Jumpinpin

JUMPINPIN Bo Sawyer

At the time of writing, South East QLD has experienced some pretty intense rain, which is going to really us to change our tactics a little bit.

The best fishing will be found in the lower reaches, where the tides will bring in the cleanest and saltiest water. Other ideal locations will be river mouths and

Laurie with a few nice whiting caught on live bloodworms from Jacobs Well Bait & Tackle.

stir the entire Jumpinpin system up. As much as I hate this weather (and I’m not the only one), it will set up very favourable conditions coming into winter. For now though, we are left with fresh and dirty water, which will require also deep holes, where the water will be saltier. Dirty water will fish better for bait than lures, but unfortunately the bait will bring a lot of vermin such as the dreaded catfish. Personally, I love the challenge of fishing tough conditions, and I’ve found myself improving my angling skills the most when the fishing is hard. Just be careful when driving around because there will be a fair bit of debris floating around.

Anyway, that’s enough yapping from me. Let’s get into what’s biting.

The prawn and crab fishos will be licking their lips after this downpour. Crabs should fish well this month anywhere from the Logan down to Jacobs Well. Fresh bait is best. Just north of the powerlines should see plenty of prawns filling up your top pockets, but I can’t stress enough how well the rest of the system produces them as well. I’ve been seeing thousands of them flicking everywhere, and also good shows on my sounder, so don’t just give up if you’re not catching them in your usual spot. Just drive around and do some sounding.

The flathead bite has been on and off, and I’ve found them to be more active when there’s little wind and a high barometer. I’ve been fishing for them with soft plastics personally, but pilchards, fresh prawns and

Rob landed this cracker flatty flicking soft plastics.

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Nikki with a very healthy whiting caught on a live bloodworm.

live bait will get them biting as well. I’d be focusing my efforts more towards the Pin mouth, Kalinga and also Crusoe Island down to Tipplers because the water quality is usually better along here. Work drop-offs and drains on the low, and push up onto the flats and/or mangrove lines on the high.

Whiting have still been firing. Sandbanks around Jacobs Well out to the lagoons on Straddie have been fishing well on live worms and yabbies. Try to keep your bait fresh by changing the water frequently, and keep it out of direct sunlight so the bait doesn’t go soft.

The tailor have been going absolutely nuts some days. I caught around 15 good-sized ones along Kalinga Bank just recently and got bitten off by one that would have been a good 60cm. There’s been some real quality fish amongst the smaller ones. I was using a paddle tail soft plastic, however they will smash small metal spinners and vibes. If you fancy bait then use pilchards or whitebait. If you find big bait balls or see birds diving, it’s on!

In the coming weeks, you can look for jewfish (mulloway) around the Pin mouth and along the deeper water off Swan Bay. There should be a few around the clean water line pushing in with the high tide. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’ve found when the dolphins are around the jewfish really shut down.

Anyway, that’s it from me. I hope you all stay safe out on the water, and remember to keep an eye out for branches and other debris while you’re out there. Tight lines. • To see more of my fishing adventures on Instagram, follow The Bobo Boat (@ thebobo_boat)

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