Fisho's Weekly Fishing Report – 22nd November, 2024

Fisho's Weekly Fishing Report © Fisho's Tackle World Hervey Bay

Showers to Ease First, Then the Breeze

It has been an interesting fortnight here on the Fraser coast, weather-wise. The week ahead should be more settled. Those storms a week or so ago dumped substantial falls on isolated local areas, but nothing too dramatic in our catchments. The showers we are experiencing now should ease by the weekend, whilst the wind takes a couple of extra days to abate.

The south-easter is likely to stiffen slightly this afternoon, reaching 25 knots in parts of the bay. The last of the showers should blow away before Saturday morning, so plan an inshore sojourn in waters protected from the anticipated 15-25 knot south-easter. Sunday is likely to be a touch better, with the south-easter peaking at 20 knots (if it even achieves that strength).

The working week looks much better. 15 knots from the south-east initially Monday, then easing and tending more easterly some time Tuesday. That light easterly could be dominant for the rest of the week if we are lucky. At this stage, the weather gurus are saying no more than 10 knots day to day 'til week's end, apart from a slightly stronger north-east sea breeze late afternoon into early evening. Rain-wise, it seems like showers are possible mid-late next week. The weather sites are conflicting once again, so monitor the latest reports day to day.

One thing is for sure though, and that is the moon and the tides. This Saturday's last quarter phase and its half moon mean neap tides and minimal flow once again. Perfect for those wishing to escape the wind and scout the estuaries looking for some sport or sustenance. As the tides make next week, this will trigger the movement of many species and your options improve on many fronts.

Storms Triggered a Good Bite from the Burrum Jacks

There were quite significant falls of rain recorded in local gauges during the stormy weather a week ago. Slower-moving storms dropped as much as 100mm in a single night this side of Maryborough, on grounds already soaked from more than 50mm they enjoyed only days earlier. Such falls were well down-river in the catchment and had little more than localised impact on water flow in the rivers.

Storm rains in the Gympie district and other parts of the Mary River catchment were not enough to create any significant overflow. Teddington Weir is flowing over right now, but not by much. A little localised run-off upstream in the salty section of the Mary has done little to change the status quo water quality wise. Lake Lenthalls isn't flowing over either, so the Burrum is still looking good.

That recent stormy weather really had the mangrove jacks on the chew, like it was straight out of a text book. Late afternoon bites under darkening skies whilst the thunder growled in the distance offered champagne fishing for those making the effort. The great bite wasn't just restricted to such times though, as stories of jacks biting early, late, and into the evening reflected just how hungry the jacks were.

As always, it was the bait fishos that absolutely smashed the red dogs, but lure fishos fared very well too. Opportunities to test your skills against the nastiest snag-dwellers in Qld were abundant. I am sure there a is a couple of fishos that would like to have another crack at red brutes that left them shell-shocked with little more than shredded leader.

It is still muggy, and the water is still warm, so take advantage of the small tides and have another go this week. Step up and have a crack at topwater if you haven't already. It can be mind-blowing. Try weedless frogs skipped beneath the shadier overhangs and paddled back out. Work poppers, stickbaits or fizzers if you prefer and send them across rock bars or fallen trees that give fish opportunities to rush from deeper water to the surface under cover.

You can find jacks right throughout the Burrum, the Cherwell, Isis or Gregory Rivers right now. The mid reaches of each of those systems would seem the best starting point, however. Focus on snags and rock bars in shallower water when the tide is higher and the skies are cloudy. Seek out deeper rocky holes, heavy snag cover and shady overhangs when the sun is bright. Keep fishing beyond sunset and a whole new world opens up for you and accuracy becomes less necessary as the wily jacks leave their haunts to hunt under cover of darkness.

Enough quality grunter are wandering those rivers to keep a few locals well-fed when the tides are bigger. The recent full moon should have had folks soaking yabbies and prawn up on the flats on a rising tide after dark. Baits soaked at the junctions of islands will tempt passing grunter too, as will small soft plastic prawn imitations hopped through the passages.

