Cool changes make a difference to fishing tactics

Noosa

Peter Wells

With the cooler temperatures of winter upon us, the way we fish has changed quite dramatically. This time of year is when we change from top water and pelagic to more bottom, and good old snapper. Thinking about how you fish is almost as important as the lure or baits you use, and moon phase, weather and tide can all play a part.

If we get any winter rain then there is a mass evacuation of bait fish from the rivers. These fish move out to sea in search of more saline waters, which in turn bring the more predatory fish to the closer reef to feed. If the weather stays consistent then you are better off heading wide to places like the far side of the Barwon Banks, Caloundra 12 mile, the Hards or even the grounds off Double Island.

The good old floater is very popular at this time of the year – a large pilchard on snelled or ganged hooks fished through a solid berley trail, but don’t overdo it with the berley as all you will do is attract sharks. Snapper will follow up the trail eventually finding your bait. Live baits is always a good option so having a bait jig set up and ready to go and some sort of live tank set up will help put quality baits to the bottom. You can also expect to find, sweetlip, parrot, pearl perch, cobia and mulloway all feeding on the bounty of bait fish on offer.

There will be the option of pelagic catches but as we move into the cooler months these fish will move with the warmer currents to the north. For those of you that are really looking to still capitalise on mackerel a trip to the 1770 or further north to feed on morsels of food disturbed by the tide.

Flathead have been in impressive numbers. These fish have been more predominate on the run-out tide, but fishing the edges of sand and mud banks in the shallower water is where you will find most fish warming their bodies in the winter sun, both lures and baits have been claiming fish. For those just getting into plastics fishing, flathead is one of those fish that are relatively easy to target. Small fish and prawn profiles are what works best and in the dirtier water fishing bright colours is essential. From my experience the slow roll across the bottom is the best method so having the appropriate size jighead is very important. Basically, if you are not on the bottom, you are not in the game.

This is also the time of the year that bream anglers really start to get excited with plenty of quality fish on offer. These fish can pull hard, and the big ones are one of the toughest fighters out there. Live baits of prawns or herring cast around structure will get quickly gobbled up by a hungry bream. For lure anglers, smaller soft plastics like the ZMan GrubZ in the 2.5” size with a 1/20 size 2 jighead fished on very light braid and light fluorocarbon have had great success with the Jigpara jigs in the 7-10g as well as paddle-tail soft plastics in the 4” size, like the Keitech Easy Shiner and the ZMan MinnowZ.

Tailor numbers are starting to improve in the Noosa and the Maroochy rivers. Anglers have had success trolling smaller hardbodies and casting slugs. Night anglers have also seen fish when casting pilchard baits to the middle of the river. The incoming tide has the better fish.

On the beach, things have also improved greatly after some swells hit the coast and created some great gutters in close. Whiting and dart have been in great numbers feeding on all the exposed pipis and beach worm. This is great news for the younger anglers as most of the gutters are close and an easy cast. Mulloway and tailor numbers have also improved with a lot of goodsized fish taken. Fishing the incoming tide early morning or into the evening has seen the best results, mullet fillet pilchards, bonito fillet and tailor fillets have been great baits. Flathead have also been in the gutters and anglers have been taking there smaller 7’ outfits down and working plastics on larger jigheads with some quite interesting results, with would be your best option.

In the rivers, winter is a great time to fish. For whiting anglers, we tended to concentrate most of our efforts around winter whiting with the river mouths around the top two hours of the tide your best option. Bait anglers were used freshly pumped yabbies, beach worm, soldier crabs and peeled prawns and getting some outstanding results with plenty of elbowslappers moving into the area leaders is a great way to target them. Fish areas like pontoons and jetties, and cast to the shadow line and let it sink slowly.

With water temperatures dropping in the rivers, we are seeing some great trevally action. There have been some good quality diamonds, GTs and goldens stretching the arms of anglers. Most of the action has been happening at first light and around the high tides. Our junior anglers both large flathead and goodsized trevally swimming so close in.

• 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, Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola our new store The Tackle Shop in Gympie can provide you with the right equipment, bait and advice to ensure success!

To help rebuild stocks of east coast Spanish mackerel, new rules will be in place from 1 July 2023: The recreational possession limit will change to one fish per person, or two fish per boat with two or more recreational fishers on board (the boat limit will not apply to licensed charter fishing trips).

Compliant pots keep our oceans healthy

If your favourite past-time is spending the day out on the water, then you’ll know oceans play a major role in everyday life. That’s why it’s up to each one of us to conserve its ecosystem and biodiversity for future generations to enjoy.

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers work with partner agencies and conduct regular operations to rid Queensland waterways of abandoned and non-compliant crabbing apparatus. Crab pots that are used incorrectly or abandoned can become lost and may continue to ‘ghost fish’, trapping wildlife. Whether it’s checking your equipment regularly or making sure you’re following the Queensland regulations for your catch, there’s something we all can do to look after the place we spend in our favourite place – the ocean.

The extended charter trip limit will be removed (currently allows recreational fishers to take twice the in-possession limit for charter trips longer than 48 hours).

The total allowable commercial catch will be adjusted from 578 tonnes to 165 tonnes for the 2023 fishing season.

Search ‘Spanish mackerel management changes’ at daf.qld.gov.au/fisheries for more information.