giant trevally, and a few golden trevally as well. Queenies are yet to show up (but they will when the whiting get extra thick), and only one spanish mackerel has been caught this week. Broad-barred mackerel can be expected to make an appearance sometime soon, adding even more appeal to the pier fishery for mackerel fans.
Longtail tuna were caught by some of the regulars whilst the tides were right over the past week. Timing can be everything when it comes to intercepting these speedsters, but the capture itself can be fairly simple. Should there be return runs of tuna while the pier is packed shoulder to shoulder with kids out the deep end, then some fancy footwork and quick reflexes will be required to avoid tangles and bust-offs.
Flathead provide a very appealing target for sight-fishing in the first channel and along the slope nearer the deep end. The water remains clear enough to spot them, so learn to be sneaky when you do, or someone noticing you noticing the flathead may well beat you back to the fish with a live bait. Secure a pike in lieu of herring and you will have the edge on your neighbours in the flathead department by the way.
All this pelagic action accompanying the abundance of baitfish can be a drawcard for sharks in warming waters. Add the motza of discarded baitfish etc and you can imagine just how the last 70 metres or so of the pier becomes one big oversized 'berley pot'. Needless to say, there will be hopefuls vying for jaws during the dark hours these holidays, and very likely plenty more thereafter.
Jig flies are all the rage for modern-day livescopers chasing impoundment barra.
Terry Allwood from Flick It Charters back in his element at Mondy catching barra.
Sand Whiting Have Arrived Along Our Town Beaches
After a fairly insignificant showing late August into spring, we can now confirm the arrival of schools of sand whiting along our north-facing town beaches and beneath Urangan Pier. These neap tides are hardly conducive to a good bite, so you might be watching schools swim by from aloft rather than catching them for a few days, but things are looking great on the whiting front come the full moon.
Once the tides build, say mid-week or so, there will be sufficient flow in the tide to get the whiting feeding. With water still so clear, night sessions will be most productive, yet daytime action can be triggered by the northerly breeze inbound very soon. Wave action creates turbulence that dislodges forage for the whiting whilst offering them a bit of cover in which they can sneak up into the shallows.
The stretch of beach we call Shelly Beach is very popular amongst local beach whiting fans. The groynes thereabouts offer a platform from which to target the 'ting too. Family fishos trying to keep sane and minimise sand intrusion in their littl'n's tackle etc can take advantage of the storm water pipes that traverse the beach at Torquay and expect plenty of action from whiting as well as passing dart and small bream.
The run of whiting at present is of a fairly average class of fish, yet those putting in some effort after dark have been rewarded with a very good feed. Better-quality whiting can be expected to turn up with the full moon tides. All good news for the folks from Hervey Bay Amateur Fishing Club who will be hosting their annual Junior Whiting Fishing Comp Saturday-week, and for all the kids bound to enjoy that fun day out.
A bag limit of whiting is on the cards as the full moon draws closer. There are stacks in the straits and they are now cruising our town beaches as well.
Beau Muscat's big cobia ate a live yakka and proceeded to give him the customary workout.
Woodgate Beach Fishing Classic is Underway
Very likely the folks having the most fun this weekend will be those involved in the ultra-popular Woodgate Beach Fishing Classic. Boasting more than $200,000 in prizes and giveaways, this year's event is already bigger and better than ever.
The weather isn't perfect, but it is still very good, so some pretty impressive fish can be expected to grace the weighmaster's tables this year. With our rivers in prime condition, our beaches fishing well and plenty of fish to chase close inshore, competitors without the big offshore rigs will have ample opportunity to compete with those heading out wider. The weather today will be a leveller, then it will be on for young and old.
Suss out all the details and the expansive list of eligible species by googling the event online. You can still enter if you haven't already done so, and your entry alone is enough to see you in the draw for a $75,000 Ford Ranger. Check out all the other wondrous prizes and giveaways on offer, and you are bound to be tempted to join the fun this weekend.
