Where the fish are biting as the reefs produce the goods

With some of the biggest tides of the year this week, timing the run over the bar was very important.

VERY HAPPY MAN: Boris Laffineur might not have caught the largest spanish mackerel so far in the $1000 Davo's Mackerel Mania competition, but he sure had the biggest smile. Picture: www.fishingnoosa.com.au

Offshore

WITH some of the biggest tides of the year this week, timing the run over the bar was very important.

The good news was the high tides were mid-morning, so if you got out early you could get home without any mishaps.

With light winds there were plenty of anglers heading out last weekend. Large spanish mackerel were reported off Fraser Island and taken on slow-trolled and floater baits such as slimy mackerel, large pilchards and garfish.

Gotcha - Chris Dignan with a nice cobia and Danny McDonald's hand holding a thumper 6kg grass sweetlip. Both boated on a Cougar One trip to North Reef. Picture: www.fishingnoosa.com.au

A squid skirt over the top of your baits is a good idea as the big pelagics can see them better.

Plenty of boats went to the reefs off Double Island, with some nice fish reported including cobia, snapper, trout, pearl perch, amberjack, scarlet sea perch and the odd red emperor.

Further south, North Reef had plenty of activity with a lot of boats making their way up from Noosa. The mackerel were on everyone's mind and there were some good schools feeding on larger bait schools.

Gotcha - Grant Pawson caught and released this 54cm mangrove jack in the upper Noosa River. It went for a River2Sea Fish Candy Jackhammer Paddlevibe. Picture: www.fishingnoosa.com.au

Working the edges of the schools with 40g slugs got the best results. Letting that slug sink after the cast is the key to coming into contact with a nice spanish mackerel as they have been sitting a little lower.

Cobia is another fish that has been around in good numbers, with some big ones reported. Cobia tend to be a mid-water feeder so the good old floater rig is ideal.

Beaches

SOME great tailor have been taken around Teewah and fishing the early morning or evening tide has been the way to go.

Anglers have reported a fair bit of sweep up the beach with the bigger tides, so using a grappler sinker may be a good idea.

Gotcha - Glen Hamblin won the $100 Davo's/ChaseBaits Fish of the Week prize with this tailor from the lower Noosa estuary and Saratoga from Borumba Dam. Both were released. Picture: www.fishingnoosa.com.au

Pilchards, mullet fillet and bonito fillet have been great baits. Legal-sized live whiting have also been great baits for the jew and mackerel cruising the backs of the gutters.

Fresh baits of worm, crabs and yabbies have been dynamite on the whiting and dart around Rainbow and Inskip. Flathead and chopper tailor have also been in the mix.

At Tin Can, the hot weather has meant plenty of boat traffic on the water, so to be successful you will need to get out there early.

Flathead numbers are still very good, with plenty of angler reporting fish over the 60cm mark.

There's been a lot of activity in the creeks. Soft plastics have been dynamite, with the Keitech Easy Shiners in the 3” and 4” very popular.

Trevally numbers have also been good with some nice fish taken around Alligator Creek. Small soft plastics retrieved at speed or surface poppers have been the go at sunrise.

Kauri has also been firing with plenty of jacks taken on live herring or poddy mullet. Walking the banks around Tin Can has been worthwhile - some nice whiting have been taken on yabbies and worms.

Dams

SARATOGA and bass have been plentiful. Anglers have tended to use surface lures in the morning and afternoon.

Think about what comes out at what time of the day.

Cicadas are more in the morning and frogs more in the afternoon, so with this in mind try to use the correct profile of lure.

In the Mary, there have been some nice bass and the odd cod in the upper reaches around Imbil.

For up-to-date bar and fishing reports, visit www.fishing noosa.com.au.

Drop into Davo's Tackle World and Davo's Boating and Outdoor in Noosa, and Davo's Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola for all the right equipment, bait and advice to get you catching.

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