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.

FISHING REPORT   – 30-04-2015

BASS

Justin Nothdurft got into a few Bass at Lake Dyer recently!!

Still a few quality Bass about Cressbrook Dam at the moment, targeting the fish with Blades and soft plastics, working the points in the main basin and over towards Deer Island, as well as parts of the Bull Creek arm of the dam, has worked well. At Boondooma Dam, Pelican point, the junction and the Stuart arm are producing Bass on ice jigs and soft vibes. Also this week, Yellow and Brown, yellow and green and black and silver deep divers are working in 19 - 25ft of water trolling the banks in the Stuart arm and the main basin. The fishing is still reasonable at Bjelke Peterson, casting blades and soft plastics to the edges and working them close to the bottom, early morning and late afternoon has produced a few fish and trolling hard bodies through the deeper parts of the dam has been productive as well. Somerset has again seen quality Bass taken in 15 to 30 foot of water around the Pelican Point area, trolling hard bodies has worked well, while working tailspinners and spinnerbaits back to the boat, after a long cast, has picked up some decent fish also and Moogerah has again produced decent numbers in and around the timbered area, as well as the ridge that runs out from the camp grounds boat ramp, soft plastics, tailspinners and soft vibes have worked the best on these fish.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD.

Cressbrook Dam has produced a few Yellowbelly around the Eagles Nest area, with live shrimp and spinnerbaits working on those fish. In Boondooma Dam, the Yellowbelly have been biting in the bays throughout the main basin, as well as along any sort of drop-off, live Shrimp have been the best bait, while at Bjelke Peterson, trolling hard bodies or using bait around the points, drop-offs and also in the timber has proven successful. Coolmunda Dam has fished well again this week, with a few Yellowbelly taking frozen saltwater yabbies and live worms, with the odd fish caught on trolled hard bodies. Glenlyon Dam has seen some nice Yellowbelly and Silver Perch taking frozen saltwater yabbies in 15 to 20ft of water, there were some nice Cod up to 90cm taken on trolled hard bodies and bigger spinnerbaits. Leslie Dam has seen reasonable amounts of Yellowbelly landed this week, the deeper parts of the main basin has been the most productive area, while frozen saltwater yabbies, trolled hard bodies and even blades all proved to be effective, there was a cracking 106cm Cod landed as well. As for the rivers, the Macintyre River at Goondiwindi has seen some quality Cod to 85cm taking spinnerbaits up and downstream of the township, Yellowbelly have been a bit quieter, with only a few landed on bait and smaller hard body lures. Plenty of Yellowbelly and a few Silver Perch coming out of the Dumeresq River at Texas at the moment, live worms and frozen prawns have worked the best for these fish and the Condamine River, around Pratten has seen some quality Yellowbelly taking smaller hard body lures and spinnerbaits.

COASTAL FISHING

Offshore fishing at the Gold Coast has seen Spanish Mackerel and Yellowfin Tuna on the 24’s; and the 26’s have produced Wahoo and some decent sized Snapper. Inshore fishing has seen quite a few Kingies hitting micro jigs around the pipeline, School Jew along the north wall of the Seaway and the Pin has produced good numbers of Flathead on bait and plastics. While at the Sunshine Coast, Spanish Mackerel and Long Tail Tuna are about in good numbers on most of the reefs, Currumundi Reef has produced good amounts of mixed reef fish and North and Sunshine Reefs are seeing a few Cobia and smaller Snapper getting about, while inshore fishing at Caloundra has seen big Flathead at the bar entrance, some good quality Bream starting to show up in the passage, quality Whiting at night on the sand banks, near the Power Boat Club, Jacks and Trevally are biting on live bait and plastics throughout the canals, and the Noosa River has produced good numbers of Bream, Whiting and Flathead throughout, with some bigger Flathead around the river mouth, and the river mouth has also seen Queenies, Trevally and Tailor hitting metal slices and surface lures.

 

Fishing Report 23-04-2015

FISHING REPORT   –   23-04-2015

BASS

John Rush landed this 53cm Yellowbelly
at Bjelke Peterson Dam at Easter.