Being a family-focussed comp, your kids will be assured a great time, and won't stand a chance of being bored at any time. Given that the comp is run from the Woodgate Beach Hotel, you won't go thirsty or hungry, but you might struggle with early starts the mornings after the nightly escapades.
Good luck to all competitors this weekend. We will bring you a wrap-up of the event next week, but you can watch it all unfold via the comp's Live Leader Board online if you like. It will be Toogoom Fishing Club's turn to host their comp the week after, so why not back-up your weekend at Woodgate with another wonderful weekend of fun and games these school holidays.
Need a new tinny. Just enter the Woodgate Beach Hotel Fishing Classic and you are one step closer to winning one of these beauties.
Get lucky enough at the Woodgate Beach Fishing Classic and you could be launching this rig at the ramp next weekend.
Merch galore is on offer for entrants in the Woodgate Beach Hotel Fishing Classic this weekend.
Woodgate Beach Hotel grounds swelling with prizes, stage and exhibits ready for the big event.
Head Wide Over the Neap Tides if You can
The weather on offer for offshore boaties this weekend is actually better than what inshore boaties can expect. Suss out the wind forecasts for Sandy Cape and you will see what I mean. There is a spike in swell and sea due to the blow that arrived late Wednesday, but conditions will be vastly improved by Saturday.
The typical springtime scenario is unfolding; whereby a northerly sea breeze created by the difference between the cooler sea and a warming land mass only impacts waters closer inshore. In essence, the wider you get from land, the lighter the breeze.
It can be a jiggly old trip up the bay for the first hour or so, but if you, your crew and your vessel are truly offshore capable, then that should not phase you one bit. Once out there, bounce around looking for fish across the Sandy Cape Shoals, along the cusp of the continental shelf east of there or maybe even wider along the continental slope if you are sporting deep drop tackle.
Expect plenty of variety in your reef fish haul once offshore east of Breaksea Spit. Joining the expansive list of possible tropical reef species out there are snapper and pearlies that are still moving further offshore and remain quite prolific in waters this side of the shelf (for now). Head more north than east and end up beyond the light-ship towards Lady Elliott and it might be some pretty impressive reds gracing your esky for the long haul home.
Wander across to the Gutters and you can catch a good feed, so long as you keep mobile if the sharks find you. Coral trout are likely for those hopping the usual prawn imitation softies or live baiting, with the ever-likely bycatch of estuary cod and with any luck, a nice nanny or two. Expect plenty of action from grassy sweetlip and other 'sweetlips' and 'perches', and maybe a little snapper action come dawn, dusk or during the evening.
Whilst neap tides won't excite any experienced bay snapper fishos, the 25 Fathom Hole and grounds in that central bay area can still produce during periods of low light. You might've missed your best opportunity for snapper over Wathumba way last weekend, but there will still be fish there somewhere.
The whales are 'bad' out in the bay, and also quite the hazard close inshore. Recent stories of whales popping up within cooee of Urangan Harbour, Gatakers Bay and near the bay islands should be noted, as our waters are still alive with serious numbers of these wondrous leviathans. Offshore fishos need to be extra-wary, not just due to the possible numbers out there along the humpback highway, but also due to visibility issues created by even a subtle ground swell. Be wary folks, but enjoy every sighting as we all still do.
You won't forget the EPIRB again eh Matt. Two fish in two drops then sent home by Fisheries all the way from the Gutters - ouch!
Scotty would've loved to catch more trout like this one whilst at the Gutters briefly with Matt. Quiet trip home eh boys.
Mackerel Inshore and Trevally Aplenty Up the Bay
Wave after wave of school mackerel have been making their way into the bay for the past couple of weeks. There have been plenty off Gatakers Bay, Toogoom and the Burrum coast, and steadily increasing numbers in our shipping channels. The pros are hard at work in the western bay, but won't be trying their luck in the east until the whale numbers are 'acceptable'. So too, the sand crabbers. Commercial and recreational crabbers are resting their gear at present due to the unacceptably high risk of entanglement with our humpbacks.
