Southern
OLD
Plenty of reefies on offer NOOSA
Peter Wells
With the weather not quite playing the game over the summer season many anglers are looking forward to those gentle offshore breezes that we normally get at this time of the year.
are quite often under the schools of tuna feeding in the leftovers. Another option for something a little different is stick baits, take a look at the range of Fish Inc flankers and Shimano Ocea stickbaits. It is always worth changing the hooks over to inline singles for a stronger hook-up and if you want to, a safer release.
coral trout, then live baits are your best bet with a large sinker right at the top of the hook getting that bait right into the reef. Make sure you use heavy leader and that drag is done up tight as you will have to work hard and get them up before the sharks get them. The estuaries have been fishing well, especially in
Archa with a prize jack. There have been come nice catches towards the river mouths.
Jayden Bruckner with a cobia. There have been some standout catches recently. The charter boats have been heading out far and wide when conditions allow and coming back with standout reef fish, including snapper, Moses perch, tusk fish, some quality mulloway, pearl perch, cobia and quality trout. Most of these fish have been taking bigger fresh baits on paternoster rigs and snapper sinkers in 40-60m of water. For mackerel anglers, reports have been a bit hit and miss with some anglers finding a purple patch and others not being able to boat a fish. Most fish have been taken on slow trolled pilchards, gar, sauri or slimy mackerel on Chin Guards or TT Bait trolling rigs that are trolled at very slow speeds. For those in bigger boats that can handle a bit of messy water, the run up to the reefs off Double Island has been worthwhile with large schools of tuna, with plenty of long tails amongst them. Smaller slug to 40g cast to the edges of the schools has been a very successful approach. Another option has been to use flat fall jigs, like the Samaki Choona or Ribcage Jigs. As the name suggests, these jigs will flutter as they fall and look like a dying baitfish and an easy meal for a circling tuna. Letting them sink that bit further may see you with a bigger mackerel that 30
MARCH 2022
For those in smaller craft fishing out of Noosa, the fishing on Sunshine Reef has been very good. Species have included snapper, trout, pearl perch, Venus tusk fish, parrot fish, sweetlip and longtail tuna hitting the decks. If you are after those elusive
the lower parts towards the river mouths. Jacks have been on most river angler’s minds and fishing with live herring on smaller Mustad Ultra Point Hooks has seen some great hook ups. Best times to fish these areas have been early morning or into the evening, and
Harry Haladay with a decent sized 33cm bream.
Mel Ottaway was very pleased with this 51cm jack she caught on a night session.
if you can time this with the start of a run out tide all the better. For the soft plastic angler try using ZMan StreakZ curly tail in the 4” size or the Keitech Easy Shiner in the 4-5” size. Another great way to target these species is to use deeper diving lures, especially if in a boat. Great options to use are the Zerek Tango Shad and the new Rapala Jack Deep lures with 15-20lb fluorocarbon leaders. Trevally and queenfish are making their presence known around the creek and river mouths. These fish are a great target species, and if you love
using surface lures or a fast-moving jig you will be in your element. Be sure to keep your lure on the move and fish over sand flats into the deeper water during a run-in tide. Flathead have been in great numbers throughout the lower reaches of the river, ZMan opening night and motor oil in 3” minnows have been working well. For the bait anglers, white bait has been deadly taking the majority of fish, make sure that you fish your whitebait on small gang hooks this will increase your hook up rate dramatically. For the plastics anglers the second
half of the run out seems to be the most productive. Casting upstream and working back with the tide has bee the best approach. The New Power Pro range of soft plastics have been a hit with the flathead and come in a great range of sizes, shapes, and colours. On the beach things have really improve after some big swells hit the coast over the last couple of months created some great gutters in close. Whiting and dart will be in great numbers feeding on all the exposed pipis and beach worm. This is great new for the younger anglers as most of the gutter are close and an easy cast. Using light rods and line is the fun way to tangle with these fish. A 3-5kg light surf rod and 6-10lb lines to makes casting easier is ideal. Cast to the back of the breaker and let that bait wash under the white water. Dart and whiting love to use this white water as cover and will happily feed on worms, pipis and yabbies. Mulloway and tailor numbers should also improve with the bigger predatory fish feeding on those plentiful whiting and dart. Fishing the incoming tide early morning or into the evening should see the better results. Best baits for those bigger species are mullet fillet, pilchards, bonito fillet and squid. • 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!
