Friday, February 24, 2012

FISHING REPORT 24-02-2012

FISHING REPORT – 23-02-2012

LAKE BOONDOOMA BASS PRO
The ABT BASS Pro Series kick starts a new tournament season when it hits south Burnett’s Lake Boondooma, this weekend. The opening round of the 2012 BASS Pro season, will see anglers from across NSW and Queensland converge on the at capacity Lake Boondooma, the scene of last year’s BASS Pro Grand Final, for one of the most anticipated events of season. With steady water levels and a predicted hot bite, anglers are champing at the bit to tangle with the bass of one of Australia’s premier bass fisheries. So if you want to catch a glimpse of some of Australia’s top Bass anglers, head up there and catch the weigh in or even one of the session starts. The event kicks off at sunrise on Saturday with two angling session (6-11am, 1-5.30pm), then concludes on the Sunday with a single morning session (6am-11am). Anglers will weigh in their two largest fish each session with the largest combined six-fish bag deciding the champion boater and non-boater for the event.


BASS
At the time of writing this report, Cressbrook Dam’s water level was still about 120mm over the spillway, if we don’t have any reasonable rainfall out that way, the dam may re-open by the weekend, but that is no way a certainty. The fish are quite scattered throughout Boondooma, but there are still good size Bass being landed, with quite a few smaller fish in amongst them, casting Blades, Soft Plastics and Jackalls, as well as trolling hard bodies between 15 and 20 feet have proven to be the most successful methods. There are a few legal Bass starting to come out of Bjelke Peterson, trolling hard bodies around Bass Point and the banks opposite have been the most successful. Somerset has still produced reasonable catches of Bass over the past week, Pelican Point, Queens Street and around the timber at Kirkleigh have been the pick of the spots, while casting Blades, Jackalls and Soft Plastics, or trolling hard bodies have been the best methods.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD
Cooby Dam is still closed to water based activities, until further notice.
Boondooma and Bjelke Peterson have both produced pretty good numbers of Yellowbelly, the majority of fish are being caught on bait, however, casting Jackalls and Spinnerbaits, and trolling hard bodies is producing quite a few fish as well. The Macintyre River at Goondiwindi has again fished extremely well for Yellowbelly this week, targeting the fish with Shrimp and frozen Saltwater Yabbies has produced the most numbers, however trolled lures have also produced good numbers as well. Fishing has improved a little at Coolmunda this week, with quite a few quality Yellowbelly being caught on the trolled lures in the open parts of the dam, while the timbered area of the dam has produced a few, mainly on bait. Leslie Dam has seen a few Yellowbelly taken on live Shrimp and frozen Saltwater Yabbies. Glenlyon has again fished well over the past week, with some nice Cod around the mid 70cm to mid 80cm mark, these have been caught on Spinnerbaits, trolled hard bodies and bait, there are still quite a few undersize Cod being caught and released as well. Yellowbelly and Silver Perch have been plentiful, but they have mainly been coming on bait.



GOLD COAST AND TWEED

Offshore fishing has produced good numbers of Yellowfin and Striped Tuna, just out from the Seaway entrance, Spanish Mackerel at Palm Beach, Mermaid Reef and the Gravel Patch, Wahoo at the 57’s and some Jewies on the closer reefs at night. Inshore has seen good numbers of Trevelly and Jewies caught in the Seaway, on both live bait and lures, some nice Jack’s around the bridges in the Tweed River and rock walls in the Nerang River, quality Whiting near the Council Chambers, Flathead at Seagull Lakes in the Tweed, Sand Crabs around Sovereign Island and some good size Muddies in the mouths of the creeks and rivers.

SUNSHINE COAST

The closer reefs have produced Spanish and Spotty Mackerel, also a few Tuna and Wahoo, it’s a bit of hard work, but there has been a few reef fish coming off 9 Mile Reef and North Reef has seen quality Snapper to 4kg landed. Inshore fishing has again improved, with quality Mangrove Jack still on the chew, the best spots have again been Bells Creek, around the bridges in the Maroochy River and using live mullet and lures around snags, in the Noosa River, plenty of Flathead and Bream around the Boardwalk at Caloundra and throughout the Noosa and Maroochy Rivers, there has also been good catches of Whiting around the Power Boat Club, Snub Nose Dart off the beaches and good numbers of Muddies and Prawns towards the mouth of the Noosa River.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

FISHING REPORT 16-02-2011

FISHING REPORT – 16-02-2012

BOONDOOMA DAM YELLOWBELLY FISHING COMPETITION

There was a great turnout for the twenty second Boondooma Dam Yellowbelly Fishing Competition last weekend, with a total of 641 competitors, including 132 juniors, weighing in 471 fish. The water level in the dam was at 100%, which together with the good weather conditions, set the scene for a great weekend of camping, fishing and family activities. The best session was on Saturday morning with 163 fish weighed in. The champion junior anglers were Maitland Collins of Nanango who weighed-in a 1.805kg Yellowbelly and Blake Manthey of Nanango who weighed in a 1.200kg Australian Bass. Adult angler, Graham Scanlan of Proston took out the category of heaviest Yellowbelly at 2.095kg, while Kathleen Elliott of Proston took out the heaviest Australian Bass at 1.720kg.