Lack of Bait Means Lack of Fish Down the Straits

Launching from River Heads, you could have saved a lot of fuel and probably had more fun than those that did big miles down the straits. The full moon tides shifted a lot of water and created the perfect ambush opportunities potentially, but many usually productive sections of waterway failed to appeal to any predators as a general lack of baitfish left them barren.

Large creek systems that drain the mainland were just as unproductive as smaller creeks awash with tannin-stained waters from Fraser's western marshes. Ledge country skirting Fraser's western fringe south of the barge landing didn't live up to expectations either. Maybe folks fishing the central straits fared better, but those waters in the northern sector need to improve if we are to enjoy the fishing that such grounds should offer at this time in spring.

Steering towards the Picnics or Kingfisher Bay has been more productive of late, assuming you are willing to change tact and target pelagics. Queenies and trevally offered plenty of fun around the bay islands over the recent big tides, and enough small reefies got in on the act to make it interesting as well. There has been no sign of tuna south of the Mary lately, with macs being more abundant from Kingfisher north.

The Mary gave up a few threadfin salmon and a few blues last week, but once again, the general lack of salmon numbers at this time is notable. Favourable tides will see a lot more boats on the hunt this week coming, so it will be interesting to see if the river scene improves. There should be a few reaches that will give up a feed of grunter, and some fun to be had with the odd school of mini-GTs or some flatties.

The recent storm activity, followed by a full moon, certainly created a stir amongst the mud crab population. Word of good numbers upriver is notable, but so too are comments about how many of the crabs are 'empty'. This can be an issue at this time of year, so check your muddies and return any that aren't 'full' to the water. Keeping empty crabs is just a waste of the resource, not to mention your time and effort to cook a meatless creature.

Reprieve from Northerlies Improves Local Reef Fishing

Local reef fishos are no doubt glad to see the tail end of that persistent run of northerly winds. The return of the south-easter is good news for inshore fishos keen for a feed and the usual springtime candidates are there for the taking. Shallow water trolling continues to produce a modest feed of small coral trout, whilst efforts with deeper divers could just snare their bigger brethren. The estuary cod are really on the chew in deeper water at this time, so should you somehow avoid the trout, then chances are you will find a few cod.

The bigger tides of the recent full moon favoured shallow water pursuits, whilst this set of neaps offers the ideal low-flow conditions for those keen to try trolling deeper waters. Track along ledges, or focus on figure-eighting your way around isolated reefs with the usual deep divers and success will come. Anchor and soak live baits if you prefer, or hop prawn imitation plastics in front of their lairs and you will soon see if any trout or cod are home.

Bait fishos can easily score a feed of grassy sweetlip from inshore waters - so long as they can avoid the sharks. Easier said than done, now that things are warming up. Mobility can be key to securing a feed. Simple squid baits fished on the bottom along the fringes of nearly any of our deeper inshore reefs will see you connected to sweetlip at some time. You might even score a nannygai or the odd squire for your efforts.

The weather won't be good enough for open water fishing this weekend, but when it improves early next week you might consider a trip to the northern bay. The Gutters is giving up a modest feed of reef fish, trevally, cobia and mackerel. Sharks haven't been the issue they are about to be this summer, as yet, but their longer-term toll on the reef fish population out there is very obvious. It seems that less A-Grade fish make the journey home from those waters these days. Sneak a trip in now, before the popular months a-coming and you might not have as many issues with the taxman.

Party with the Schoolies this Week

If it is an easy feed that you seek, then you can spend some time chasing mackerel. Schoolies are quite abundant at many reef sites in Platypus Bay, and there are enough fish cruising our close inshore waters to keep those in the smallest boats fed too. Now that the north wind has abated for a period, baitfish movements back towards shallower inshore waters are likely to draw in the mackerel.

