Well, over the past month or so, the fishing in the Bundaberg area has become some of the best we have seen in years, for both offshore and estuary fishing.
The reefs out wide have produced some top quality catches of big red emperor, coral trout, sweetlip and big snapper. Those anglers who have been putting out a large floating bait or livie have been well rewarded with big spanish mackerel and cobia.
The reef gutters such as the 15-Mile have also produced some great fish for the guys in the smaller boats. Parrot, squire, red emperor and the odd coral trout have all been taken. Again, spanish mackerel and also trevally have been caught in these areas.
The local rivers have also produced some fantastic action with monster bream, whiting and flathead all being reported. The salmon seem to be the most talked-about species with both blue and king salmon being caught.
In recent weeks the local rivers and estuaries in the Bundaberg area have been finally getting back to fishing the way they were before all the rain and floods earlier in the year.
Cooling temperatures have certainly brought the snapper on the chew. The Cochrane Artificial Reef, and the other close inshore reefs have been producing some 55 to 60 cm fish early morning, and later in the afternoon into the evening. Squid and Gulp soft plastics in the 5 and 7 inch have been the most successful method of landing these fish.
Most outer reefs are fishing quite well for large red emperor, sweetlip, parrot and hussar.
Winter whiting have finally appeared, mainly around the Woodgate area, and eventually should travel further north to the spoil grounds at Burnett Heads.
The occasional tailor has been caught along the coastline, and a few are even venturing up the Burnett River to Kirbys Wall.
A lot of the inshore reefs around Bundaberg have been firing up this week, including reefs such as Ryan’s, the Two Mile and the Cochrane Artificial.
The night time high tides seem to be the best, with some great catches of snapper and grunter. Fresh flesh baits such as bonito or mullet fillets have been best. A favourite rig for the snapper is using 2 x 4/0 hooks, snelled together on 40 to 60lb mono trace at a length of 60cm to a swivel, then running a ball sinker in size 3 or 4. This weight is just enough to get the rig to the bottom, then just hang on!
The outer reefs have also produced some great fish with big red emperor, coral trout, sweetlip and much more all being talked about. Spanish mackerel are really starting to fire up, and most of the offshore reefs are producing the spanish by trolling big dead baits such as bonito and wolf herring.
The fishing in the Bundaberg area is running red hot in both the Burnett River and offshore.
The offshore areas have been producing some big reds, trout and sweetlip. Some big snapper will start to come in as water temperatures cool down.
The inshore areas such as the Cochrane Artificial Reef have been producing some squire/snapper to 50cm as well as some big grunter.
Spanish mackerel are on the move with most anglers catching their bag of spanish by trolling big lures such as Halco Laser Pros and Strada lures. Trolling big baits has been best with wolf herring being the pick of the baits.
Over the past month we have seen some fantastic fishing in the local Bundaberg area, and as we go to press, the fishing is still red hot!
Most of the rivers and creeks have been producing some excellent fish. There has been a run of sand/summer whiting, as well as a good run of winter whiting, with worms and yabbies being the favourite baits.
The rock walls in the Burnett River have been producing some big bream. The bream are hard against the rocks and your bait must be right in their face or you won’t catch them. Some big fish have come out of the deeper holes in the river, using live baits. Big jack, cod, grunter and the odd barra have been caught.
Other species being caught at the moment include salmon and jew, and there has been a sprinkling of prawns and crabs about also.
Well, the past few weeks has seen some fantastic weather, and some great fishing around the Bundaberg area.
The local rivers are producing some excellent fish, with bream being the most talked-about species. Most of the bream have come from the rocky areas. These fish have been feeding hard along the rocks, so you bait needs to be unweighted, or with only a very small weight, fished right along the rocks.
Some big grunter are still about in the deeper holes. Live-baiting in some of these holes has also produced some king salmon, mangrove jacks and a few barramundi.
There is still a small run of prawns and also a few mud crabs about.
The local beaches have also been fishing well for whiting, flathead, dart and the odd tailor, while the inshore reefs have produced some great snapper and big grunter.
First of all, we’d like to wish everyone a very happy and safe Easter.
Now, as for the fishing, it has been great in most of the local estuaries around Bundaberg, and also out on the reefs.
The Burnett River has also been producing some fantastic fish, including some big bream along the rock walls. The bream seem to be hard against the rocks, so your bait or lures need to be fished right along the rocks also to enable you to snare a big bream.
There are also some top quality whiting about. Most of the sand flats throughout the rivers should produce a feed of these on worms or yabbies. Some big grunter have also been taken with live prawns being the best bait.
The river mouths are producing some big flathead and on the top of the tides some school mackerel have also been caught.
Although the weather was a bit windy, there was no rain to dampen the spirits of the kids taking part in the annual Take a Kid Fishing Day held at the river mouth at Elliot Heads on Sunday, 3rd April 2011.
This day is held every year and is sponsored by Sunfish, the Department of Primary Industries, the Australian Fishing Trade Association and Tackle World Bundaberg.
The day is aimed at children up to fifteen years old, to get them involved with fishing and educate them in responsible fishing practices. Fishing specialists are on hand to help them with their fishing techniques, so the children and their parents can come along and have a fun day together, with a positive outcome.
Tackle World staff were there on the day to lend a hand with the fishing, and to help any of the kids who needed to be shown how to rig up their tackle, as well to man the sausage sizzle and to present the awards and lucky draws.
Recently I spent the weekend pre-fishing Cania Dam for the Cania Bass Electric Tournament. Well, the time for the comp had finally come, so “How did it go?” you may ask.
Well, the lead-up during the week before saw near perfect conditions – hot, calm, windless days, but come tournament time, a severe weather change had come around. With cloudy, overcast days, 20-25 knot winds and rain squalls, we knew that it would be tough as bass don’t like those quick weather changes.
This is a two-day event, and the first session was on the Saturday afternoon from noon to 7.00pm, so 25 boats, powered by electric motors only, lined up for a start. Off we went, all to the secret spots we had pre-fished a couple of weeks before, and man, the fishing was tough!
We all made our way back to weigh-in to see what how the fishing went for the first session and there were only five bass caught. Mega-tough fishing!
on orders over $125
Green Acorn