Fishing Report 30-01-2014

FISHING REPORT – 30-01-2014

BASS

Due to the strong winds, the fishing has settled a bit this week, although the dams in the South Burnett have continued to produce good numbers. At Boondooma, good numbers of big bass up to 55cm have been landed all week, with trolled hard bodies working the best. The fish have moved from 25-30ft, into about 10-15ft, so shallower diving lures have been the go this week, while working sround the points of the dam, has been the best spots to target. At Bjelke Peterson, working the edges with spinnerbaits and Jackalls has been good, while trolling dark coloured hard bodies through the deeper parts of the dam has produced some good fish as well. Cressbrook Dam is still fishing well for Bass, blades and spinnerbaits have worked well this week, around the eagles nest and into the Cressbrook Creek arm of the dam has been the best area to target, and while the numbers haven’t been as good, the quality is still there. Somerset Dam is very similar this week; Bay 13 and Queen Street have been popular spots for the anglers, where hopping Soft Vibes and plastics or working spinnerbaits fast and close to the bottom, has been effective and again the numbers are down a bit, but the quality is still there.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Bait has been a good option for Yellowbelly this past week, however, Cooby Dam has still seen a few Yellowbelly taking Blades and Spinnerbaits this; Cressbrook has again produced good quality Yellowbelly in amongst the Bass, with Spinnerbaits working the best on these fish. Glenlyon is still producing good numbers of Yellowbelly, live Shrimp have again been the pick of the baits, while trolling hard bodies has picked up a few as well, there’s still a few Cod about, and fishing late afternoon has been the best time to pick up a few, the fish are fairly scattered, but there is plenty of structure at water level, due to it dropping to 45%. Coolmunda has produced fairly good numbers of Yellowbelly in the deeper parts on trolled hard bodies and frozen Saltwater Yabbies; there has also been some Silver Perch and a few smaller Cod taking the Yabbies as well. Leslie Dam has produced a few Yellowbelly around the Washpool area, on frozen Saltwater Yabbies and a couple of just legal Cod were caught using Spinnerbaits around the boulders, near the buoy line. In the South Burnett, Boondooma and Bjelke Peterson dams continue to produce good numbers of Yellowbelly, in both dams, working the same areas as with the Bass, will see you pick up some quality Yellowbelly as well, and trolled hard bodies has been the method also. As for the rivers, the Macintyre at Goondiwindi has seen a few Cod and Yellowbelly taking bait in the town reaches, and the Dumaresq at Texas has fished alright for Cod, with surface lures and Spinnerbaits working well, particularly in low light conditions. Both of these rivers are flowing at the moment, due to water releases from dams.

COASTAL FISHING

Offshore fishing has been almost non-existent this week, due to the windy conditions and this hasn’t helped much with the inshore fishing either. At the Gold Coast, the Seaway has produced School Jew and Kingies on live bait, still a few Whiting near the Council Chambers, in the Nerang River, Jacks in the Coomera River, Mud Crabs in the deeper creeks and Sand Crabs at the southern end of the Broadwater, while at the Sunshine Coast, the Boardwalk at Caloundra is fishing well for Bream, Jacks throughout most of the estuaries on live bait and soft plastics, Whiting and Flathead on the sand flats near the Power Boat Club, and big Flathead on drift baits in the Noosa River.

 

 

