on orders over $125Lately the weather around our local area, and indeed over most of Queensland, has been extraordinary with most of the state receiving more rain in the past few weeks than they have in the last ten years.
The Burnett River alone has flooded twice since Christmas, and is up again this week because of rain received way up in the catchment area. As a result, all of the river systems and dams are either full or over-flowing. This has meant that most of our local salt water rivers and creeks are running very fresh.
The only fishing options have been around the river mouths, especially on the bigger tides, as this will push a bit of salt back up into the rivers.
From those anglers who have managed to throw in a line, the main catches that have been reported are flathead, bream and the odd grunter. It is also worth putting in some crab pots, as this is the time the mud crabs will be heading back upstream.
The fresh that has pushed out of the Burnett River has made it's way several miles out to sea, and there is a distinct dirty water line where the fresh meets the salt. This means that the bait has been pushed out to this area, and the pelagic species such as mackerel, tuna, and trevally have found this bait and it has made for some great sport fishing.
There will be an interim closure on snapper, teraglin and pearl perch during February. This will be a six-week full no-take closure from 15th February until 31st March 2011. It has been put into place until new fishing rules can be finalized, and will apply to all Queensland coastal waters. These species should not be targeted during the closure. There is an on-line petition in place regarding the closure, and if you'd like to sign it go to http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/EPetitions_QLD
You can also have your say about the issue at http://www.getinvolved.qld.gov.au/consultqld
More information can be found at http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/28_19696.htm
Also, don’t forget that there is currently a barramundi closure in place until noon on 1st February. Until this date barramundi cannot be targeted.
Lake Monduran has been very quiet due to the dam still overflowing, so the only dam fishing that has been done is in the Isis Impoundment (Lake Gregory) where the bass have been really on the chew. The flow into and out of this impoundment is controlled, so it is one of the few dams that hasn't overflowed. Early morning sessions using surface poppers have been favourites. During the day, small blade lures have been doing the trick on the bass.
Meanwhile, all we can do is hope that the weather improves soon so we can all get back out there doing what we love to do – trying to land the big one.
Till next time,
Tim Mulhall
Green Acorn