BASS
Several storms through our dam catchment areas early this week, has seen Cressbrook Dam’s water level rise enough for the council to close the dam, to the public. Prior to this, it was still producing good numbers of fish, out from the boat ramp, near the buoy line and around Deer Island, soft plastics and blades have produced the most fish. Boondooma has settled quite well, after some recent inflows, there are still good size Bass being landed, with quite a few smaller fish in amongst them, Blades, Soft Plastics and Jackalls have proven to be the most successful. Somerset has produced good catches of Bass over the past week, Pelican Point, Queens Street and around the timber at Kirkleigh have been the pick of the spots, while casting Blades, Jackalls and Soft Plastics, or trolling hard bodies have been the best methods.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD
Cooby Dam is still closed to water based activities, until further notice.
Boondooma produced a lot of fish in the annual Yellowbelly competetition, held last weekend, the majority of fish were caught on bait, however, casting Jackalls and Spinnerbaits, and trolling hard bodies, produced quite a few fish as well. The Macintyre River at Goondiwindi has fished extremely well for Yellowbelly this week, targeting the fish with Shrimp and frozen Saltwater Yabbies has produced the most numbers. It is also worth casting Spinnerbaits around the snags, and you might pick up a Cod or two. Fishing has slowed a little at Coolmunda this week, with the odd Yellowbelly being caught on the trolled lures in the open parts of the dam, while the timbered area of the dam has produced a few, mainly on bait. Leslie Dam has seen a few Yellowbelly taken on live Shrimp and frozen Saltwater Yabbies, also a few Silver Perch on Worms and some nice Cod have been landed, trolling deep diving, hard body lures. Glenlyon has again fished well over the past week, with some nice Cod around the mid 70cm to mid 80cm mark, these have been mainly caught on Spinnerbaits, there have been quite a few undersize Cod caught and released as well. Yellowbelly and Silver Perch have been plentiful, but they have mainly been coming on bait.



GOLD COAST AND TWEED

Offshore fishing has seen Yellowfin Tuna and Spanish Mackerel being caught at 9 Mile Reef and Palm Beach and the Gravel Patch have produced good numbers of Spotty Mackerel and Cobia, with a few as well. Inshore has seen good numbers of Trevelly and Jewies on the run-in tide around the Seaway entrance, some nice Jack’s around the bridges and rock walls in the Tweed River, quality Whiting and Flathead throughout the Tweed River as well, there has also been some big Whiting taken on live Yabbies and fresh Prawns throughout the Broadwater, School Jew around the headlands at Kingscliff and Cabarita and plenty of good size Muddies in the creeks and rivers.

SUNSHINE COAST

Still a bit quiet offshore, but there has been some nice Grassy Sweetlip at 12 Mile Reef and some quality Spanish and Spotty Mackerel have been taken, trolling lures on the closer reefs. Inshore fishing has slowly started to improve, with quality Mangrove Jack coming out in force, the best spots have been, Bells Creek, around the bridges in the Maroochy and Noosa Rivers, live bait has been the most successful, there has also been good catches of Whiting in the Noosa River, while the Caloundra area has seen some big Grunter caught around the Boardwalk and Flathead and Bream have been prominent around the Power Boat Club.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Fishing Report 09-02-2012

FISHING REPORT – 09-02-2012

KAYAK PADDLE DAY THIS SUNDAY

This Sunday there is a kayak paddle day being held at Cressbrook Dam from 10am until 2pm, the day is for people, who are interested in getting into kayaking, being able to come and try the different kayaks and canoes and therefore help them choose the right model to suit their needs. It is free, apart from the $2.50 charge to get into the dam, there will be expert kayaker’s there to answer any questions and also help with choosing the right model for you. All safety equipment is supplied, there will be a huge range of kayaks and canoes, so come along and give it a go.


BASS
The weather has been a mixed bag over the past week, however, Cressbrook Dam has still produced good numbers of fish, out from the boat ramp, near the buoy line and around Deer Island, soft plastics and blades have provided the most fish. Boondooma is a little dirty at the moment, which has seen the Bass become a bit scattered. There are still good size fish being landed, but there are a lot of smaller one’s in amongst them, Blades, Soft Plastics and Jackalls have proven to be the most successful.
Somerset is still dirty at the moment, but if you use your sounder to find the fish, try targeting these, with Blades, Jackalls and Soft Plastics.