Fishing Report 23-01-2014

FISHING REPORT – 23-01-2014

BASS

Cressbrook Dam is still fishing well for Bass, blades and spinnerbaits have worked well this week, looking along the buoy line close to the picnic area and around Deer Island, is still a good option, however the eagles nest and into the Cressbrook Creek arm of the dam have been the most productive, and working your lures close to the bottom will give the best chance of landing a few. Somerset Dam is very similar this week, it has again seen some good catches over the past week; Bay 13 and Queen Street have been popular spots for the anglers, where hopping Soft Vibes and plastics or working spinnerbaits fast and close to the bottom, has been effective. At Boondooma, good numbers of big bass up to 55cm have been landed all week, with trolled hard bodies working the best. The pick of the spots has been through the “Narrows”, where the fish are suspended at 30ft, in 60ft of water and the Stuart arm has again produced some decent fish as well. Bjelke Peterson continues to fish well, working the edges, leading into the timber, with spinnerbaits has been good, while trolling dark coloured hard bodies has started to work again; Ice Jigs and Blades worked tight to the bottom, through the main parts of the dam has produced some good fish as well.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Cooby Dam has seen good numbers of Yellowbelly taking Blades and Spinnerbaits this week; Cressbrook has again produced good quality Yellowbelly in amongst the Bass, with Spinnerbaits working the best on these fish. Glenlyon is still producing good numbers of Yellowbelly and stacks of Eel tail Catfish, live Shrimp have again been the pick of the baits, while trolling hard bodies has picked up a few as well, there’s still a few Cod about, and fishing late afternoon has been the best time to pick up a few. Coolmunda has again produced fairly good numbers of Yellowbelly throughout the dam, with bait and lures both working effectively. Leslie Dam is still fishing fairly consistent with anglers reporting some nice catches, trolled hard bodies are accounting for a lot of the fish, there has been quite a lot of Cod landed this past week, with the biggest reported, being a huge 130cm, early morning and late afternoon has been the most successful time to try. In the South Burnett, both Boondooma and Bjelke Peterson dams have again produced good numbers of Yellowbelly, in Boondooma, bait and trolled hard bodies have worked well, from the junction through to the timber in the Stuart arm, but Pelican Point has produced the majority of the fish this week, while at Bjelke Peterson, casting Spinnerbaits around the timber has been effective and working Ice Jigs and Blades tight to the bottom through the main bays of the dam has produced good quality fish again.

GOLD COAST

Offshore fishing was good last weekend and into the start of this week, Palm and Mermaid Reefs were firing for Spotty and Spanish Mackerel, as well as the odd Cobia, floating pillies has been the best method and out wider, the 50s have produced quality Snapper and also Black Marlin on live Slimy Mackerel. Inshore fishing has seen Tailor and Trevally inside the North wall of the Seaway, School Jew and Kingies at the Pipeline, heaps of Whiting near the Council Chambers, in the Nerang River, Jacks in the Coomera River, Mud Crabs in the deeper creeks and Sand Crabs at the southern end of the Broadwater.

SUNSHINE COAST

Offshore fishing has seen Spotty and Spanish Mackerel around Sunshine Reef, Cobia and Snapper on Chardons Reef and there’s also been Black Marlin and Dolphin Fish getting about as well. The Boardwalk at Caloundra is fishing well for Bream, plenty of Jacks throughout most of the estuaries, Whiting and Flathead on the sand flats near the Power Boat Club, big Flathead at the Bar entrance and the northern end of Bribie Island, School Jew in the deeper holes in the Passage, Trevally and Bream in the Maroochy River and the mouth of the Noosa River has been firing, with plenty of School Jew, Trevally and Tailor getting about.

 

 

 

