FISHING REPORT   – 28-05-2015

BASS

Nathan Nichols with a healthy
Lake Monduran Barramundi.

Cressbrook Dam has continued to produce reasonable numbers of Bass, mainly on blades and the odd one on soft plastics, look in about 30ft of water, out from the boat ramp, out off Deer Island and also out from the steeper banks in both arms of the dam. Somerset has again seen big Bass taking live bait in the timbered area at Kirkleigh, some decent schools of fish are showing up in both arms of Boondooma Dam, blades and ice jigs have worked the best on these fish, Bjelke Peterson dam has produced a few Bass around Bass Point and early morning has seen spinnerbaits picking up some decent fish around the timber. There are several schools of Bass in the main basin at Moogerah Dam, they were a bit subdued last weekend, but have become more active during this week, blades, plastics, mask vibes, ice-jigs and tail spinners are all working well. Maroon has also seen some nice fish landed, working plastics around the weed banks, should give good results.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Not much to report from Cooby Dam this week, however the fishing has been pretty good at Glenlyon, the upper reaches of the dam have produced Yellowbelly on frozen saltwater yabbies, while bigger spinnerbaits have produced some nice Cod up to 105cm, around the timber, in 6-8ft of water. Coolmunda Dam has fished alright again this week, looking in the deeper parts of the dam and around the timber has produced the most fish, there has been a few smaller Cod landed again, bait has been the best option, with live shrimp and frozen saltwater yabbies working the best. Leslie Dam has been a little quiet, with only low numbers of Yellowbelly landed over the past week, the main basin opposite the boat ramps has been a popular area to target, with live shrimp being the pick of the baits, and for the land based anglers, there was a few Silver Perch and Eel-tailed Catfish taken off the banks. Bjelke Peterson has produced some quality Yellowbelly throughout the dam, on frozen saltwater yabbies, the timbered areas of both arms of Boondooma have produced a few fish on blades, ice jigs and live bait. As for the rivers, the Macintyre at Goondiwindi has seen a few Yellowbelly taken on frozen saltwater yabbies and live worms, good numbers of smaller Cod are taking bait and lipless crankbaits, upstream of the township and the Condamine River has produced some quality Yellowbelly and Cod on spinnerbaits and crays in the Warwick area.

COASTAL FISHING

Offshore fishing has been good at the Gold Coast again this week, with good numbers of Kingies and Snapper on the Northern 50’s, live baits are working well for Snapper on the 18’s and 24’s and there’s still the odd Spanish Mackerel getting about the 36’s. While inshore fishing has seen schools of Chopper Tailor in the Southport Seaway, small Queenies and Flathead around Wavebreak Island and Jewies and Flathead around Crusoe Island, at Jumpinpin, while at the Sunny Coast, Snapper and Cobia have been prominent on most reefs and North Reef is holding a lot of smaller Mackerel. Inshore fishing has seen all of the rivers producing good numbers of Bream and Flathead on soft plastics, the Boardwalk at Caloundra is fishing well for Bream and Trevally, while surface lures and metal slices are picking up smaller Queenies in the Pelican Waters canals.  

FISHING REPORT   – 21-05-2015

TOOWOOMBA FISHING CLASSIC

Young Isaac Marsh with a quality
Cooby Dam Yellowbelly

Congratulations to the Rotary Club of Toowoomba Garden City, on their running of the Toowoomba Fishing Classic at Cressbrook Dam on the weekend. There were plenty of fish caught and by all accounts, everyone who attended, had an enjoyable day, well done to everyone involved with the day.

BASS

Somerset has seen big Bass taking live bait in the timbered area at Kirkleigh, Both arms are still a bit dirty at Boondooma Dam, using reaction lures around the timber has picked up the odd fish, but again, looking for schooled fish in the main basin would be your best bet, and targeting these fish with plastics, blades or tailspinners should produce the best results, Bjelke Peterson dam has produced some small Bass, off the edges, casting ¼ oz Blades, Moogerah has seen good numbers of Bass landed on the flats throughout the dam, using soft plastics, blades and tail spinners in 25-30ft of water, has provided the best results and working the weed beds with soft plastics has worked well at Maroon.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Cooby Dam has seen a few Yellowbelly taken on ice jigs, blades, live shrimp and frozen saltwater yabbies throughout the dam and shore based fishing has produced a few fish as well. The fishing is still fairly good at Glenlyon, it has again produced a few Yellowbelly in the deeper parts, around the 35-40cm mark, with frozen saltwater yabbies, live shrimp and worms landing the most fish, while bigger spinnerbaits and Jackals have produced some nice Cod around 60 to 70cm, with a couple of fish nudging the metre mark. Coolmunda Dam has been fishing well for Yellowbelly this week, using bait in the deeper parts of the dam has produced the most fish, there has been a few smaller Cod landed as well, bait has been the best option, with live shrimp, frozen saltwater yabbies and cray tails working the best. In the Warwick area the fishing is a little slow at Leslie Dam, with a few Yellowbelly taken on live shrimp and frozen saltwater yabbies around the rock wall, and TN60 Jackalls have taken a few Cod around the 80cm mark, Bjelke Peterson has produced some quality Yellowbelly, around Bass Point, on spinnerbaits and blades, Boondooma produced a few fish on blades, ice jigs and live bait, with the deeper parts around the junction and into the Stuart arm proving to be the best spots. As for the rivers, the Macintyre at Goondiwindi is still a bit quiet, although there has been the odd Yellowbelly taken on frozen saltwater yabbies and spinnerbaits, good numbers of smaller Cod are taking bait and Spinnerbaits at Bonshaw Weir and Cecil Plains and Yarramalong Weirs have fished well for Yellowbelly and Cod, with spinnerbaits and Jackals producing the most fish.

