FISHING REPORT 29-12-2011

FISHING REPORT – 29-12-2011

With the weather being kind to us over the Christmas break so far, there has been plenty of activity on the dams in our region. I thought it would be a good time to talk about a few things you can do before heading out onto the water. Make sure you have a PFD (Personal Flotation Device) for each person on the boat, the PFD must have, at least, the Australian Standard AS1512 marked on it. While it is busy, keep an eye out for other water craft and people, particularly in water skiing dams, make sure your boat is ready to launch, before moving on to the boat ramp, this will minimise congestion and be patient at the ramp, not everyone is an expert at backing a trailer. If you are unsure, or require more information regarding boating safety in Queensland, checkout the Maritime Safety Queensland website, at, www.msq.qld.gov.au.

BASS
Cressbrook Dam is still fishing quite well, with good numbers of Bass around the 30-40cm mark, being taken on Soft Plastics, Jackalls and Blades.
With plenty of traffic on the water, the Bass fishing has slowed a bit at Boondooma over the past week, but there has still been a few fish taken in some of the bays throughout the dam, trolled hard bodies have proven to be the best lures. Bjelke Peterson has again produced a few Bass around the points on live bait.
At Somerset the Bass are schooled up around Pelican Point and The Spit, try targeting these with Blades, Jackalls, Spinnerbaits and Soft Plastics and you should pick up a few nice fish.

Yellowbelly and Cod
Still good numbers of Yellowbelly in Boondooma, trolling hard bodies and Jackalls has given the best results. You could also try casting Jackalls and Spinnerbaits, working along the steeper banks, and for the bait anglers, using live Shrimp in the Stewart arm of the dam should see you land a few as well. The Ballone River at St.George is still a bit dirty at the moment; however there has still been good catches of Yellowbelly and Cod throughout the river, with live Shrimp and Crays proving to be the best bait.
The Macintyre had a fresh through it, just before Christmas, this has dirtied the river and shut the fish down as well, however there has been a few Yellowbelly landed, with frozen Saltwater Yabbies and live Crays proving to be the best bait. The Dumeresq River, up and downstream Texas has seen good catches of Yellowbelly and a few Cod, mainly taken on live bait. Fishing has been pretty good at Coolmunda this week, with good numbers of Yellowbelly being caught on frozen Saltwater Yabbies and also trolled hard body lures. Leslie Dam has produced some quality Yellowbelly and Silver Perch on live Worms and Shrimp, as well as trolled hard body lures. Glenlyon has again fished well over the past week, with some nice Cod around the 60 – 70cm mark, as well as plenty of Yellowbelly and Silver Perch, caught mainly on Spinnerbaits, trolled hard body lures and live Shrimp.
GOLD COAST AND THE TWEED

It has been hard going offshore, due to the big seas caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Fina, but for the few who had boats big enough to venture out, there has been heaps of Yellowfin Tuna and Wahoo at 9 Mile reef and Tuskies, Squire and the odd Dolphin Fish on the 36’s. Inshore has seen good numbers of Jack’s around the bridges and rock walls at Chinderah and Tumblegum in the Tweed and also in the Coomera and Nerang River’s, Tailor, Dart and Trevelly in the Seaway, nice Flathead near Seagulls in the Tweed, it’s also worth a look around the mouth of the Tweed for Kingies and Squire and there has been plenty of Muddies in the upper reaches of the Tweed, as well as good numbers of Sand Crabs throughout the Broadwater.

SUNSHINE COAST

Offshore fishing again has been hard going due to the big swell, but there has been good numbers of Yellowfin Tuna, Spotty and Spanish Mackerel, Coral Trout, Sweetlip and Snapper on most of the inner reefs. Inshore has seen, the Noosa River is producing plenty of Mangrove Jack and Flathead at night with a few quality Barramundi thrown in as well, also a few Jewies on soft plastics in Woods Bay and good numbers of Muddies in the upper reaches, the Passage at Caloundra is very dirty from the big seas offshore, however there has been the odd Flathead caught off the Boardwalk, the Maroochy River has also been a bit dirty from rain inflow into the system, but it is starting to clear up, which should see the fishing really fire up over the next few weeks.