Northern Bay

NORTHERN BAY

Tackle World

Lawnton There have been some good catches across the board the past month from the dams to offshore.

Tailor continue to be caught but school sizes are getting smaller as they move popular choices.

A few mulloway are still being caught off shore and in the estuary systems, but they are definitely slowing down as we come out of winter.

Some big Spanish mackerel have been caught of the northern tip of Moreton Island and into the bay. You can expect numbers to

It’s been a good season for tailor but it will slow down this month.

through the estuaries and beaches. Preferred methods for tailor are pilchards on gang hooks or throwing metal slugs to ‘match the hatch’ in size and colour of the bait fish they are chasing.

Plenty of flathead are still being caught throughout the estuaries using plastics and trolling or casting hardbodies. Diving hardbodies lures such as the Zerek Tango shads and Daiwa Double clutches are increase as we get into the warmer months.

The local freshwater dams have been producing well over the cooler months with Bass naturally schooling up as well as a few stragglers throughout the systems. Spoons and Slow fall jigs have been working well on those schooled up fish.

Here’s what to expect in October. ESTUARIES

As the weather begins to hardbody slow rolled or twitched through the impact zone or a weedless rigged paddle tail soft plastic thrown deep into the mangroves and slowly retrieved past fish holding structure.

October is a great time to begin targeting those prized XL flatties! The larger fish are going to be found more commonly at the mouths of the systems. Don’t be turned off if you are catching smaller models – they will be hanging around and sitting on some larger females, so it often means you’re in the right spot. When chasing that PB lizard try throwing larger lures around. Large soft plastics and the increasingly popular swimbaits are great options.

Summer whiting will start to show up in the shallow parts of the estuaries. You can’t go wrong with a well present bloodworm on a long shark hook. Also if you want to try catching a whiting on the surface, now is the time to give it a go. Small poppers and pencil style lures using a walk the dog action is the go!

Mud crabs will also become more active as well. Make sure you have all your pots and floats marked as per DPI regulations. a good chance you’ll get yourself a feed.

October also means we are going to see pelagic species in bigger numbers come out to play. There has been some cracker Spanish caught off the surface and sub-surface using floating and sinking stick baits by a few of our customers – such a fun way to catch these toothy critters! You should expect to also see other mackerel and tuna

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Free quotes from your templates. Acrylic or glass. In or out of survey. Quality guaranteed, very competitive rates, and an excellent freight service. warm up it’s a good time to start targeting the ever popular mangrove jack. Although they are a species caught all year round, they become more active in the warmer months. Jacks can be caught in many places, but they are best targeted tight into mangroves, tree laydowns and unnatural cover like pontoons and jetties. They are ambush predators and often after a hard strike they will head straight back to the protection cover.

Mangrove jack can be caught on many different baits. We would recommend live baiting with a poddy mullet or herring, or throwing out a nicely presented unweighted strip bait. When it comes to lures try a larger suspending THE BAY

In the bay this month there should be plenty of options to get offshore and give it a red hot go. You can still expect to catch a few snapper this month by targeting the rubble grounds and wrecks. Floating lining a bait is always popular but it’s also worth throwing a plastic or octo jig type lure down as well to try your luck. If fishing the wrecks expect a few mulloway as well, which is a welcome by-catch.

Squid numbers have been good with many anglers getting a good feed. Numbers will slow down a little as we come out of winter, but you can still get a feed if you put the time in. As always, find those weed beds and there’s

Marco Grubb with a lovely bass from North Pine Dam. Good flathead are around. Young Coby caught this nice specimen from the Pine River.

species liven up in October so be prepared if you see some bait schools starting to chop up on the surface. DAMS

We are in that transition period with bass. You will find the schooled-up bass will start to disperse more as the water warms up, so it’s worth mixing up your approach when chasing a fish or two. Make sure you try targeting the edge bite with spinnerbaits and suspending hardbodies.

A slow to medium retrieve with the spinnerbaits or chatter baits – vary up your retrieve to see what the fish are interested in on the day. Make sure you give some good pauses in between jerking those suspending

Hayden Townsend with a decent jack. They will start to get more active in the warmer months. The schooled-up bass will start to disperse more as the water warms up. hardbodies as well – you would be surprised how many bass will take these lures after a long pause. When chasing fish on that edge bite you’re also in with a chance of encountering a saratoga or two as the water warms up, so be prepared and hang on! • For more up to date information on fishing in and around Brisbane call into the guys at Tackle World Lawnton and they can point you in the right direction. The friendly staff at Tackle World Lawnton cater to all levels of experience and offer the widest range of brands at the best prices. They are located at 640 Gympie Road Lawnton 2294 Sandgate Road, Boondall 4034 QLD (07) 3205 7475 or find us on Facebook and Instagram. 07 3265 8000|info@nsmarine.com.au