Gympie anglers spoiled for choice during season change

Plenty of quality mackerel, long tails and tuna have been reported.

Offshore

FOR these anglers heading out wide last weekend was not an option.

Brisk southerly winds and a bit of swell kept most anglers inside Fraser Island, around the straights and in Laguna Bay if you were heading out of Noosa.

It seems we have been reporting tuna for weeks now and this week is no different.

Plenty of quality mackerel and long tails have been reported, with plenty of fish around Gatakers Bay and Urangan Channel in the Hervey Bay area.

GOTCHA – Geoff Stirzaker won the $100 Davo's Tackle World/ChaseBaits Australia Fish of the Week prize with the quality coral trout he caught at Sunshine Reef. Photo: www.fishingnoosa.com.au

To the south Laguna Bay has been popular for those that can get over the Noosa Bar.

Make sure you have a spin rod ready with the appropriate slug or stick bait is a good idea because these fish are flighty at the moment and you never know when they will pop up.

Once conditions get better it will be all about the snapper.

As water temperatures continue to drop these fantastic table fish really start to show up.

There have been reports of good quality and size snapper for this time of the year.

When fishing for snapper a berley trail is a must. Having a berley pot with a frozen berley bomb slowly melting along with cut pilchards also thrown overboard at regular intervals will help to bring the fish around.

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Fishing a floater pilchard with just a small sinker right on the nose to get it down slowly seems to be the best way to target them with bait.

For those that love the plastics, make sure you have enough weight to get to the bottom and you use a good scent like Pro Cure, these come in a variety of scents with the squid one a real favourite.

Creeks and Rivers

FISHING for the most part over the weekend was all about the rivers.

With a bit of rain in the mix there was some good schools of bait making their way to the mouths of the creeks.

GOTCHA – Valentino Serra was fishing the Coast Guard/Current Line stretch of the Noosa River when this thumper queenfish smashed his Squidgy Prawn lure. Photo: www.fishingnoosa.com.au

Predatory fish like trevally and queenfish were in good numbers and feeding on the baitfish around the top of the tides.

The Mary River has seen plenty of this type of action along with the odd threadfin, jew fish and barramundi.

Fishing the deeper holes with paddle style vibes like the Samaki Thumper tails has been good for all these species.

Kauri and Alligator Creeks have also seen action with the odd mangrove jack in the mix.

The mangrove jacks have been taken on live baits of herring or poddy mullet.

The mouth of Alligator Creek has again been a hot spot for whiting.

Fresh baits of beach worms, yabbies and pipis have caught some good fish.

The crabs are still around and with a bit of freshwater in the systems are up and walking.

Fresh baits of mullet have been the best baits and if you can soak your baits in tuna oil it will bring them in from miles away.

GOTCHA – Brad Cooper boated this quality Spanish mackerel off Coolum using a whole yakka floater as his draw card. Photo: www.fishingnoosa.com.au

Do not forget last year’s new regulations with only seven crabs per person and maximum of 14 crabs per boat.

Beaches

THE beaches have been a bit on the blowy side with the southerly winds a real pain.

For those of you that needed your beach fix fishing, the inside of Double Island was good for whiting and dart in the closer gutters.

Another option was Inskip Point, down toward the sink holes were you get protection from the wind.

GOTCHA – Ethan Chilby caught and released this 50cm (estimated) diamond trevally in the lower Noosa estuary. Photo: www.fishingnoosa.com.au

This area can produce a real mixed bag from whiting and dart right through to bigger trevally and even pelagic like mackerel and tuna.

It always pays to have a couple of rods when you fish Inskip Pointer a smaller 8-9 footer and something in the 12-foot range with a bit of grunt just in case you get among the bigger stuff.

Up-to-date reports at fishingnoosa.com.au. Drop into Davo’s Tackle World and Davo’s Boating and Outdoor in Noosa, and Davo’s North Shore Bait and Tackle at Marcoola.

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