Fishing Report 16-01-2014

FISHING REPORT – 16-01-2014

BASS

Cressbrook Dam is still fishing well for Bass, soft vibes and spinnerbaits are still working, looking along the buoy line close to the picnic area and around Deer Island, is still a good option, it’s also worth a look near the eagles nest and into the Cressbrook Creek arm of the dam, working your lures close to the bottom will give the best chance of landing a few. Somerset Dam is very similar this week, it has again seen some good catches over the past week; Bay 13 and Queen Street have been popular spots for the anglers, where hopping Soft Vibes and plastics or working spinnerbaits fast and close to the bottom, has been effective. At Boondooma, good numbers of big bass have been landed all week, with all techniques working, but hard bodies seem to be the best, working the deeper water from the junction into the start of the Stuart arm has been good. There have been a lot of 10-20cm fish caught, which is good for the future, but these fish need to be put back, as they are under 30cm, which is the minimum length for Australian Bass. Bjelke Peterson hasn’t changed much this week, working the edges, leading into the timber, with spinnerbaits has been good, while trolling hard bodies has gone a bit quiet, working Ice Jigs and Blades tight to the bottom, through the main parts of the dam has produced some good fish as well.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Cooby Dam went a bit quiet this week, with only the odd fish landed, but Cressbrook has produced a few quality Yellowbelly on Spinnerbaits. Glenlyon is still producing good numbers of Yellowbelly and Silver Perch at the moment, live Shrimp have again been the pick of the baits, while trolled Jackalls and Spinnerbaits have been a good option, there’s also been a few Cod about, which have mainly been around the 70cm mark although there have been a few bigger fish getting about. Coolmunda has produced good numbers of Yellowbelly throughout the dam, with bait and lures both working effectively. Leslie Dam is fishing fairly consistent with anglers reporting some nice catches, lures are accounting for a lot of the fish, particularly up around the Black Boys, Jackalls have been very effective while being trolled in approximately 4 metres of water. There were also a few fish landed in front of the boat ramp, with frozen Saltwater Yabbies and live shrimp again proving to be the best bait, and early morning has been the most successful time to try. In the South Burnett, both Boondooma and Bjelke Peterson dams have again produced good numbers of Yellowbelly, in Boondooma, bait and trolled hard bodies have worked well around the junction, while casting spinnerbaits in deeper water, sinking them to the bottom and then working them back to the boat has been effective, while at Bjelke Peterson, casting Spinnerbaits around the timber has been a popular method and like the Bass, working Ice Jigs and Blades tight to the bottom has produced good quality fish as well.

GOLD COAST

Offshore fishing has been fairly quiet this week, due to the strong South Easterlies, but there has been a few Spotty and Spanish Mackerel as well as the odd Yellowfin Tuna getting about Palm and Mermaid Reefs. Inshore fishing has seen Tailor and Mulloway, early morning on the run in tide, in the Seaway, Whiting and Bream are around in reasonable numbers, throughout the Broadwater and most of the estuaries, some decent sized Dart off the Beaches and Jumpinpin is still producing some quality Flathead.

SUNSHINE COAST

Offshore fishing has seen the numbers of Spotty Mackerel decreasing, but the Spanish Mackerel are starting to show up, Brays Rock has produced some nice Grassy Sweetlip and out wider there has been some decent Black Marlin on the move. The Boardwalk at Caloundra is fishing well for Bream, Jacks around Bells Creek and in the Noosa River, Whiting and Flathead on the sand flats near the Power Boat Club, School Jew in the deeper holes in the Passage, Trevally and small Queenies in the Pelican Waters canals and the upper reaches of the Maroochy River has been fishing well for Bass.

 

 

 