YELLOWBELLY AND COD
Cooby Dam is still closed to water based activities, until further notice.
There has been some quality Yellowbelly coming out of Boondooma over the past week, they are scattered throughout the dam, with fish coming on trolled lures, in a bit deeper water and also a few coming off the edges on Jackalls and Spinnerbaits. The Macintyre River at Goondiwindi has fished a bit slow this week, due to a 3m rise in water level, there has been the odd Yellowbelly caught, fishing off the bank with bait. Coolmunda has seen some good size Yellowbelly, caught around the timbered area of the dam, and out from the boat ramp on bait, trolled hard body lure, Jackalls and Spinnerbaits. There is a bit of water flowing into Leslie Dam and the Silver Perch are providing some fun for anglers where it flows into the dam, there has also been a few nice Yellowbelly taken in the deeper parts of the dam, on Worms and frozen Saltwater Yabbies. Glenlyon has again fished well over the past week, with some nice Cod around the mid 70cm mark, caught on Spinnerbaits, there have been quite a few undersize Cod caught and released as well. Yellowbelly and Silver Perch have been plentiful, but they have mainly been coming on bait.



GOLD COAST AND TWEED

Offshore fishing has slightly improved this past week with a few people getting out, Wahoo and Tuna have been prominent on the inner reefs, plenty of Spotty Mackerel on the Artificial Reef and a few Dolphin Fish and Black Marlin on the 50’s. Inshore has seen good numbers of Trevelly, Tailor, Jewies and Kingfish on the early run-in tide around the Seaway entrance, some nice Jack’s around Sovereign Island and in the Runaway Bay canals, Whiting in the Nerang River, try around the mouth of the Tweed for Bream and Flathead and it’s worth throwing a few crab pots in most of the creeks for a few Muddies.

SUNSHINE COAST

Still a bit quiet offshore, but there has been some nice Grassy Sweetlip at 5 Mile Reef. Inshore fishing is still a bit slow, while the Creeks and Rivers clear up after the recent heavy rain, however the Passage has produced a few Bream, Trevelly and Flathead, there is the odd Mangrove Jack coming off structure in the Noosa and Maroochy River’s, if you want to chase Whiting, Bream and Dart, the beaches would be the best places to go, and the Noosa River is producing plenty of Mudcrabs.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

FISHING REPORT 02-02-2012

FISHING REPORT – 02-02-2012

What are the new stowage requirements for safety equipment?
This is a question we have been asked many times, since some new rules were introduced on the first of January, so below is a brief overview of the new stowage requirements for PFD’s (Personal Flotation Device).

The owner or master of the boat must give each person on board information about where the safety equipment is kept. Information may be given orally, in a demonstration or printed on a sign. Persons on board must know where the safety equipment is kept. Life jackets or PFDs must be clearly visible while a person is on board; or kept in a place readily accessible and indicated by a clearly visible sign with a white background marked with the word, 'life jackets' in red letters or a red background with white letters. The Government, at this stage, haven’t stipulated what size the signs have to be, because the size will differ depending on where the PFDs are stowed, and the area available to place the sign. Over the next week or so, we will have stickers available to place on your boat.
As always, if you require any further information, visit the Maritime Safety Queensland website at www.msq.qld.gov.au

While we’re on the safety topic, a few of the dams in the area have had inflows of water from the recent rain, so take extra care, back off the throttle a bit and keep an eye out for floating debris.

BASS
The weather hasn’t been kind to us over the past week, however, Cressbrook Dam has still produced a few fish, out from the boat ramp, near the buoy line and around Deer Island, soft plastics and blades have provided the most fish. With the rain about, there has been a bit of a flow into Boondooma. As the dirty water moves through the dam, it will tend to shut the fish down a bit, so I would try a more subtle approach and fish the cleaner water with soft plastics.
Somerset is still dirty at the moment, but there have been a few Bass caught in the deeper water, casting Soft Plastics and Blades.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD
There is water going over the spillway at Bjelke Peterson, but there have been good reports of Yellowbelly being taken, near the Wineries and around Bass point. The Macintyre River at Goondiwindi has fished a bit slow this week, due to the rain, but some nice Silver Perch and Yellowbelly have been caught, mainly on bait. Coolmunda has seen some good size Yellowbelly, caught around the timbered area of the dam, mainly on Jackalls and Spinnerbaits. Leslie Dam has produced a few Yellowbelly and Silver Perch for the anglers that braved the wet conditions, these were taken mainly on Worms and frozen Saltwater Yabbies. Glenlyon has again fished well over the past week, with some nice Cod around the mid 90cm mark, caught on Spinnerbaits, there was a big 1m Cod bought alongside a boat and released, it was fell for a trolled deep diving lure. There have also been good numbers of Silver Perch and Jewies about, but the Yellowbelly have been a bit slow.


COASTAL FISHING

Fishing right along the coast has been very ordinary, due to the weather over the past few weeks. Offshore has seen very little activity apart from a few Snapper and Coral Trout at Murphy’s Reef, off the Sunshine Coast. Inshore is just as bad, with most of the rivers and estuaries being very dirty from the heavy rain, which has shut the fish down. There has been the odd Mulloway and Bream caught along the break walls of the Southport Seaway.