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Fun on the light tackle
  |  First Published: November 2014



Large tides have made for some great fishing along with the warmer days recently. The cooler nights have still kept some of the larger ‘winter’ species around and the temperature in the water is still fairly chilled.

Congratulations to Craig Griffiths and Daniel Powell for 1st and 2nd place champion anglers in the recent Rockhampton Barra Bounty. Craig led with 26, 160 points while Dan held close with 19, 290.

Fitzroy and the Narrows

With 1 November upon us, closed season now applies to barra, however, it doesn’t mean you still can’t get out for a lure fishing session to target the many jacks, blue salmon and threadfin salmon in the river, not to mention the large bream and grunter up in the narrows.

The river temperature is still fairly cool, great for blue and king salmon and the recent doses of fresh water into the system have really got the prawns up and going! Typical estuary lures selling in high demand in stores are all pulling fish, especially the blade market with hardbody and soft body blades, but the hundreds of new prawn imitation lures are also working just as well. The recent barra competition in the Fitzroy saw many large species caught but an overall average length of 70-80cm. Some absolute ripper fish were caught in the bounty with 1.25m topping the board and a 96cm threadfin salmon topping the king threadfin board.

River mouths Creeks and the Beaches

The estuaries are always loaded with fish this time of year during the transition of winter to summer, especially with the cool nights upon us.

Many people are catching a lot of bream among the snags, flathead along the drop offs and a lot of tarpon and cod around the systems lately. Like the Fitzroy, the creeks around the area have a decent amount of prawns moving around the area making the prawn imitation plastics the way to go.

In the channels through the estuaries and beach gutters there have been a lot of activity from blue salmon and trevally, which are very fun sports fish that can be targeted by using lures or baits. With the price on graphite rod and reel combos, especially sale prices leading into Christmas, it is highly recommended to grab a nice 2-4kg combo for some estuary luring using soft plastics and hardbodied lures. A decent 7ft 2-4kg combo will let you target the majority of estuary species from bream and whiting through to large salmon and grunter. The sensitivity that is gained from using a graphite rod, especially when coupled with braid, can give you the edge you need when using lures of bait. Even the smallest of bites from a whiting will be transmitted through the braid and rod. Connor from CQ Fishing and Boating has certainly been putting a similar combo to the test, catching a variety of species on light gear, mainly around Corio Bay, but this type of gear can be used anywhere!

Freshwater lagoons

The freshwater lagoons around the area have plenty of activity this time of year and many of the accessible freshwater areas around the Rockhampton region hold some of Queensland’s most iconic species.

Surface and sub-surface lures that mimic insects are a go-to this time of year, as the sheer amount of moths around at the moment is amazing. A nice walk-the-dog action on a small popper mimics an action of a moth that has landed on the water pretty well and will attract just about every species. That with that perfectly balanced but not overly pricey 2-4kg graphite combo recommended for the estuaries is exactly what you want for this area. Casting light lures and getting the small tight action out of them requires a nice light graphite combo.

Tarpon are a species you will come to grips with when fishing in the freshwater lagoons around the area, there are hundreds of them in our Lagoons. They hit pretty hard, jump a lot and just make surface fishing that much more enjoyable. They don’t fight as hard as a barramundi, but the sheer number you can catch per session makes up for that!

Crabbing

If you’re wanting to catch a crab or two, the best bait lately is mullet head with catfish coming a close second. Fortunately, mullet head can be bought from anywhere and take no time at all to rig a pot up with them. A simple bait clip between the eyes and the mullet head is good to go.

The rules still apply with a maximum of 4 pots per person with the pots and floats needing to be labelled. Label kits can be picked up for next to nothing and come with a waterproof marker, labels and zip ties. Do the right thing when out crabbing to preserve this fishery for future generations.

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