Action heats up on Sunshine Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Grant Budd

Harry Pimm and Isaac Flynn doing it with a pair of big snapper from Double Island. Photos: fishingnoosa.com.au

Evie Von Hagins with a beautiful 50cm mangrove jack on 4lb.

Action heats up on Sunshine Coast

NOVEMBER is a great time to start planning for the month ahead as we gear up towards my favourite time of year – the pelagic run.

This year things could be varied with the absence of La Niña and El Niño.

Last year was very different to previous years, so keep an eye out and be prepared before the fish arrive.

For now, expect to find a few big spanish mackerel patrolling the shallower coastline from Double Island towards Mooloolaba, particularly if we get a heat wave.

If you have a kayak, whole trolled bait are best.

Extra-large mack tuna, garfish or big pillies on a troll rig and a short length of single strand wire are the go.

DI often produces amberjack, trevally, goldband snapper, saddle tail sea perch, nannygai, jewfish, snapper and red emperor, to name a few.

At times it is well worth the trip or load the trailer and drive to Tin Can Bay.

Be sure conditions are suitable for your level of experience as the Wide Bay Bar can be dangerous.

Big fish, sharks and bust offs are commonplace here, so go in well armed.

I love high speed jigging for amberjack and trevally because the hit can be similar to trying to stop a freight train!

I find PE5 jigging gear the go as sharks are often present.

As always Oceans Legacy have something for spinning and overhead reels and take a beating with ease.

Look at polyethylene braids from Shimano and Varivas, 150-250g jigs and get some Shimano Ocea leader in the 80-100lb range.

Take a look at various jigs around 100-200g from Gomoku and Samaki.

Slow jigs also work very well while drifting and as always upgrading the hooks is essential, as are long leaders to cope with getting rubbed up against the reef and sharks.

For those fishing closer to Noosa, North Reef has been holding a great mixed bag of species with jewfish around the 1m mark.

These fish will take a wide range of bait including live, slab and strip on snelled 7/0 octopus circles and 60lb leader.

Another way to target these fish is on slow jigs, with the Samaki Ribcage an option for deeper water.

Soft plastics between 5-7” work very well, especially while drifting and lifelike presentations such as the Chasebaits Flaccid Shad which has a great swim action.

Keep leaders down to 30-40lb so you get the best action when using lighter jig heads around 3/4oz.

While snapper, cobia, tuna and mackerel are present it is always a great idea to have a pilchard floater out.

Sunshine Coast by GRANT BUDD

* from P42

These work well on Sunshine Reef with a light berley trail during a neap tide.

Be sure to pick up some pellets, tuna oil and aniseed oil and mix with sand for a killer berley mix.

Sunshine is the place for big coral trout, grass sweetlip, venus tuskfish and of course snapper.

Out here a mix of styles work well, with 20lb set ups being perfect for soft plastics and light jigs in the 40-80g range.

Dropping live bait works very well for trout, but gear needs to be increased to 50lb or greater as this part of the reef can be very unforgiving.

Much like North Reef, the pilchard floater is often the key to success, particularly on cobia and mackerel.

As things warm up, the headlands are a great place to cast larger stickbaits such as the Rapala X-Rap Long Cast or Nomad Riptide.

If looking to get started in stickbaiting, Shimano have many options for the priceconscious angler with the new Jewel range a great starting point.

Match this with a new Penn slammer and a quality casting braid to help stop the big tuna and mackerel that often swim this area.

Elsewhere, a continued run of small dart, whiting and trevally can be found in the gutters and holes from Teewah heading north to Double Island.

Closer to the river mouth, the middle groyne in Noosa occasionally has spotted mackerel, dart, flathead, bream and trevally.

They will take small slugs such as the TT Hardcore in 20g sizes.

You can use standard 7’ estuary combos here and have a lot of fun.

At the moment, mangrove jack are high on the target list.

These fish are powerhouses and must be experienced if you fish the estuary.

These fish can easily be caught on a live bait, but to target them on lures requires more skill, with more satisfaction once captured.

Learning where they hang out is important, but know Noosa has many areas for them to lay in wait.

Casting or slow trolling hard-body lures, casting soft vibes and working soft plastics all work well and we have a huge array of options on offer.

Angling at night can be very productive as jack will often break from cover under a night sky.

Many anglers see these fish as prized sportfish with most returned only to be caught again.

Mangrove jack must head offshore to breed, so please consider your bag limits before keeping them.

Big flathead can be found in the lower part of the river particularly at this time of year.

Big female fish come down to the river mouths to breed and as such fish over 90cm can be caught.

They will respond well to shallow trolled hard-body lures such as the Atomic Hardz Slim Twitcher and the shallow Samaki Redic, which has a big side profile.

Flathead can also be caught at night in areas of permanent lighting, attracting them toward baitfish drawn in by the light.

Big paddle tail soft plastics work very well at night, so check out the Molix RT Shad and Shad 140 Swimbait.

Daytime angling will see bream, whiting, flathead, trevally and maybe a jack in the Frying Pan and dog beach areas.

Surface lures are a lot of fun for whiting and trevally as the hits can be huge!

When skipped across the flats, angry packs of whiting as well as trevally and bream can suddenly appear.

If looking for polaroid glasses, we stock a huge range of Spotters and Costa Del Mar, which are perfect for flats fishing.

For bait anglers, a simple running sinker rig with some red whiting tube and a live worm works wonders.

The freshwater has provided anglers with a shot at bass and yellowbelly.

The early morning bite has proved a great time to chase bass on surface with 8-12lb leaders best, depending on the snags.

Weedless rigged ZMan Finesse Frogz and the Chasebaits Bobbin Frog are two great options for casting deep into weeds.

Once the surface bite shuts down, jerkbaits and blades are best deployed, especially if the water is warm.

If the wind is up, smaller tail spinner jigs such as the Jackson Iga Jig will turn the fish on if they’ve shut down because the vibration and small size often proves irresistible and just enough to trigger a reaction bite.

Don’t forget to check online what the current dam and lake conditions are, as temporary closures occur around summer.

Lastly, while checking the conditions out, don’t forget to purchase a SIPS permit and enjoy November on the water.

For all the latest information, log onto fishingnoosa.com. au for up-to-date bar and fishing reports and don’t forget to drop into Tackle World Noosa, Noosa Boating and Outdoors and Northshore Bait & Tackle in Marcoola for the best advice, gear and bait to help you catch the big one!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and remember, tight lines and bent spines!