Not a lot to report from Cressbrook Dam this week, there’s still quite a few fish schooled up, just out from the campgrounds and working blades through these will pick up the odd one. In Boondooma Dam, Spinnerbaits and live shrimp have worked the best this week, with good numbers of Bass taken mainly in the Boyne arm. Smaller hard bodies and spinnerbaits worked around Bass Point have produced the most fish at Bjelke Peterson this week, Somerset Dam has really fired this week, with some cracking Bass up to 55cm taken around Pelican Point, soft vibes, tailspinners and spinnerbaits have picked up the majority of the fish and Moogerah has again produced decent numbers along the edge of the timbered area, as well as the flats just out from the day use boat ramp, soft plastics and soft vibes have worked the best on these fish.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Cooby Dam has again seen low numbers of Yellowbelly over the past week, frozen saltwater yabbies, live shrimp and vertically jigged blades worked the best, just out from the dam wall buoy line, has again been the best spot to target. Boondooma Dam has again seen good numbers of quality Yellowbelly in the timbered area of the Boyne arm, with bait and spinnerbaits still working well on those fish, while at Bjelke Peterson, trolling hard bodies or using bait around the points, drop-offs and also in the timber has proven successful. Coolmunda Dam fished well again this week, with a few Yellowbelly taking frozen saltwater yabbies and spinnerbaits, around the timber. Leslie Dam is fishing reasonably well for this time of year, with anglers having success on both lures and bait, frozen saltwater yabbies, live shrimp and worms are all working well, while blades, lipless crankbaits and SMAK hard bodies worked well for the lure anglers. Glenlyon has produced good numbers of Yellowbelly, frozen saltwater yabbies, live shrimp and trolled hard bodies have all been effective, there’s also been a few Cod taken on trolled hard bodies and they have mainly been around the 70-75cm mark. As for the rivers, the Dumeresq at Texas has seen a few Yellowbelly and the odd undersize Cod taking black and red or black and purple spinnerbaits; and locally, the upper reaches of the Condamine has produced some quality Cod, with spinnerbaits picking up most of the fish.

COASTAL FISHING

The Gold Coast has produced Trag Jew and Snapper on the 24’s and out wider has seen Pearl Perch and Mahi Mahi on the 50’s, while inshore has seen Flathead and Bream at the Aldershots and Kalinga Bank, Jewies and Trevally along the northern wall of the Seaway, on the incoming tide and there’s still a few Muddies about the creeks. While at the Sunny Coast, plenty of Spotty and Spanish Mackerel on North Reef, Snapper and Sweetlip on Caloundra 5 Mile and Currumundi Reef and inshore fishing at Caloundra has produced Bream off the boardwalk, quality Flathead at the bar entrance, on the run out tide, smaller Trevally in the Pelican Waters canals. The Maroochy River has seen Trevally and Jewies at the Cod Hole, the Noosa River has produced Bream and Whiting in the upper reaches, while Trevally and Queenfish have been taking live Herring along the rock walls.

Fishing Report 16-04-2015

FISHING REPORT   –   16-04-2015

BASS

Brock Campbell landed this quality Yellowbelly,
 while fishing with his Grandad at Cressbrook Dam.
 

At Cressbrook Dam, working blades through the schooled fish just out from the campgrounds has worked well again, there’s still quite a few smaller fish with the odd bigger one in amongst them and the Eales Nest area has again seen a couple of better quality Bass landed as well. In Boondooma Dam, Blades and Spinnerbaits have been the go, with good numbers of Bass taken in the Stewart and Boyne arms, there’s no real big fish in amongst them, but there’s still plenty about. Not a lot has changed at Bjelke Peterson this week, casting Blades and Spinnerbaits to the edges at the bottom end of the dam has worked well, while working lures or using live shrimp around the timber has been good also, Moogerah has produced decent numbers along the edge of the timbered area, as well as the flats just out from the day use boat ramp, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits have again picked up most of the fish.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Cooby Dam produced low numbers of Yellowbelly over the past week, frozen saltwater yabbies, live shrimp and vertically jigged blades worked the best, just out from the dam wall buoy line, has been the best spot to target. Boondooma Dam also produced good numbers of quality Yellowbelly, the timbered area of the Boyne arm is still the spot to be, with bait and spinnerbaits accounting for the majority of the fish. While at Bjelke Peterson, using bait at the start of the timber and trolling hard bodies from the quarry to the day use boat ramp has proven successful. Coolmunda Dam also fished well this week, with a few Yellowbelly taking frozen saltwater yabbies and spinnerbaits, around the timber. Leslie Dam has continued to produce good numbers of Yellowbelly this week; bait has again worked well off the banks, with worms and frozen saltwater yabbies doing the job and trolling hard bodies at 15ft through suspended fish in the main basin has worked well for the lure anglers. The timber has been the most productive at Glenlyon this week, with plenty of Yellowbelly and the odd smaller Cod taking bait, hard bodies and spinnerbaits. As for the rivers, the Macintyre at Goondiwind has improved this week, with good numbers of Yellowbelly taken from both the bank and boat; bait fishing has been the most successful, but the Cod are still a bit quiet and the Dumeresq produced a few smaller Yellowbelly on bait, mainly downstream of Texas.

