Bread-and-butter species firing

NORTHERN BAY

Tackle World Lawnton

Summer has turned up the heat this month, with hot temperatures and even hotter fishing action. With a few more days of light winds, anglers have made the most of numbers of black marlin migrate south, starting in the waters of Hervey Bay. They have slowly made their way south, and this last month there have been a large number of fish caught around Cape Moreton. Trolling skirts around schooled-up baitfish has been the surface poppers/stickbaits around bait schools. Remember that there is a Spanish mackerel closure this month, starting on 1 March and going through until 21 March. More information is available at www.daf.qld.gov.au.

BAY

Tuna and mackerel have dominated anglers’ captures within Northern Moreton Bay. We have had a brilliant season, with both spotted and school mackerel showing up in numbers. The most effective method when targeting these toothy critters is casting slugs or stickbaits around shipping channel markers and around bust-ups. Generally speaking, spotty mackerel are generally seen busting up bait on the surface, while school mackerel will congregate around structure where baitfish like to hang. If you aren’t able to find any bust-ups and the shipping markers are bare, drifting with pilchards or live bait is an effective method. This will allow you to cover more ground and find the schools of bait the weather conditions and ventured out into the bay and offshore, making the most of the warmer waters.

OFFSHORE

This time of year is great to chase pelagics, with large numbers of baitfish congregating in the warmer waters. We have seen good most effective method. A combination of mahimahi (dolphinfish) and tuna have been a common bycatch. There have also been large numbers of Spanish mackerel caught recently. Slow trolling dead baits has been an effective method, as well as trolling large hardbodies and casting that these predatory fish will hang around.

RIVERS

This is a great time of year to target the notorious mangrove jack. Warmer waters, humid weather and afternoon storms get these fish fired up and once connected, they put up one hell of a fight. Jacks can be hard to find, so here are a few key tips to increase your chances.

Firstly, make sure you are using adequate gear. A 5-10kg rod and 4000 sized spin reel spooled with 30lb line is a good starting point. Using lures that ‘match the hatch’ is also very important. We should start to see the prawns begin to run, so using prawn imitation lures is a great way to get bite from these brutes.

The bread-and-butter species have been prevalent through the Passage, Caboolture and Pine rivers. Good numbers of flathead have been caught on the outgoing tide along the Sandgate foreshore and in Hays Inlet. These fish will sit on the drop-offs waiting for an easy meal. It is vital that your lure is hitting the bottom as this is where the flathead are feeding. Bibbed hardbody lures and soft plastics around the 3 inch size are perfect.

The dams have settled after the influx of rain we have had, and the fish are firing! North Pine Dam has produced some awesome saratoga fishing. Casting surface lures towards the edge in the lowlight conditions is an awesome way of targeting these fish. When the sun is a bit higher, sub-surface lures such as chatterbaits and small jerk baits are an effective way of targeting these fish.

Lake Kurwongbah has produced some very good bass and saratoga fishing as well. This is an awesome place to launch your kayak and cast lures around the lily pad covered edges.

• For more up to date information on fishing in and around Brisbane call into the guys at Tackle World Lawnton and they can point you in the right direction. The friendly staff at Tackle World Lawnton cater to all levels of experience and offer the widest range of brands at the best prices. They are located at 640 Gympie Road Lawnton (07) 3205 7475 or find us on Facebook and Instagram.