Fishing Report 09-01-2014

FISHING REPORT – 09-01-2014

BASS

Cressbrook Dam is still fishing quite well for Bass, soft vibes and spinnerbaits are still working, looking along the buoy line close to the picnic area and around Deer Island, is still a good option, it’s also worth a look near the eagles nest and into the Cressbrook Creek arm of the dam, the fish are by no means easy to catch, but if you happen to hook a few, there are some quality fish getting about. Somerset Dam has again seen some good catches over the past week; Bay 13 has been a popular spot for the anglers, where hopping Soft Vibes and plastics or working spinnerbaits, has been effective. At Boondooma, the week started off with a bang, people were catching 45cm bass regularly with several over the 50cm mark, most were caught on trolled deep divers in about 20ft of water, while casting Spinnerbaits and Jackalls around the trees, in the upper reaches of both arms has been good as well. Bjelke Peterson hasn’t changed much this week, working the edges, leading into the timber, with spinnerbaits, Jackalls and Blades has been good, while trolling hard bodies through the main bays of the dam has produced some good fish as well, and all of these Bass dams have been producing good numbers of large Redclaw.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Cooby Dam is still fishing well for Yellowbelly, the right hand bank as you head towards the buoy line, out from the wall and also the point opposite the boat ramp have been good areas to target for both bait and lure anglers. Glenlyon is still producing good numbers of Yellowbelly and Silver Perch at the moment, live Shrimp have again been the pick of the baits, while trolled hard bodies and Spinnerbaits have been a good option, there’s also been a few Cod about, which have mainly been around the 60-70cm mark. Coolmunda has produced good numbers of Yellowbelly throughout the dam, with bait and lures working effectively. Leslie Dam has slowed down slightly, but anglers are still managing to land some nice fish. The bait anglers are still having the best results with both shrimps and frozen saltwater yabbies working the best, around the rocks near the wall and up near the "Black Boys" are still the best spots to try and the lure anglers are having some success while trolling 50-70mm bibbed lures in approximately 4 metres of water. In the South Burnett, both Boondooma and Bjelke Peterson dams have again produced good numbers of Yellowbelly, in Boondooma, bait and trolled hard bodies have been effective around the junction, while casting spinnerbaits in deeper water, sinking them to the bottom and then working them back to the boat has been effective, while at Bjelke Peterson, casting reaction lures, like spinnerbaits and Jackalls around the timber has been a popular method and trolled hard bodies have again worked well in the main basin.

GOLD COAST

Offshore fishing has again produced plenty of Kingies on 200 gram knife jigs on the northern 50’s, and good numbers of Dolphin Fish, Wahoo and small Black Marlin have been taken on the 36’s. Inshore fishing has seen Tailor and Giant Trevally hitting surface poppers, early morning on the run in tide, in the Seaway, Whiting are still prominent at night, near the Council Chambers in the Nerang River and Jumpinpin has produced some nice Flathead to 75cm on soft plastics.

SUNSHINE COAST

Offshore fishing has produced Spotty and Spanish Mackerel, Dolphin Fish and also a few Yellowfin Tuna, on livies and trolled lures. The majority of these fish have been on the wider reefs, however there have been a few Mackerel getting about the inner reefs. Most reefs are producing good mixed bags of reef fish, with the odd Cobia thrown in the mix. The Boardwalk at Caloundra is fishing well for Bream and Golden Trevally, a few Flathead around Bells Creek and in the Maroochy River, Whiting on surface poppers, around the weed beds at Military Jetty and also on the sand flats in the Noosa River. Currumundi Lake has produced some Bream and Jacks, Big Eye and Golden Trevally on surface poppers in Kawana Lake and the mouth of the Noosa River has seen Jewies, Jacks and Trevally at night, on live bait, on the tide change.  

 

 

 

 