Find a patch of reef in the northern bay that is alive with yakkas and other baitfish and there is a strong chance that there are trevally circling them waiting for their next trigger to feed. Hervey Bay's trevally population is quite impressive this time of year, and the variety of trevors making up that biomass is equally as impressive.
Take the kids for a jigging or softy-flicking session up in Platypus Bay and you can kick back and enjoy the fun and games as a variety of muscle-bound trevors thump away and get them huffing and puffing. There is tiny trevally up there and fully mature oversized brethren as well. Challenge your kids to see who can catch the greatest variety in a session and feel free to share the results, along with a few happy snaps, with us at Fishos.
You might spot schools of tuna feeding in your travels up that way. Most likely mac tuna from what we hear, but stray larger longtails are still a chance. Be prepared for encounters with monster cobia too, as these big old brutes have been doing the rounds in the bay for months.
Talk of Hervey Bay marlin has been minimal of late, yet there are small blacks out there for anyone keen to try their hand. One free-jumper seemingly unhappy with the contents of its throat was witnessed going nuts by whale-watchers this week. Maybe the 15-20 kilo juvie ate something it shouldn't have. They do tend to throw caution to the wind and mouth all sorts of potential tucker at that age it seems.
Those of you that have been around these parts long enough will recall the fantastic runs of sailfish that used to impress all and sundry eons ago. Many of those captures were at this time of year, from the grounds north of Rooneys as well as offshore off the 13 Mile and Spit Bommie. The return of slimy mackerel to Hervey Bay waters this winter may be a drawcard to see a return of the sails. Who knows? Only those that go looking for them will know for sure.
Regardless of whether the sails return or not, there is bound to be some extra effort on the baby black marlin light tackle scene in coming weeks and months. As is typical, most folks will wait until they hear of numbers being caught before they join the fray. This might be a September to remember for those willing to put in the effort ahead of the crowds. Winter's bay marlin fishing was the best seen for many a year after all.
Lou caught this fine grunter from the Booral Flats shore-based not that long ago.
Keep an eye out for tuna like this longtail of Kingy Ridgeway's in your travels up the bay.
Not a Weekend to Miss if you Relish Catching Barra and Sambos
You had a chance to enjoy A-grade river fishing two weeks ago when the tides and a spike in temperatures combined to produce a memorable bite from our barra and salmon. This weekend is every bit as good, if not better, and promises great things for all who work the tides and time their assaults correctly.
Choose to wander the mighty Mary chasing trophy barra and monster threadies if you like. Should your ego need no more massaging, then settle back on numbers of fish gathered around snags, eddies and ambush locations and catch what is a very healthy class of fish right now.
The waters are too clear for the remaining gillnetters that still work the Mary system to operate over these tides, so go your hardest with an array of large prawn imitations, suspending hardbodies and some soft vibes or paddle-tails for the barra, and mix it up with smaller versions of the same for the threadies. You may or may not find the motherlode, but you are bound to find at least some fish, and they are highly likely to be very active and on the chew.
Bycatch, or potential targets in their own, might include blue salmon, estuary cod and grunter, as well as maybe a decent jewfish or two amongst the undersized models that hug some of the snags, deep holes and rock bars. Stay downstream to mix it with a few flathead, and return for more of them plus whiting and bream when the full moon tides draw nearer.
There are very good hauls of whiting to be caught in the lower Susan as well as the lower Mary at least as far up as the Crab Islands. Popular hangouts are the channels and verges between the sandbanks, all of which aren't far from a source of fresh yabbies. Like I said though, wait for better tides for a serious crack at the 'ting.
Hit the Burrum instead and join the crowd from the Woodgate comp and you could be jostling for position on any number of barramundi schools. There are plenty of threadies to catch up there too, even though they may not rival the Mary's fish in the size stakes. Add the very real chance of emerging mangrove jacks though, and the Burrum system certainly has its own appeal.
