Southern
OLD
Transitioning from the summer to winter species NORTHERN BAY
Peter Jung
April and the Easter period should see our waters transitioning from our summer to winter target species. However, considering the extended stretch of warm weather we have been having lately, the summer species may just hang around for a little while longer.
there are fish on any given marker, as they normally are pretty quick to show themselves, so you may need to marker hop a little until you find them. Also be aware that sharks tend to frequent these areas hoping for an easy feed, so use the appropriate gear to give yourself the best chance to avoid them. Tuna can be hard to find at times, as you are generally relying on them
injured baitfish). As our waters’ cool, snapper numbers will also start to increase. There is plenty of reefy broken ground areas around the Redcliffe Peninsula that will hold good numbers of fish and they can be targeted by drifting baits, using soft plastics or even trolling around and over the structure. OUR RIVERS At the time of writing
There have been plenty of saratoga captures from North Pine Dam and Lake Kurwongbah recently. This one was caught on a surface lure by Nicholas Willett.
It has been a great mackerel season. Steve Nash with a solid fish. MORETON BAY Fishing in the northern part of Moreton Bay continues to be very good with the mackerel fishing continuing to fire and longtail tuna numbers on the increase. Most anglers focus their efforts around the shipping channel
to show themselves or have birds show you where they are. Once spotted they can disappear as quickly as you found them, but it can pay to sound around the area looking for schools of bait. If you find them, the tuna won’t be too far away. Soft vibes are well worth fishing
or natural structure will also be very effective. Keep in mind that during these holiday
FRESHWATER The freshwater fishing in our lakes has progressively got harder as
There is still some fun to be had fishing around the edges using spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits and
the first good showings of prawns have started to be seen in our rivers and this tends to be the signal that fish like flathead, bream, trevally and mulloway will push up the systems looking to feast on them. This is just in time for those anglers hitting the
There are plenty of trevally species to be caught in our waters. A golden trevally like this one caught by Dave Hudy is always a special capture.
Kelly Hurford with a lovely northern bay snapper. As the weather and water cools, we should see more of these showing up on our inshore reefs. markers, drifting baits back to them or throwing surface lures or slugs in and around them. You will quickly know whether 26 APRIL 2023
around these bait schools as the tuna and other predators are always looking for an easy feed that these vibes represent really well (an
water over Easter to pick up a feed. Fresh prawn baits will be deadly, however prawn imitation plastics cast around either artificial
periods, there will be more people out and about, so be mindful of other people so everyone can enjoy their time on the water. Areas to try would be the Pumicestone Passage, Pine River (Deepwater Bend or Hays Inlet), the Caboolture River or the foreshore around Sandgate and Woody Point.
this extended period of hot weather has warmed the water significantly. Bass have been harder to locate, as they tend to school in areas where the water temp is to their liking, and move around with it. If you do find them, soft plastics and small metal vibes hopped in front of them can result is some rod bending fun.
surface lures (low light periods). Saratoga have been regular captures using these methods as well as some bigger bass. You just need to have the patience to persist and get that bite. Lake Kurwongbah has fished the better of the two lakes if you are going to go out and give it a try.
