Fisho's Weekly Fishing Report – 25th September, 2026

Brax Empson scored his first-ever Mondy barra at a whopping 108cm. Excellent fish mate, well done.

Winds Easing for the Full Moon

The September school holidays kicked off nicely with some very pleasant weather and ample opportunity for boaties to head far and wide. That joy was short-lived however, as a rather gusty south-easter took hold mid-week and stifled boaties' plans for a few days.

Today's 20-knot south-easter is expected to ease a tad overnight and tend more east to south-easterly at around 15 knots for Saturday. Both days offering a slight chance of a shower if we get lucky. Sunday is looking absolutely brilliant. Barely 10 knots from either side of easterly will greet boaties on waters more likely to get lumpy from all the holiday traffic than the winds. Clear skies and a full moon too – just about perfect!

Monday offers decent conditions early, before the breeze picks up that afternoon. There is another brief spike of onshore south-easterly expected that night, that will keep everyone onshore awaiting the next lull. What happens thereafter is anyone's guess, as the weather gurus have changed their forecasts radically a couple of times in the last 24 hours.

Sunday's full moon means our tides are peaking once again. Nothing massive by local standards at 3.7m from 0.5m, but enough tidal movement to trigger a feeding response from many foraging and predatory species. Enough of a tidal drain to catch unfamiliar boaties unawares too, so take extra care if pumping yabbies, lingering in Fraser's western creeks or up on our vast sand/mud flats this weekend. These big tides can trap folks during holiday times.

Leo Arnold has gone next level, catching this 14kg+ red on his dad's stand-up Daiwa Seaborg 500MJ electric combo. Wow lad!

Robbie Muller was chuffed with this brace of quality reds.

Pier Pelagic Action Exciting for Holidaying Kids

Just as it so often does, the Urangan Pier fishery has turned it on for the September school holidays. Masses of baitfish are entrenched beneath the pier and drawing the attention of plenty of passing pelagics.

Longtail tuna made another appearance or two while the tides still suited them, then the broad-barred mackerel showed up for the neaps. School mackerel have been relatively constant, but their numbers still vary day to day. At least they are of improving size, so the kids have been having fun spinning for them with Flasha spoons and the like.

The odd flathead thrilled onlookers as it was spotted then hauled over the rails on live bait while the tides weren't too strong. Flatties are a chance on virtually any tide, but they do favour those first making tides after the half-moon. Night time has been shark time, or otherwise a time for those learning the intricacies of the pier nocturnal fishery.

Included in that nocturnal learning could be a session catching whiting from the beach end of the pier. Negating the need for the long walk to the deep end suits many a family fisho weighed down with all the paraphernalia necessary to take toddlers fishing these days.

The latter half of the rising tide and the first of the ebb are whiting prime times for pier or beach-goers. This weekend's full moon tides are optimal, so take the kids for a late afternoon orientation that extends into the evening (or line them up for a mid-morning session if that is more appealing). Evenings will be better due to our prevailing water clarity, but both tides can be productive.

Chris Ross took out the 1st and runner-up 'parrot' prizes at Woodgate with ripper venus tuskfish like this one.

Chris joined the chase for prizes in the red emperor category at the Woodgate Classic with this nice schoolie.

You can imagine Kevin's surprise (and subsequent exhaustion) after hooking this big GT near River Heads.

Mark Whitford sampled Mondy's barra fishing recently. It is hectic up there at present and going to be crazy busy this weekend.

HBAFC Junior Whiting Competition this Saturday

Go one better and take the kids along for the Hervey Bay Amateur Fishing Club's 6th Annual Junior Whiting Fishing Competition this Saturday at Lower Dayman Park in Urangan. Kicking off at 7.30am, this free event is a very popular one amongst local families and visitors alike, and is timed perfectly to take advantage of an expected full moon run of whiting along our town beaches.