Big whiting in the Gregory and the lower-mid Burrum will join quality grunter on the chew when the full moon glows brighter. Bream numbers are better than they have been in years up there if they take your fancy, and there are still numbers of flathead available for those that have worked out that they need to poke a little further upstream.
The local creek and river mud crabbing continues to impress many folks that keep putting in the effort. Clearer saline waters have marched them well upstream, and they are frequenting backwaters, gullies and barely accessible hideaways more-so than the open stretches of recent months. Notwithstanding, they are still potting well, even for this time of year. If you don't want to waste precious 'barra time' on crabs this weekend, then consider dropping the pots in over the coming full moon instead.
Scotty from Focussed Fishing and Fisho's with proof you can catch monster threadies after dark on lures.
That's not a tuna Kealan! Tasty rods those Samurais eh mate.
Sí, Señor – See You on Fraser
Whilst Wednesday's south-easterly change and the prevailing breeze since then has made for very challenging surf fishing conditions, there is still some rather impressive fishing to look forward to as soon as the seas settle. School holiday crowds will be disembarking the barges in droves for the next fortnight, and the island's surf beaches will be rather hectic. So too could the fishing be potentially.
Possibly the best run of tailor so far this season was enjoyed by a number of crews camping in the central sector of the island. Patrons of Fraser Island Retreat at Happy Valley in particular have been doing very well, and they haven't been driving too far to find the fish. Quality tailor in the 50-55cm size range have been a welcome improvement on the largely barely legal choppers earlier this season.
Dart have been of particularly good size in the same area, offering excellent sport and a surprisingly tasty meal for those swapping gang-rigged pilchards for more appropriate pippies, whitebait, froggies and/or pilchard pieces. No word of jewies over the recent darks, though that is not to say there weren't any caught. Whiting do remain a challenge in the central sector, so maybe they will improve with the full moon.
Most impressive of all, has been the excellent run of spanish mackerel that have been raiding the surf gutters. On the hunt for tailor, some of these spaniards are real whoppers in the 20-kilo class, that put on a great show on surf tackle heavy enough to subdue them. Whilst mostly the domain of drone fishos and slide-baiters who can get their baits to the second gutter beyond the surf break, you too have the option to try for a spaniard with your heaviest tailor rod if you wish to try.
Simply catch a tailor of legal size, and not too big. Remove your hooks from its gob and pin it in the back midway to its tail by the trailing hook of a set of 7/0 gang hooks on a heavy mono leader (or an 8/0 single hook on single-strand wire) with no sinker in the mix. Return the well-cared-for tailor to a gutter draining to sea via a rip and give it free line to swim back out. Best if said gutter isn't frequented by other fishos, and even better if the rip is a feeder to the second gutter beyond the sandbanks breaking the waves. Not suitable in big onshore seas, in crowds, or if there are too many sharks about, obviously.
It won't be long (1st October) and you can try for spaniards from the rocks at the headlands once the season opens. No doubt plenty of keen tailor fishos will be there tossing stickbaits and slugs for tailor, so why not up the ante and toss larger stickies more suited to attracting a spaniard. You never know, the mother of all tailor might take a liking to the same large stickbait too.
GTs are a surf zone possibility as well this season. They have been crash tackling live baits set for spaniards down off Double Island Point and Rainbow Beach just this week. Spanish mackerel have been active down there too. Surf fishing for whopper speedsters is steadily becoming a major pastime for tuned-in fishos willing to test their skills on the sand. Joining them is an ever-increasing number of folks intent on tangling with sharks in the surf zone, whilst all and sundry get to interact with the noahs when live baiting with tailor at some time, like it or not.
Good luck out there y'all …… Jase
It's a school holiday fishing comp bonanza again this year. Get the kids involved at Toogoom next weekend.
Join the fun at the Toogoom Fishing Club's annual competition next weekend. Lots of great fishing tackle prizes supplied by Fishos once again.
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