Try the grounds from the Burrum 8 Mile, across the Fairway, past the Outer banks to Coongul Point, or head a little north up Arch Cliffs way and try the 6 Mile. Find the bait, and you should find the mackerel. Try trolling if you like, but spinning with Flasha spoons or other 'kinky' slugs will appeal to you more energetic fishos. You might trip over a few broadies or a spanish or two in your travels. One crew fishing Platypus Bay reefs recently reckoned the mackerel were hard to avoid on any prime site.

Mac tuna have been quite abundant in the southern bay. Highly mobile schools are working the waters out near the Fairway, and there are swags of them up the island all the way to Rooneys. Still no talk of any numbers of longtail tuna, which is no surprise, and if recent reports are to go by, then trying to catch them amongst the hungry macs is nigh on impossible anyway.

There have been schools of golden trevally up in Platypus Bay of late. Sharks will progressively take their toll on schools lingering on popular grounds, but from what we hear, some fishos have had fun catching multiple fish with no hassles. Schools of queenfish and smaller goldies have added a fun factor to outings not far from the harbour recently, with the bay islands and other local flats producing the goods when the tide is right.

Word of a few early season spotted mackerel off Wathumba is encouraging. Consistent northerlies for so long put paid to a super early 'run', so perhaps spotty fans will be keen to feel that south-easter blowing out there right now. The spotty mackerel season is set to kick off any time now. This season could be delayed, due to the persistent northerlies to date, but only time will tell, and we may have more for you on that front this time next week.

Hervey Bay Game Comp Run and Won

The local game club ran their annual game fishing competition last Friday through Sunday, and their results are quite indicative of the state of the local game fishing scene. For the statisticians, there were 27 boats entered, with 86 anglers aboard. There were 147 strikes reported, and 115 hook-ups. There were 17 billfish tagged, being 8 blue marlin and 9 blacks. 70-odd other species were tagged, being 1 cobia, 15 mahi mahi, 1 longtail, 7 yellowfin, 35 mac tuna, 5 wahoo and 8 spaniards.

The champion team 7.5m or over went to "Seagull" and champion team under 7.5m went to "Redonkulous". Jacqui Brauman was champion heavy tackle angler (and champion female angler); Shane McGrath was champion light tackle angler; and Riley McLeod was champion junior angler. Many other prizes were handed out for other category winners as well. You can check out the Hervey Bay Game Club's social pages for the full wrap-up if you wish.

Weather played a part in limiting the range of some of the smaller vessels competing this year. Those that made it outside found a few blues out wide and a bit of bycatch, whilst those limited to the bay caught what we may have expected in what is shaping up to be a tough year for Hervey Bay black marlin. Having said this, there have been a couple more blacks caught from the northern bay of late, both before and after the comp.

Issues with sharks was disappointing to hear up Rooneys way, where it seems advisable to put a little extra hurt on the fish to get them in and released before the bulls find them. The lack of any significant numbers in the shallower waters of Platypus Bay is notable. It might pay for some to shift their gaze to the more open waters of the central northern bay in the near future.

There is still some chance that a wave or two of marlin will arrive hot on the heels of the schools of spotted mackerel that are due to flood down from the north any time now. The quality of the marlin caught recently has been substantially improved on the tiny, most likely locally-spawned fish of early spring, indicating that they are older fish spawned to our north. Meanwhile, the EAC has washed past Fraser without delay this spring, spurred on by that persistent north wind, whilst word from well down south is that they already have stripes and mahi mahi well ahead of their usual season kick-off. Stay tuned for updates on the local marlin season weekly, as there is bound to be more fish caught between now and Xmas.

Less Fishos Beach Fishing in Warmer Months

Fraser's surf fishing scene is ever-changing, from the effects of wind and waves and fish migrations and this impacts the appeal it offers potential beach fishos. Now that the tailor season is considered done and dusted, there are fewer and fewer beach fishos on the island. There are still tailor over there of course, and potentially the biggest of the season to boot, but tradition sees the surf rods retired in favour other pursuits for most folks.