COASTAL FISHING

Offshore fishing has been good at the Gold Coast again this week, with good numbers of Kingies and Amberjack providing plenty of action on the N.E 50’s, Snapper and quality Red Emperor on the 24’s and the shelf has produced a few Blue Marlin. Inshore fishing has seen the Southport Seaway producing Mulloway on live bait at night, and also Kingies and Trevelly on the run in tide, good quality Bream in the deeper holes, Flathead on plastics around the Pin and Kalinga Bank and plenty of Gar hanging around the weed beds near Seaworld and Crab Island, while at the Sunny Coast, offshore fishing has been pretty good again; with most reefs fishing well for Spotty Mackerel, Coral Trout, Sweetlip and Snapper. Inshore, the Maroochy River has produced Bream and Trevelly around most of the bridges, the passage at Caloundra is fishing well for Whiting and Mulloway, a few Flathead are taking plastics on the sand banks opposite the Power Boat Club, good numbers of Queenfish at the mouth of the Noosa River, a few Tailor starting to show up off the beaches and the Pelican Waters canals have seen plenty of Bream holding around any sort of structure.

FISHING REPORT   – 14-05-2015

TOOWOOMBA FISHING CLASSIC

Chubb Whitehouse landed this nice Snapper off
the Gold Coast last week. Well done Chubb!!

The Toowoomba Fishing Classic is an initiative of the Rotary Club of Toowoomba Garden City. This is the first year and they are looking forward to a great day. There will be random draws on the day and the prize categories are: Adult and junior Heaviest Yellowbelly, Adult and junior Heaviest Bass, Adult and junior Heaviest Cod, Adult and junior Heaviest Fish of any type and Mystery weight??? Fishing times are 7.00am - 2.00pm. There is a free sausage in the morning from the BBQ trailer and they will be running a BBQ with sausages, hamburgers and drinks all day. Entry fees are Adults $40, Children under the age of 16 $15 & Families $90. Families consist of 2 adults 2 children.

BASS

Cressbrook is only producing low numbers of Bass at the moment, try around Deer Island, out from the camp grounds and also around the main points in the Bull Creek and Cressbrook Creek arms, soft plastics and blades will give you the best chance of landing a fish, while live shrimp have produced good numbers for the bait anglers. Both arms are fairly dirty at Boondooma Dam, which means, looking for schooled fish in the main basin would be your best bet, when found, target the fish with plastics, blades or tailspinners, for the best results and Moogerah has seen good numbers of Bass landed throughout the dam, using soft plastics, blades and tail spinners in 25-30ft of water, has provided the best results.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Fishing around the weed edges has been good at Cooby, with frozen saltwater yabbies and hard bodies landing a few, the numbers have dropped off, but the quality has improved, with a lot of the fish hitting the 40-45cm mark. The fishing is still fairly good at Glenlyon, it has again produced a few Yellowbelly in 20-25ft of water, live shrimp and worms have landed the most fish, while bigger spinnerbaits and Jackals have produced some nice Cod around the timber. Coolmunda Dam has been fishing well for Yellowbelly this week, using bait on the drop-offs to the old creek beds has produced the most fish, there has also been a few smaller Cod taken on trolled hard body lures. Leslie Dam has seen a few Yellowbelly taken on live worms and frozen saltwater yabbies around the edges, while hopping Mask Vibes off the drop-offs, in the main basin has worked well also. Boondooma produced a few fish on blades, ice jigs and live bait, with the deeper parts of the main basin proving to be the best spots to target. As for the rivers, the Macintyre at Goondiwindi has improved this past week, with reasonable numbers of Yellowbelly taken on live worms, while downstream has seen a few Cod hitting surface lures and still pretty quiet in the Dumeresq and Condamine Rivers, due to the fresh running through them.