COASTAL FISHING

The Gold Coast has produced Trag Jew and Spanish Mackerel on the 24’s and Pearl Perch and Yellowtail Kingies on the 50’s, while inshore has seen Flathead and Bream at the Aldershots, Mud Crabs throughout the system and Jewies at the mouth of the Pin Bar. While at the Sunny Coast, plenty of Long Tail Tuna and Spanish Mackerel on Caloundra 12 mile, Spotty and Spanish Mackerel on Murphys Reef, plenty of Sweetlip and smaller Snapper are starting to show up on most of the closer reefs and inshore fishing at Caloundra has produced Bream off Military Jetty and the boardwalk, quality Flathead drifting along the sand bars with bait or plastics. The Maroochy River has seen Trevally and decent sized Bream lurking around any sort of structure, the Noosa River has produced Flathead and Trevally at the river mouth, with Whiting and the odd Jack taken around the Ski Run and the rocky headlands have produced quite a few Jewies and smaller Snapper.

Fishing Report 09-04-2015

FISHING REPORT   –   09-04-2015

EASTER WRAP UP

Even with a poor weather prediction for the Easter long weekend, plenty of people got out to our local impoundments for a bit of camping and fishing. There were mixed reports, with people fishing waterways that they knew, having success, while anyone who went somewhere they weren’t familiar with, did it a bit tough.
 
BASS



Patrick Bailey landed these couple of nice Cod
on a recent trip to Bonshaw. Well done mate!! WG

Cressbrook Dam saw a few Bass caught over the weekend, even though they’re getting harder to catch. Working blades through the schooled fish just out from the campgrounds worked well, there’s still quite a few smaller fish with the odd bigger one in amongst them and the Eales Nest area saw a couple landed as well. Boondooma Dam continues to produce reasonable numbers of Bass, working blades, trolling hard bodies or using live Shrimp around the points throughout the dam and working spinnerbaits around the timber in the Stuart arm has been very effective. Not a lot has changed at Bjelke Peterson this week, casting Blades and Spinnerbaits to the edges at the bottom end of the dam has worked well, while working lures or using live shrimp around the timber has been good also, Moogerah really fired last week, with anglers having success fishing the edge of the timbered area, as well as the flats just out from the day use boat ramp, spinnerbaits, TN60s and Piranhas picked up most of the fish, however, over the weekend, there was an inflow into the dam, which has quietened things down a bit.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Cooby Dam produced low numbers of Yellowbelly over the weekend, frozen saltwater yabbies and TN60 Jackalls worked the best, just out from the dam wall buoy line. Boondooma Dam also produced good numbers of quality Yellowbelly, the timbered area of the Boyne arm was the spot to be, with bait and spinnerbaits accounting for the majority of the fish. While at Bjelke Peterson, using bait at the start of the timber has proven successful. Coolmunda Dam also fished well this week, with a few Yellowbelly taking frozen saltwater yabbies and brighter coloured spinnerbaits, around the timber, there was also a couple of Cod caught, trolling hard bodies over the old creek bed, just out from the boat ramp, with the biggest fish going 86cm. Leslie Dam saw a slight improvement over the Easter break, with some big catfish and Yellowbelly being landed off the bank at the Washpool on worms and frozen saltwater yabbies. The lure anglers had mixed results, with a lot of fish   suspended at 15ft, when located; these fish were falling for blades and lipless crankbaits. There was also a couple of legal sized Murray Cod caught in the main basin on trolled hard bodies. Glenlyon saw an increase in the numbers of Yellowbelly and Silver Perch taking live shrimp and worms. As for the rivers, the Macintyre at Goondiwindi saw low numbers of Yellowbelly and the odd smaller Murray Cod taken on frozen saltwater yabbies, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits, however it’s had a slight rise, which has slowed things down even more. The Dumeresq and Condamine Rivers have also had freshes through them, which have made them a bit slow, but there were a few reports of a couple of Yellowbelly being caught in the Pratten area.