You need to gear them up with their own rod and reel, some terminal tackle, bait and a bucket. All the other usual stuff required to keep them sun-smart and hydrated will ensure they are focussed on the fishing for the hours preceding the sausage sizzle and prize-giving ceremony around 11am. Enlist the help of the on-hand fishing club members should you or your kids need some guidance, and get the kids participating in the other activities should they not be engaged by a great whiting bite.

Obviously, you can come and see us at Fisho's for your bait and tackle requirements before the event. Our usual bait supplier is struggling to keep up with demand for beach worms at this time, so we have ordered some from another supplier to fill the current and untimely void in our shop freezer. Grab some before they run out, as chasing whiting will be a very popular activity this week.

Deej with the class of whiting it took to win the top prizes in the whiting category at Woodgate.

Estuary cod are prolific in our waters, from the creeks to the reefs. Get the kids onto them on jigged or trolled lures, live baits or whole squid.

Mac tuna are great fun for the kids and a Hervey Bay staple you can always find busting up somewhere in the bay.

Not a great photo, but a fantastic capture! Young Marlon caught his namesake on Saturday when others struggled.

Toogoom Family Fishing Classic this Weekend

It is almost a given that a number of the kids and their families that enjoy the Junior Whiting Comp will roll up to register for Toogoom Fishing Club's annual Family Fishing Classic that very same afternoon. A massive early bird prize is up for grabs for anyone registering before 3pm Saturday, so get in early and you could be a winner before you even catch a fish.

Fishing is open from 3pm today (Friday) and concludes this Sunday at 12 noon. There are oodles of prizes up for grabs, that include a motza of fishing tackle supplied by Fisho's Tackle World. Lots of activities will keep the kids entertained at the site when not fishing, that include mud crab races, a colouring-in competition, and plenty more the club has instore for them Saturday night.

Offering prizes for biggest fish, runner-up and secret weights means many folks can end up winning multiple prizes. Some of those are a fist full of cash too, so make sure you weigh-in your catch even if you don't think you have the species winner. The kids can target specific species that include whiting, bream, flathead, garfish and flounder. There are separate junior prizes for fish weighed-in live and for those weighed-in dead.

Adults can focus on catching whiting, bream, flathead, grunter, mangrove jack, grassy sweetlip and pelagics. Adults' fish can be weighed in either live or dead (with the exception of flathead that are live-weigh only). Unlike the kids' prize pool, live and dead weigh-ins are competing with each other for the same prizes. This could mean that a whiting of a given weight weighed live would beat a similar fish weighed-in dead as the dead fish would need to be gilled and gutted. Encouragement right there for competitors to bring their fish to the weighmaster live if they possibly can.

Weigh stations will alternate between the Toogoom Community Hall and the Toogoom Boat Ramp. See the leaflet at the end of this report for guidance and weigh-in times, or jump online and google the event for more details. This is bound to be a fun event for quite a crowd of families this weekend. We wish you all the best of luck and hope you and your kids score your share of the prizes.

Beelbi Creek at Toogoom is ultra-clear and supporting a significant biomass of herring right now by the way. Masses of tucker to draw the attention on passing pelagics such as queenfish, and to feed the semi-resident barra, jacks, cod and flathead. The whiting are biting in the creek too, even though most are falling short of 30cm to date. Every chance a better class of whiting will turn it on for the full moon and hopefully feature in the weigh-ins at the comp.

Dane from Fisho's teaching the littl'ns the finer arts of casting at the Woodgate Classic.

Kids enjoying the Tackle World DIY lure-painting kits at Woodgate.

Shimano's Fish Fighting Simulator was a big hit with the kids at the Woodgate Classic.

Party time at Woodgate Beach Hotel during the Classic. Over 1,000 competitors vied for $200,000+ in prizes and had a ball.

Woodgate Beach Fishing Classic a Roaring Success

Talk to anyone that attended the Woodgate Beach Fishing Classic last weekend and they will tell you they had a ball. How would they not, with such a well-run comp drawing such a massive crowd of like-minded people all hell-bent on showing their families a great time in an atmosphere alive with laughs and convivial banter.