Those that do linger can enjoy the fruits of their efforts on the jewfish front. Quality jew can be caught at this time, as can other apex predators. There is still fun to be had with schools of dart here and there, and the odd flathead is possible from the 'corner' of a rip or the inside edge of a parallel gutter. Whiting might not be what they were a few months ago, but a feed is still possible.

Word from the surf-side right now is that the beach is very lumpy. This means high and mid-tide gutters are forming, making for very slow travel at any time other than low tide. There is no weed to report from the central sector. Pippies are abundant and the pro wormers are doing very well. The upcoming holiday period will see more sightseers than fishos over on Fraser, yet that shouldn't stop anyone keen to wet a line from doing so. The fishing can still be good in the summer months. If this year's tailor run was indicative of the general health of Fraser's surf scene, then this summer might prove mighty entertaining.

The local town beach scene is less dynamic, but once again, the fish you might chase changes with the seasons. You can still secure a modest feed of whiting with enough effort on a bigger tide, but it is the chance of tangling with the much larger grunter that will draw fishos to the beach at this time. Low tide efforts soaking yabbies or prawns, or wandering likely stretches flicking small plastics seaward can be most rewarding. Big grunter go hard on light tackle and offer a great meal for those keen to sample them on the plate.

Moody Mondy Barra Schooling in Lower Reaches

There have been many barra caught at Lake Monduran over the past fortnight. There were red hot bites that saw all and sundry catching fish, followed by lean times with sounder screens teasing hopefuls with images of fish that were hard to tempt. One glance at the lake on arrival will soon give away the fact that there are hordes of fish gathered in the main basin, with up to 50 boats at a time seen trolling or scoping from the main ramp vantage point.

This annual phenomenon is nothing new, and this 'trolling season' will probably play out like so many before it - with one exception. The popularity of Livescope technology has exploded on the scene and 'scopers' can be seen parked all over the place, eagerly casting at fish they can see so clearly on their screens. The 'scope bite' can see massive numbers racked up quick-time when someone with that tech is on scene when the barra switch on.

Catching a dozen fish per angler per session is nothing extraordinary in such a situation, and even total newcomers can achieve such numbers with the high-tech advantage these days. Time it right, by good judgement or by sheer coincidence, and you could be in for the session of your life. Whether or not you can back it up the next day or night can be up to the barra. When they are in the mood, they will be up high in the water column, barely below the surface. Some will even be busting up around you and boofing baitfish regularly at key bite times.

Flog that water too much as a group, as happens with every obvious hot bite in the basin, and the barra return to below/within the thermocline 15-20 feet down and are less inclined to bite. Significantly smaller numbers are caught, and most of those are by scopers relying on their tech to get their lures in front of the 'right' barra. These folks can see the fish that reject them and see the fish that react positively to their lure. Makes it very easy to cycle through a lure collection to find those that appeal to the fish on the day, no doubt.

Meanwhile, whilst all this is going on in the main basin, Bird Bay and surrounds, a few intrepid regulars are off doing their usual thing, with much of the lake to themselves. Sure, the greatest numbers of big barra have migrated well downstream to the lower reaches, but certainly not all. The fish found elsewhere have been aggressive and eating every other spot-on presentation, without fuss or fear of boat traffic - for now. It just so happens that many folks are failing to find them beyond the lower reaches lately and returning to the largely safer options downstream (and rightly so perhaps).

All the while, much closer to home, Lake Lenthalls' barra population is biting their heads off on a regular basis and big numbers are being caught. Most of these fish might not be all that big, but they are all fun and lovers of topwater. Enough larger barra reside in the lake to keep folks on their toes and regular Lenthalls fans often relate stories of fish they see or lose that would give the metre measure a nudge. Let's all hope it doesn't flood and overflow these particular lakes any time soon.

Good luck out there y'all... Jase