Noosa

Hunting for trophy-size fish

Weather conditions have been a little hit and miss but there have been plenty of windows for anglers to head offshore.

There still seem to be plenty of pelagic activity in the Bay and the closer reefs. Mackerel are in good numbers, along with tuna (longtail and yellowfin). They seem to be feeding

Zane Gordon with a monster 60cm+ mangrove jack taken in the dead of night, which was quickly released.

on larger baitfish, so bigger slugs and smaller stick baits have been ideal. For the bait anglers, pilchards or garfish have worked well when fished through a wellmaintained berley trail. For those that are throwing slugs the Mustad Mezashi Casting jig has been very popular in the 40g size.

Those that love fishing the reefs have been doing well with plenty of early season snapper on the chew, these fish are around the 50cm mark so ideal for a family feed. For those that like to try things a little different, deep diving crank bait style lures slow trolled over the shallower reefs have been working really well. Give the Duo Realis cranks a go as these lures will swim down to 20ft or more depending on the line you are using.

Sunshine Reef has been fishing very well with some great trout, snapper, sweetlip, pearl perch, cobia and mulloway all on the chew. Fishing hard to the reef with live baits has been the most productive. Anglers have also had success fishing a paternoster rig with a bait on

one hook and a plastic on the other. A lot of the time the smaller fish will pick the bait to pieces before the big fish get to it, have the plastic there will keep you in the game when that bigger reef fish comes along. Go for a lighter sized jighead so the plastic will swim that bit better.

For those that want to do the run up to the ground off Double Island there has been plenty going on. Pearl perch, bigger snapper, red emperor and even the odd nannygai have been on the chew from the bottom. Again, the pelagics have been in good form with some of those big Spanish catching anglers unaware and blasting off into the distance. These fish can sometimes be 30kg or more, so they do take a bit of stopping.

Tin Noosa River has been really firing for flathead at the moment, we have seen plenty of fish over the 60cm mark over the last month with some fish touching 80cm. Small live fish bait or live prawns worked around the drop offs has been the easiest way to pick up a big lizard. Some of the more dedicated flathead anglers are trying larger soft plastic with bigger paddle-tails, like the Keitech in the 5” and 6.5” working well.

With plenty of rain over the summer season the jacks have been on the chew. These fish have amazing eyesight and love a bit of dirty water giving them cover and will quite often be out feeding even in the middle of the day. Live baits will always stand you in good stead for boating a great Noosa River jack but if you love being sporting about it there is nothing better than picking one up on a lure. Lures that have been getting the job done have been the Smith Cherry blood, Jackall Squirrels and the Lucky Craft Pointers. Any of these lures in a red or part red colour have been a real favourite and have all claimed fish.

The river mouths of the Noosa and Maroochy have been fishing very well for predatory fish like trevally, queenfish and mulloway. Fast moving slugs have been great on the trevally and queenfish while prawn profiles have been good on the mulloway. The New Armour Prawn from Chasebaits have been a popular choice around the river mouths with all these predator species seeming to love them.

There are still some crabs to be had with some good bucks finding there way into pots, good fresh bait is the key so fresh mullet, fish frames or chicken carcases are perfect. This will be getting close to the end of the fuller crabs as we move into the quieter part of the year. Don’t forget to mark those pots and floats with your name and phone number.

With the school holidays upon us this is a great time to get the kids into beach fishing, with plenty of dart whiting and bream in the closer gutters they should be catching. Look for those closer gutters that are easy for the kid to cast to, use small baits of worms, pipis and prawns on a size 4 bloodworm hook. Use a running sinker rig with a size 2 or 3 ball sinker and about a metre of leader down to the hook. There are plenty of whiting around but sometimes it can be a little difficult to get a bait past the dart. If you want to really target whiting, then try the run out tide.

Night anglers that loaded up and headed up the Noosa Graham Jordan with a cracking bull shark off the local beach before he landed a snapper.

North shore have had success on the evening high tide with mulloway and the odd tailor taking a liking to fresh mullet or pilchards. Fishing the new moon is key for mulloway

Jeremy Hoover with a stunning 68cm grassy sweetlip. anglers. With very little light these fish are happy to move into the closer gutters in search of smaller fish, worms and squid. It is very important that you do not let that beam of light over the water as this can spook the fish.

For the Rock hoppers Double Island and the Noosa National Park have been hot spots with plenty of fish on offer, these closer areas have been fishing well for squire, sweetlip, mulloway and small cobia. Tuna have also been in the mix with some good schools getting in close. • Don’t forget to check in to www.fishingnoosa.com. au for all the latest up to date info on fishing and bar crossings. The knowledgeable teams at Tackle World Noosa and Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola can provide you with the right equipment, bait and advice to ensure success!

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