There were some 1005 entrants this year, swelling the comp to absolute maximum capacity. There were around 250 kids in that number, and there is no doubt that they all relished the fun and games. There was the Shimano Fish Fighting Simulator displayed for all to see on the big screen, plus cart races, a casting accuracy competition, and oodles more activities to exhaust the kids on their Big Day Out on Saturday.

Big nights might've made for a few grizzles and delayed departures the next morning no doubt, yet the huge fleet of competitors scattered far and wide and brought back some very impressive fish. There were fish caught from over the bar off Breaksea, from the northern bay and all over Hervey Bay and within our estuaries closer to home. Way too many to list here, so suss out the Leader Board from the Classic's website hereabouts, or slip online and check out the long lists of names that weighed-in fish category by category.

This Woodgate Classic just gets bigger and better year by year, and is a must-attend for many returnees regardless of the weather. This year's event was an absolute doozy, with excellent weather once that moderate blow Friday abated. Congrats to all the winners, and congrats to Brandon from Queensland Fishing Classics and his support crew for a great job well done.

Hauling multiple fish up to the weighmaster is how you get yourself in the running for champion angler at the Woodgate Classic.

Junior winners from the Woodgate Beach Fishing Classic. Suss out the full list online.

Some of the senior category winners from the Woodgate Classic.

The rest of the senior category winners from the Woodgate Classic. Google the comp online for the full leader board results.

Burrum System in Shock from Last Weekend's Traffic

Word from folks fishing the Burrum system last weekend was of serious chaos as hordes of boaties roared up and down the four rivers to catch winners for the Woodgate Beach Hotel Fishing Classic. Some found the fishing that bit tougher because of the traffic, whilst others were lucky enough to score their desired target species with enough effort.

Given the inherent river clarity and time of year, it should be no surprise that there are mackerel within the river mouth. Schoolies have been most consistent, but there was at least one spaniard caught from the pontoon as well. Tailor could be expected over this full moon period, offering perhaps the last of the best of their run for another season.

The one standout species that bit particularly well during last weekend's neaps was the mighty mangrove jack. There were some rippers weighed-in at the Woodgate comp, and no doubt plenty more caught by river regulars. Nothing like clean water in a bait-rich river and a spike in temperature to fire up the local red dogs. Chase them again this weekend if you like. It may not be as warm, but it is decidedly warmer than a month ago, so they will relish a full moon feeding spree no doubt.

The Burrum's barra and threadfin salmon are being pestered relentlessly by a growing fleet of livescope-armed fishos bouncing from one hotspot to the next. Reacting to the lack of action and moving on when you suspect others have tampered with 'your' schools of fish has been a necessity to keep the bites coming. The full moon will be more challenging for all and sundry, so be prepared to consider alternatives such as the flats and species other than the apex predators when the tide is roaring.

CJ Higgins scored top junior honours at Woodgate. This young gun features regularly in local comp winner lists.

How's this for a memorable capture from the Burrum Heads boat ramp pontoon!

Prawn imitations make catching threadies like this one of Stuart's quite easy.

Tarj Wilson bettered his PB grunter with this fine creek specimen recently.

Barra and Threadies Turn it On in the Mary

River regulars are experiencing similar frustrations on the mighty Mary River system as enhanced traffic means a race for hotspots at the same time as the modern-day lack of etiquette impacts one's ability to fish a spot in peace. There was nowhere near the traffic on the Mary as was on the Burrum last weekend, but it was still hectic. The fog didn't help much either, creating its own issues for those trying to travel at speed or during the wee hours.

All the same, some very impressive barramundi and threadfin salmon were caught. Some crews caught multiple, whilst others didn't. Repeat efforts in the same spots this weekend will be beyond challenging as the bigger full moon tides roar up and down the river. Those in the know will adjust and target fish corralling fodder on the flats or in bodies of water not as adversely-affected by current flow.

Others will cleverly shift their focus to whiting on the flood tide and flathead on the ebb in the lower reaches. Others will target grunter mooching upriver with the tide, whilst some may simply target mackerel, bream, blues, jews and cod around the heads.

