Northern Bay

NORTHERN BAY Tackle World Lawnton

The recent flood event the South-East Queensland region has received has most defiantly given our local waterways a big shake up, pushing massive amounts of fresh water out into the bay. Even though the floods have

The floods will definitely have an impact on how we fish in April.

slowed down the fishing in the short term, it’s given our waterways a muchneeded flush and almost a reboot in a way.

If the waterways follow similar trends to 2011 we can look forward to some excellent fishing to come in the Moreton Bay region in the coming years. In the meantime, when it comes to techniques and fishing

Marley with a nice creek bass before the floods hit.

locations, we have a great opportunity to think outside the box, change things up and discover newly-created fishholding areas.

Regardless of recent rain events, April is always an exciting time of year, being the transition to the cooler months. We can expect a few of our favourite winter species to start to show up, along with more consistently calmer weather, hopefully translating to more time on the water! ESTUARY

A lot of our resident estuary species will be making their way back home after recent Brisbane flood events. With this in mind, it would still be recommended to be fishing the more downstream stretches of our rivers and creeks, along with possibly timing fishing outings around

the high tide where we will see a higher salinity level in the water. We can’t forget our dams are still quite high, so it’s expected to see a few more fresh water flushes in the near future.

This month we will see good numbers of bream schooling around deeper bridges and structures, as well as some of our inshore reefs and rubble along the Redcliffe

Peninsula, feeding up in preparation for their spawn in the coming months. This is generally a great time to run into some of the trophy-sized bream on offer due to higher aggression when feeding. A lightly-weighted strip bait drifted along bridge pylons or over a rocky area is a deadly presentation.

For the lure guys, slow rolling crankbaits along bridge pylons and over the reef is very effective. When fishing these areas you should fish light line and close to structure, and don’t be afraid to bump those lures into the pylons and rock on the retrieve! If you are finding you’re getting a lot of taps but not hooking up, a pause is generally a great way to get full commitment from a bream chasing your crankbait down. Soft plastics

are often another great lure of choice to fish these structures. A good approach is to fish small 2-2.5” grubs and paddle tails lightly rigged and hopped around structure.

Expect to run into a great range of by catch fishing these areas at this time of year. Anything from the likes of flathead, snapper, grassy sweetlip, cod, tailor and even the elusive mangrove jack are all fair game!

DAMS/FRESHWATER

With the recent drastic rise and fall of water levels in our local dams, it’s hard to predict what the fish activity will be like. A lot of the bass out of Lake Samsonvale (North Pine Dam) appear to have gone over the wall in the recent spill. Those fish that have remained will probably be slightly uncomfortable at the moment due to the fluctuation of water levels, temperature changes, pressure changes as well as changes to vegetation and habitat in the water. The expectation is a lot of fish will have moved to deeper water to find more consistent conditions, and they may be somewhat off the chew. In this situation, reaction baits like TN60s, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and rattling trolling lures can be enough to annoy the bass to bite. Without certainty of the bass’ activities, it’s always a good idea to mix things up until a pattern is found on the day.

Considering the amount of fish that have come out of our dams recently, creek fishing could be a great way to pick up large numbers of hungry bass. The Youngs Crossing area as well as the upper reaches of the North Pine River would be a fantastic place to start. Smaller presentations like chatterbaits and crankbaits are generally great options. BAY

With the water starting to cool down, this is the time of year to start dusting off the snapper rods and get out into the bay. The bay islands, artificial reefs, wrecks and offshore reef grounds will be your best bet, with low light periods providing heightened activity. Start shallow at first light and move out to deeper water as the sun rises. Snapper can be caught on a large variety of techniques on both lures and baits, and are a great fish on the table.

The longtail tuna will continue to terrorise schools of baitfish in the northern bay through this month. Not only are they an excellent sportfish but they go great on the table, and are often a favourite choice for sashimi. The longtails cop a lot of pressure in the bay at this time of year, and are quite tuned into the sound of a boat motor or even a lure hitting the water. A lot of anglers see tuna disappear as soon as they are within casting range.

A stealthy approach is the most effective. Pick the direction of a school and cut the motor a distance in front of their path, waiting for them to come to you. Casting past the school rather than into it and burning the lure back through can also help your chances of not spooking them.

Generally, the tuna will be feeding on small baitfish so matching that profile with your lure is key!

Snapper catches will increase as the water cools.

A mud crab haul before the floods. The muddies will be spread out now.

Smaller stickbaits and slugs are effective, but sometimes they’ll still spook the schools on impact. A jerkshadstyle soft plastic in the 3-4” range is very effective as a subtle presentation, and will generally get the bite when other lures can’t. • 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 (07) 3205 7475 or find us on Facebook and Instagram.