COASTAL FISHING

Offshore fishing at the Gold Coast has again seen plenty of action this week, with the outer 50’s producing some big Dolphin Fish, the northern 36’s have been good for Pearl Perch and there’s still a few Spanish Mackerel getting about Diamond Reef. Inshore fishing has seen the Southport Seaway producing a few Jew and some quality Tailor, Gar on the weed banks and some nice Flathead are taking bait and soft plastics at Kalinga Bank and Jumpinpin. While at the Sunny Coast, offshore fishing has been pretty good again; Snapper are prominent on most of the reefs at the moment, there’s also some good numbers of Pearl Perch and Cobia getting about as well. Inshore fishing is starting to improve as the estuaries clear up, with the Maroochy River producing Bream, Trevelly and Tailor around the bridges and rock bars, Caloundra has seen a few Bream and Flathead off the Boardwalk, and Whiting out from the power boat club, while at Noosa, good numbers of Jewies off the rock walls at night and GT’s and Queenfish have been active at the river mouth.

Fishing Report 07-05-2015

FISHING REPORT   –   07-05-2015

DAMS RECEIVE TOPUP

Dale "Trapper" Peardon landed this 90cm Cod at Coolmunda Dam
 last weekend. Trolling a spinnerbait through the timber enticed this fish.
 It was released after the photo. Well done Trapper!!

All three of our local Toowoomba dams have had small inflows from the rain we received last week, at the time of writing this report, Cooby, Cressbrook and Perseverance Dams all had a rise of about 3-5%. Most other dams west of the range, had slight rises as well, with Coolmunda and Leslie rising about 3%, in the South Burnett, Boondooma has risen 1% and Bjelke Peterson came up 6% and below the range, Somerset is at 100% after having gate releases, Wivenhoe is at 98%, Moogerah is still spilling and Maroon was spilling earlier in the week, but has stopped now.

BASS

Even with a small inflow, Cressbrook has continued to produce a few average size Bass on blades, out from Deer Island and also out from the camp grounds. Plenty of smaller fish around the timber, in both arms of Boondooma Dam, blades and spinnerbaits have been very effective, Bjelke Peterson has seen spinnerbaits and trolled hard bodies working well along the steeper banks and we haven’t had any reports from Somerset, Maroon or Moogerah, due to significant inflows into them.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Cooby Dam saw good numbers of Yellowbelly taking blades, trolled lures and frozen saltwater yabbies, just out from the pontoon, and the north arm have been the best spots to target. Boondooma has again produced good numbers of quality Yellowbelly on frozen saltwater yabbies, mainly around the timber in both arms, while at Bjelke Peterson, the points and timbered areas have provided the best catches. Coolmunda Dam has only seen low numbers of Yellowbelly taken throughout, with saltwater yabbies working well; there was a nice 90cm Cod caught on Sunday, trolling a spinnerbait through the timber. With the rainfall over the weekend, the fishing at Leslie Dam has been a little slower than previous weeks, however there were still few fish caught off the banks on bait and for the boat anglers, there were a few taken on trolled hard bodies, up near the Black Boys and Cod Alley. Glenlyon has again produced reasonable numbers of Yellowbelly in about 15-25ft of water, frozen saltwater yabbies, live shrimp and trolled hard bodies have all been effective, there was also a couple of decent Cod taken on hard bodies, including a 97cm speciman. As for the rivers, the Macintyre at Goondiwindi has been a bit quiet due to a rise in the river, but there has been a few Yellowbelly taken on frozen saltwater yabbies and the Dumeresq and Condamine Rivers have decent flows in them at the moment, so not a lot to report from them.

COASTAL FISHING

Offshore fishing at the Gold Coast has produced Trag Jew, Squire and Tuna on the 24’s, Amberjack, Pearl Perch and Snapper on the 50’s and there’s been the odd Blue Marlin on the shelf. The Seaway is producing a few Jewies, mainly along the north wall, on the incoming tide, most of the estuaries are fairly dirty, so it’s best to try around The Spit for Bream on the tide changes and it’s also worth flicking plastics around Crusoe Island and inside The Pin bar for Flathead. While at the Sunshine Coast, the inner reefs are pretty quiet due to dirty water, but out wider has seen some bigger Spaniards and Long tail Tuna hitting trolled lures and drifted live baits, while Snapper and Sweetlip have been prominent also. As far as inshore fishing goes, all of the estuaries are dirty, so the best options are around the river mouths, where a few Jewies and Flathead have been landed.