COASTAL FISHING

The Gold Coast has continued to produce Spotty and Spanish Mackerel on trolled lures, out from the Pin bar and the odd Snapper had been landed early morning on the 18’s and 24’s. The north wall of the Seaway is producing Mulloway, Kingies and Flathead, on the tide changes; Jewies and Tailor in the deeper holes, inside the Pin bar and the southern Broadwater has seen plenty of Sand Crabs getting about. While at the Sunshine Coast, Spanish and Spotty Mackerel are still about, but the numbers are starting to decline, Mac Tuna are hitting metal slugs on Curramundi and 5 Mile Reefs, Sunshine and North Reef have produced a mixed bag of reef fish, while inshore fishing at Caloundra has seen a few Flathead and Bream taken off the Boardwalk at the top of the tide, Golden Trevally near the Power Boat Club, Trevally and Tailor off Moffat Beach, and the Noosa River has produced quality Trevally, Jacks and Flathead at the river mouth and plenty of Whiting are taking  saltwater yabbies and surface poppers throughout the river.

Fishing Report 02-04-2015

FISHING REPORT   –   02-04-2015

BASS

Cressbrook Dam produced some decent numbers of Bass on the weekend, there’s a decent school just out from the campgrounds and blades have worked well on these fish, there are quite a few smaller fish with the odd bigger one in amongst them. Boondooma Dam continues to produce reasonable numbers of Bass, working blades, trolling hard bodies or using live Shrimp around the points throughout the dam and working spinnerbaits around the timber in the Stuart and Boyne arms has been very effective. Not a lot has changed at Bjelke Peterson this week, casting Blades and Spinnerbaits to the edges has worked well, while working lures or using live shrimp around the timber has been good also, Moogerah and Maroon are both fishing well, with anglers at Moogerah having success fishing the edge of the timbered area with TN60s and Piranhas and Maroon has seen live shrimp working the best, but the lure anglers had success along the weed edges while using spinnerbaits and soft plastics.

YELLOWBELLY AND COD

Cooby Dam is still producing a few Yellowbelly at the moment, looking in 40ft of water, out from the main point opposite the boatramp has been productive, with deep diving hard bodies and frozen saltwater yabbies working the best, while trolling shallow diving lures just out from the weed edges, has produced a few as well. Boondooma Dam has also seen pretty good numbers of quality Yellowbelly throughout the dam, similar tactics as used for the Bass will give you success, while at Bjelke Peterson, trolling hard bodies or using bait around the points, drop-offs and  timbered edges has proven successful. Coolmunda Dam has picked up a bit this week, with a few Yellowbelly taking frozen saltwater yabbies and trolled lures, working the old creek bed at the southern end of the dam has been a good spot to target and brighter coloured spinnerbaits, worked slowly around the timber has picked up some quality fish as well. Leslie Dam remains fairly quiet, with not too much to report. There’s only been a few legal Yellowbelly landed so far this week, the majority of these fish were taken on trolled hard body lures, there was also a few fish taken in the main basin on live shrimp. Glenlyon has been a little quiet also, with only low numbers of Yellowbelly and Silver Perch taking live shrimp and worms. As for the rivers, the Macintyre at Goondiwindi is a lot clearer, which has seen some fairly good numbers of Yellowbelly and the odd smaller Murray Cod, taken on frozen saltwater yabbies, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits, the Dumeresq at Texas has seen a few Yellowbelly taking bait, while a few Cod have been hitting surface lures; and locally, the Condamine has started to see a few fish landed as the water clarity improves, it’s still not easy, but the upper reaches has been the better area to target.

COASTAL FISHING

The wind is looking like dropping off by Saturday, so until then it won’t be very nice at all. Earlier in the week, the Gold Coast continued to produce Mackerel, as well as Yellowfin Tuna on trolled lures, from Jumpinpin right through to Mermaid Reef, a few Pearl Perch were starting to show up on the 50’s and the odd Snapper had been landed on the 18’s and 24’s. The Seaway is producing Mulloway and Kingies, on the run out tide; the weed beds throughout the Broadwater are producing plenty of Squid and Gar and the southern Broadwater has seen plenty of Sand Crabs getting about. While at the Sunshine Coast, Spanish and Spotty Mackerel are about in good numbers at 12 Mile and Chardons Reefs and Sunshine Reef has produced Long Tail and Yellowfin Tuna, as well as a mixed bag of reef fish, while inshore fishing at Caloundra has seen a few Flathead and Bream taken off the Boardwalk, quality Whiting around Military Jetty, Jacks and Trevally are biting on live bait throughout the canals, and the Noosa River has produced quality Jacks and Flathead on plastics, at the river mouth, a few small Whiting are taking fresh saltwater yabbies and fresh Squid has picked up some quality Jewies off the beaches.