Fishing Report 02-01-2014

FISHING REPORT – 02-01-2014

BASS

Cressbrook Dam is still fishing quite well for Bass, soft plastics and spinnerbaits are still working, looking along the buoy line and across to Deer Island, where the fish are suspended at about 20-30ft is still a good option, it’s also worth a look near the eagles nest and into the Cressbrook Creek arm of the dam, the fish are by no means easy to catch, but if you happen to hook a few, there are some quality fish getting about. Somerset Dam saw some good catches over the past week, the deeper water in the timbered part of the dam saw the fish suspended at about 20ft and working Spinnerbaits through these fish produced some good results. Queen Street, Pelican Point and Bay 13 have also been popular spot’s for the anglers, where hopping blades and Soft Vibes has been effective. Trolling hard bodies from the junction to the start of the timber in the Stuart arm has been very productive at Boondooma, while casting Spinnerbaits and Jackalls around the trees, in the upper reaches of both arms has been good as well. Bjelke Peterson has also produced good numbers of Bass this week, working the edges, leading into the timber, with spinnerbaits, Jackalls and Blades has been good, while trolling hard bodies through the main bays of the dam has produced some good fish as well, and down at Moogerah Dam, the excessive boat traffic is not doing anglers any favours.  Maroon continues to fish quite well with some nice Bass being landed over the past week or so.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Cooby Dam is still fishing well for Yellowbelly, around the weed edges, trolled hard bodies and spinnerbaits have worked well again, while blades, live Shrimp and frozen saltwater yabbies have been effective on the deeper schooled fish, the land based anglers have also caught a few, with bait being the best option for them. Glenlyon is firing at the moment, with good numbers of Yellowbelly and Silver Perch landed, live Shrimp have again been the pick of the baits, while trolled hard bodies and Spinnerbaits have been a good option, there’s also been a few Cod caught, which have mainly been around the 60-70cm mark. Coolmunda has produced a few Yellowbelly on Jackalls and Spinnerbaits, worked around the timber, while frozen Saltwater Yabbies and trolled hard bodies have been effective along the old creek beds. Leslie Dam is fishing very well at the moment with anglers reporting some nice fish on both lures and bait.  There have been some nice Golden perch landed as well as some quality Murray Cod, Shrimps are working the best for the bait anglers with saltwater yabbies bringing good results, anglers are having success in approximately 4 to 6 metres of water trolling bibbed lures, and in the South Burnett, both Boondooma and Bjelke Peterson dams have again produced good numbers of Yellowbelly, in Boondooma, bait and trolled hard bodies have been effective around the junction, while casting spinnerbaits around the timber and to the edges in both arms has produced some quality fish, while at Bjelke Peterson, casting reaction lures, like spinnerbaits and Jackalls around the timber has been a popular method and trolled hard bodies have worked well in the main basin.

GOLD COAST

Offshore fishing has again produced plenty of Kingies on knife jigs on the 50’s, good numbers of Dolphin Fish on the 36’s and 50’s and out the front of the Pin has again seen some smaller Black Marlin getting about. Inshore fishing has seen smaller Kingies and Trevally, early morning on the run in tide, in the Seaway, Whiting are still prominent around the mouth of the Coomera River and near the Council Chambers in the Nerang River, Jacks around the bridges throughout the canals and Hinze Dam has been firing for Bass.

SUNSHINE COAST

Spotty mackerel are all the talk at the moment and the Spanish mackerel are starting to build in numbers as well, with more and more reports of these fish coming in of late. Mahi Mahi are in good numbers on the mid to wider marks, with some of the better fish being reported going around the 8-10 kg mark. Red Empororer and Coral Trout should be nice and active now up on the northern reefs and there has been a few small to mid-sized Snapper, Sweetlip and Cod being caught along the closer reefs around Sunshine and south to Caloundra. Mack tuna are also around in good numbers, mostly appearing in the same areas as the spotty mackerel. The local beaches have shown nice recent activity from whiting in the gutters from Point Cartwright down to the Currimundi lake mouth, the better time to target them being early morning on the run out tide with either live yabbies or sand worms. There is also a few Dart getting about in the wash, mostly smaller fish, however a few bigger fish are getting about on the afternoon high tides. A few mid-sized flathead and bream too, but not as many as you would expect for this time of year. Estuary fishing has seen the numbers of Mangrove Jack on the increase of late, with the hotter, summer water temps rising. Parrearra lake , Kawana lake and around the local bridges and rock walls are providing some quality fish. Many of these have been hooked on live bait, however they are also quite happy to take a well presented 3 to 4 inch paddle tail or jerk bait. Big eye Trevally are in good numbers in Parrearra lake, with most of the activity being late afternoon along the edges. The average size is around the 40cm mark, however there is a few bigger fish amongst them. Jewfish should be worth a shot with the recent rain, the deeper holes and river mouths are the best place to start. Some solid wild bass are on the move in the upper reaches for those who can find them, bigger walk the dog type lures in green colour schemes are working well.