Kaiden Ford with his PB whiting!

Congratulations Kaiden, please call into the store to collect your $50 gift card.

Inshore & Offshore

The last week has provided some really solid opportunities for those watching the forecast closely, with light south westerly winds in the mornings giving anglers a good window to get out and fish our inshore grounds. Getting on the water early has been absolutely critical as the winds have been swinging south east and picking up to a solid 10 to 20 knots by mid morning depending on the day, so those who set the alarm and made the most of the early conditions have been well rewarded.

The inshore reefs have continued to fish really well with Spanish mackerel and cobia again the standout species this week. The Leads at Burnett Heads and the 2 Mile off Bargara have been holding good numbers of Spanish with trolling hard body lures or whole garfish at first light proving to be a very reliable approach. Finding areas with good bait concentrations has been the key to locating these fish consistently, and for those able to secure some live bait, floating them out has been an extremely effective way to get these fish to commit. The Barjon and Stepping Stones area has been the place to be for cobia with great numbers of these fish showing up and eating just about anything presented to them. There has even been a few cracking mulloway showing up around the Artificial Reef off Elliott Heads with some nice schools of these fish being located in that area. Live bait has been the standout option for these fish, along with a well presented squid or cuttlefish bait also accounting for some quality captures.

Plenty of school mackerel have continued to be scattered along the coast and have actually been causing some frustration for anglers targeting bottom species, with these fish intercepting lures well before they reach the bottom, or on the way back to the boat! If you are specifically targeting the schoolies a Flasha Spoon dropped to the bottom and wound back quickly or trolling a Halco Barra Spoon on a paravane setup are both great ways to catch them. Some solid grunter and grass sweetlip are also still being caught inshore with the patches off Burnett Heads continuing to produce the most consistent results for those targeting these species.

Ryan Barber with a quick after work run that produced the goods with a solid spanish mackerel

Harry with his first ever cobia!

The Burnett is well and truly in its winter stride now and the fishing has been reflecting that over the last few weeks. The bream have been the undisputed highlight with this system producing some of the best bream fishing we see all year during this period. Quality fish over 40cm have been showing up regularly along the rock walls, bridges and jetties throughout the system with strips of mullet fillet, whole sprat and whole prawns fished with minimal weight being the most consistent approach. The key is to keep the presentation as natural as possible, letting the bait drift down through the water column. For the lure anglers small prawn, curl tail and crab imitation soft plastics fished with a light and finesse approach around these same structures have been getting some excellent results, with the Rapala Trickster and Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.35 inch Prawn both proving to be standout options this season. Grunter have also been a reliable capture along the rock walls from Kirbys Wall down to the North Wall with the same bait approach working well on these fish too.

The blue salmon are starting to make their presence known which is always an exciting development at this time of year. These fish arrive in big schools every winter and while they have been relatively quiet up until now, a few encouraging reports have been filtering through which is a very promising sign of things to come. Using your sounder to locate these schools is the most effective way to find them and once you do, a soft vibe hopped steadily through the school is the classic and most reliable technique for getting bites. There have also been some really nice mulloway showing up in this system recently, live bait has been the standout option for these fish by a significant margin so it is well worth putting in the effort to secure some before heading out if mulloway are on your target list this weekend!

Junior team member Max Harris with a stonking
45cm bream caught locally

The Kolan has settled into a really consistent winter pattern over the last few weeks and is producing some enjoyable fishing for those getting out and targeting the right species in the right areas. The bread and butter fishing across the sand flats and yabbie beds has remained the backbone of most sessions with bream, whiting, flathead and grunter all being caught consistently. Fresh yabbies have continued to be the standout bait for the bream and whiting on the incoming tide while whole sprat and strips of mullet fillet have been the most reliable options for the flathead and grunter, particularly along the drop offs and deeper channels as the tide runs out.

For the lure anglers the topwater bite over the shallow flats during the early morning incoming tide has still been producing some exciting strikes on bream and whiting so it is well worth having a light rod rigged for that style of fishing first thing. The mangrove jack have pushed into the deeper structure as the water has cooled but are still being caught by those targeting the right areas with live bait or a well worked soft plastic along the rock bars. A few nice jack have been caught by those fishing into the night, so if your are keen a well presented live bait on a rock bar fished into the night is your best best at the moment.

