Mackay

MACKAY Keith Day

habdays@bigpond.net.au

August brings the last of winter weather, and the fishing will hot up as well. Freshwater, inshore and offshore fishing during August sees the start of the changeover of species coming into the hotter months.

Spanish mackerel will stay in islands of the NFZ will get plenty of action, but watch the green zones.

Reef species will be on the chew, but with the distances involved, the bottom bashing is very weather dependant and is mainly used by larger trailer boats. On a really good day the shipping channel can be accessed with even a 4.5m boat, but those super good days aren’t common.

During August the the go and by-catch is likely to include bream, grunter and flathead. Other spots include the mouth of Bakers Creek (McEwans Beach), Sandy/ Alligator creeks, Sarina Inlet and to the north around Shoal Point and in the NFZ. All these are readily accessible even without a boat.

Barra, king threadfin, pikey bream, golden snapper, flathead, grunter and estuary cod will all bite during August. will all work as will the large paddle tail plastics. For barra use the big 150-200mm paddle-tails and work them as slow as possible. Take your pick of brands but check the tail has plenty of action and the body should get up a nice roll at super slow speeds.

The big threadies will often be found mixed with the barra at low tide in the deeper holes and venturing up into the shallows as the tide builds. Soft vibes have been the popular lure over the last few years for kingies but when feeding on very small prawns a different approach is often needed. One trick is the shortened body on a 3” curly tail grub, rigged on a light jighead and worked in the shallows. The hook needs to be strong as a big threadie in shallow water can spend time in the air, powering off and changing direction seemingly all at once with thrown and twisted hooks common.

In the freshwater, sooties will be willing to mix it with the anglers in the river and in our three dams. Sooties are one of my very favourite fish and chasing them anywhere with lures or small flies is great fun. The fact that they will hit a variety of lures and

Snapper time is almost done, but Les Barber was lucky enough to score this ripper 89cm fish just off Hay Point. Flathead are a welcome catch anywhere! Bill McGarry got this nice one luring along the sand bank in the background.

on the chew as our best months are during the winter. But as long as the small hardiheads and herring continue to congregate around the harbour, pike, ribbonfish, small macks, queenies and tuna all get into the action and they attract the big Spanish mackerel. The next 20kg+ Spanish caught off the rock wall won’t be the first.

The live baiters have the system down pat fishing from the south wall. First get live pike or ribbon fish using a small ‘shiney’ or vibe, then rig it on a heavier outfit and drift it out to get smashed by a Spanish. I suggest calling into Tackleworld and have a yarn to the guys there, for tips on rigging live baits.

Other species likely to be caught either on lures, pilchards or live herring include school and spotted mackerel (watch the legal sizes) and queenfish. Various trevally species as well as mac tuna and longtails also work in close to the wall and within casting distance of a medium spin stick and a 4000 size reel. The best time to work the wall is early morning with light northerlies and a tide change.

But these species are not restricted to the harbour walls. Other easily reached hotspots include the run through on Slade Island near the harbour and both islands off the river mouth. All these are in easy reach of a 4m tinny on a good day, which will see the best action. The islands around Sarina, Prudhoe, St Bees/ Keswick, and further north around the Goldsmith Group should all produce. The close species available include red throat, large and small mouth nannies, red emperor, coral trout and various types of cod. Often bottom fishers will be plagued by schools of trevally, which are not as welcome as the reefies. A live bait will often score a Spanish mackerel or cobia.

Close in islands will yield grass sweetlip, trout, cod and blueys in August. Strip baits, squid and prawns will be the best baits in the shallower inshore waters around the islands.

In the creeks and rivers, the fighting whiting are still biting! The Pioneer River is the most reliable spot to score a good feed of whiting, with yabbies, worms and squid strips being popular baits. Drifting up with the tide is The pikeys should be still schooling up to finish off their spawning run, so take a few and leave them to get busy providing for future catches.

Barra will be moving about more as the weather and water warms up and will be in the usual haunts. Places like the sand bars at high tide and the deeper holes at low tide will have plenty of barra around. Look for these types of spots in Reliance, Constant, and Murray Creek systems as well as the smaller creeks in the NFZ. To the south Sandy creek, Sarina inlet, and Rocky Dam creek will also yield plenty of barra. Live baiting with prawns, mullet or whiting will score on barra.

For the lure angler, plastic vibes like the Zereks, Threadybusters and similar flies adds to the attraction. I recommend topwaters, spinnerbaits, small minnows (to 80mm), vibes, and plastic grubs (white is a favourite) for the lure angler.

Fly fishers can tangle

with sooties using poppers, small deceivers, clousers, and shrimp/prawn imitations. Use floating or sinking lines depending on water depth. I love creek fishing with a 6 weight floating line, long leader and lightly weighted minnow/deceiver fly or a popper.

Sooties show up well on modern electronics in the deep dam waters and individual fish can be targeted. As anglers get better with these electronics, I am sure the results will be reflected in the MAFSA annual World Sooty Championship event.

Barra in the dams are now ‘out and about’ and more active. In Kinchant and Teemburra dams they have been good during the colder months but in Eungella have had lockjaw. Use very large (200mm)paddle tails (or big swim baits), rigged on light jigheads, and worked super slow around the points

and weed beds of the main dam basin.

The same lures will work in the shallower timbered areas, or alternatively switch to a hardbody or a surface lure, early or late in the day. The huge barra the region is famous for are mainly caught in the open areas, there are 1m+ fish in Teemburra dams timber. Getting them to the landing net is a huge problem as there are bulk standing and laydown timber, submerged fence lines and weed and lily beds to contend with – heart stopping stuff to be sure!

August is warming up and it is an ideal time to explore the Mackay region, which always has a diverse range of fishing activities. See you at the ramp.

Charlotte Clark, 9yo, sure knows her way around a fishing rod, landing this beaut bluey on a light whiting rod.