Fish Report - 14th April 2009

Fish Report –14th April 2009

It definitely looks like prawns will be the main item on everyone's menus as there have been numerous reports of large quantities of prawns being captured in our local rivers.  If you plan on chasing a feed of prawns, keep in mind the bag limits that apply. The limit is a ten litre bucket per person, with no more than ten prawns with their heads or any other part removed, unless the removal was to process the prawns for immediate consumption.  A full closure to cast nets applies in the town reach of the Burnett River, which is downstream from Bundaberg Creek at the Rowers Club up to the upstream side of Harriet Island. 

Mud crabs will be another great option for the menu.  The Kolan, Burnett and Elliott Rivers are all producing legal sized bucks.  There are a lot females around, so be very careful that you don't take any of these.  The legal size for a male mud crab is 15cm at the widest point of the shell.  The bag limit is ten crabs per person.  Remember you're only allowed four pots per person, and these must be marked with a 6" round float and a tag with your surname and address.

The occasional mangrove jack is still being caught in all river systems.  Live prawns, poddy mullet and sprat are the preferred baits.  More fish are being captured at night rather than during the day.  There have been a few reports of jewfish in the Burnett River, some of these reaching the 5lb mark.  These are also a great species to target with live baits.  Kirby's Wall has been producing some nice sized bream, as well as the occasional cod and flathead.  Whiting would be a great species to target at Skyringville, the Elliott River and the upper reaches of the Burnett River on the night tides.  Fresh yabbies and beach worms would be the ideal bait. 

For those heading to Lake Monduran, barra and bass are still being captured.  Just last week a monster 122cm barra was captured and released.  This would have been a 30kg+ fish!  Trolling is a good option for targeting barra because you can cover a lot more country.  Try using lures that dive to between 12 and 15 feet in the water column as the barra are normally suspended in the thermocline. 

For those anglers who prefer to cast and retrieve, target shallow bays with water no deeper than ten feet.  Try finding the warmest water in the dam as barra prefer this to the cooler water.  Since the water is fairly cool, try using suspending lures and slow down yoru retrieval rate, as this will keep the lure in the barras face a lot longer for a strike.  If the water is fairly cloudy, I prefer to use brighter colours, but if the water is nice and clean, natural colours are the way to go.

Don't forget - the annual Take a Kid Fishing Day is coming up on Sunday, 26th April.  This will be held at the Elliott River mouth once again, and if you wish to bring the kids along, you will need to register at Tackle World Bundaberg before 4.00pm on Saturday, 25th.  More information is available at Tackle World.

Tackle World Bundaberg Fishing Team