With the new moon this week the tides have been very favourable for the crabbers, with the bigger night tides getting the crabs active and moving through the system. Placing the pots overnight in the main channels and along the deeper banks has been producing the best results.

Finn Waldron with a nice 43cm mangrove jack caught in the Kolan on a live poddy mullet

The Elliott has continued to fire on all cylinders and remains one of the most exciting and productive estuaries in our region right now. The bread and butter species have been the consistent performers with whiting, bream, flathead and grunter all available throughout the system depending on where you are fishing and what stage of the tide you are targeting. The night time whiting bite has continued to be a real standout for those willing to stay out after dark, with the quality of fish after dark noticeably better than during the day. Pumping fresh yabbies at the afternoon low tide and fishing the incoming tide right through into the night remains the most productive formula for getting amongst these fish consistently.

The pelagic action around the mouth has also continued to provide some great sport with queenfish and GT showing up regularly in the areas of stronger current during the middle section of the incoming tide. Always have a light rod rigged and ready when fishing around the mouth as these sessions can be very short lived. Further up river the estuary cod and grunter have been caught along the rock bars and deeper holes for those presenting live bait or fresh mullet fillet through these areas, with the odd mangrove jack also keeping anglers on their toes.

With the new moon bringing some great night tides this week, those who took full advantage and pushed right up this system to leave the pots in overnight saw some great sized crabs caught. Plenty of undersized bucks are around, which for some has been frustrating, but it is a great sign for the future crabbing in this system.

Chace Rasmussen with a massive 72cm flathead caught in the Elliott

Rocco Grima with a solid flathead caught land based

Lake Gregory is fishing exceptionally well right now and those who have been getting on the water consistently over the last few weeks have been experiencing some genuinely outstanding sessions. The cooling water temperature has these bass schooled up in very good numbers and the quality of fish coming from these schools has been impressive with plenty of solid fish in the 45 to 50cm range being caught regularly. The late afternoon bite has been the standout session with these fish really switching on in that last hour or two before dark, so if you can only get out for a short window make sure it is during this time.

Slow rolling metal spoon lures or jigging micro jigs down through the schools has been the most consistent technique for getting bites once the fish have been located on the sounder. The key is to get the lure down into the school quickly and work it through the fish at the right depth rather than fishing above or below them. For those running live scope, getting a small jerk shad lure down in front of these fish and working it with subtle rod tip movements has been an absolutely deadly technique, with the ability to watch individual fish react and adjust the presentation in real time making an enormous difference to the conversion rate. Get on this lake while it is fishing this well because winter at Lake Gregory is as good as it gets!

Team member Seth with a cracking saratoga caught recently

Lake Monduran continues to be in great form as we settle deeper into winter and the fishing has remained very consistent for those making the trip up and putting in quality time on the water. As we have touched on over the last few weeks the fish have become noticeably more spooky with the cooling and clearing water, and finesse presentations have become the most important factor in getting consistent bites. Strolling lures and fly lures worked with a simple slow and steady roll continue to be the standout approach with the Raid Super Fish Rollers, Rapala Crush City Freeloaders and any fly style lures such as the Jerk Fly all proving their worth. The minimal splash on entry that these lures produce is a key reason they have been outperforming other options as these cautious winter barra are very easily spooked by anything that does not look, sound or swim naturally.

For those running live scope the late afternoon right through into the night remains the most productive window on the dam. As the light drops these fish rise higher in the water column and become significantly more active and willing to eat, making them far easier to both locate and present a lure to effectively.

For those without live scope, targeting windblown points with deep channels running alongside them during the early morning remains the most reliable edge bite approach with a Samaki Redic DS80 or a Zerek Live Mullet worked very slowly giving these spooky fish every opportunity to commit. Stealth and patience are every bit as important as lure selection during these cooler months so take your time getting into position and keep things as quiet as possible!

Tom Martin with a cracking salt water barra caught locally