The Great Sandy Straits beckons for savvy estuary fishos keen to get the most from the full moon tides. Barra and threadies are decidedly easier targets down that way, and share those waters with plenty of blue salmon and a growing population of grunter. Jewies are a good target for nocturnal activities over along Fraser's western ledges, whilst mackerel, trevally and lots of queenfish are doing the rounds through the channels and around the islands.

Whiting fans will be eyeing the weather for another crack at the 'ting this full moon. You could join them for an early evening flood tide session after pumping a supply of yabbies over the afternoon low tide if you wish. Bag limits are a pretty easy affair in the right spots on these tides, and there are ample grounds fringing Fraser's western shores, the bay islands and down the straits that you can try.

Take the kids for a sight-fishing session chasing flathead if you prefer. There are seemingly endless locations that could have flathead ambush spot written all over them, but only so many that support the motherlode. Find flats and creeks draining into channels and you are already in the game. Highly-pressured waters like ours see a lot of boats in good weather, so be mobile and keep on the hunt if at first you do not succeed. There are stacks of flatties about, and they will bite well this week.

Ray was one of many to score red emperor last weekend.

Ray headed wide and scored a nice feed of mixed reefies.

School reds bit well offshore last weekend, along with plenty of other reefies.

Scott Welch put his new Ocean's Legacy PE 2 Focal to the test and it performed admirably.

Mackerel Moving in While Snapper Moving Out

Better weather will see the southern bay roar to life again as countless boats charge about looking for some fun or a feed. Some might pick up a late season snapper over these full moon tides, if they can avoid the relentless scourge of the sharks. Otherwise, it will be a matter of finding some squire, grassy sweetlip, or maybe a nannygai, then focussing your efforts on cod and trout at the turn of tide. Trout on the shallow reefs are a springtime special that could be an option for trollers and others on these tides too.

If that is all too much of a challenge, then mackerel might be appealing. There were broadies to be caught off Gatakers Bay last weekend, so there will be some of that clan elsewhere this week. The schoolies aren't too hard to find off Gatakers and off the Burrum, with increasing numbers appearing in our local shipping channels now too.

Tourists fishing the bay for the first time could keep it ultra-simple and go beacon-bashing this full moon. Baitfish gathered to shelter around the Fairway, the NU2 and its nearby shipwreck attract pelagics including mackerel, as do other less popular beacons. Drift by while you spin flat-out with a Flasha spoon, perform a drive-by trolling divers or park-up for a live-baiting session. One way or the other, you could be smoking or frying mackerel for dinner that night.

Try the bay islands for queenfish and trevally if the kids are up to a little casting fun. Trolling for marlin up in the northern pocket of Platypus Bay could appeal to some, even though there was possibly only the one fish caught last weekend. The mackerel and tuna broke the monotony for those crews that made some effort on the billies, so you could haul your kids up that way for some pelagic action.

Talk of a show of striped marlin offshore east of Fraser last week has stirred the heavy tackle fleet into early action. Those stripes were fish around the 200lb mark, so whilst not the big blues or blacks that the heavy tackle guys are so keen on, they are impressive fish and worthy opponents all the same. There are very interesting times ahead for the local game fishing fleet, particularly as the next new moon draws nearer.

Take advantage of better weather come Sunday or Monday and you can try the central and northern bay for reef fish. Snapper would be a great chance from the likes of the 25 Fathom Hole and surrounding hotspots, as well as at The Gutters. Same goes for the grounds off Wathumba, Station Hill and Rooneys Point, as snapper schools ready to migrate back offshore fill their bellies in readiness for the journey.

There are simple things you can do with the family 'up the island', such as chase fish around the coffee rock dotted along the Platypus Bay beaches, chase whiting along the same beaches (or better still, within Wathumba Creek) or go searching for surface action when not enjoying the obligatory whale-watching. Go hunt the mixed trevally clans lurking around the deeper reefs and massive bait schools up that way, and look out for huge cobia while you are there. Pick your weather and a great time and some delicious fresh seafood is assured.

Good luck out there y'all …… Jase