In last month's column we looked at the stretch of beach from Hook Point as far north as Dilli Village. Once the centre of Fraser Island's mineral sand industry, Dilli Village now serves as an excellent camping and accommodation centre as part of the University of the Sunshine Coast's Research and Learning Centre.

Heading north, it's an easy 7km stretch of beach to Eurong. The multitude of small gutters of the more southern beaches give way to a more typical ocean beach with lots of the features we anglers look for.

At Eurong there's a huge range of accommodation options, both within the resort complex and the many privately owned units. It's also well worth stopping by the well-appointed store, bakery and coffee shop. You can get fuel here but don't expect mainland prices. The restaurant associated with the resort has developed a very good reputation. From Eurong, inland roads lead to popular tourist attractions like Lake Birrabeen, Central Forestry Station, Pile Valley and Lake McKenzie.

Back on the beach and not far north of Eurong, you can see the first of many coffee rock exposures. Here, One Tree Rocks spends most of its time hidden under metres of sand. Only twice in the last 20 years have I seen it exposed, the most recent in 2014. Coffee rock exposures can make travelling the ocean beach difficult, particularly on the higher tides. Further north, outcrops start to become more numerous with many being sighted within the rapidly changing gutters.

At Poyungan Rocks, 16km north of Eurong, it's often necessary to take the bypass around the rocks. Coffee rocks are excellent fish-attracting features. As well as attracting baitfish, they produce an environment suited to a number of species not always seen on the ocean beach. These include the sombre and netted blubberlips, Maori sea perch and Moses perch. Tarwhine and bream, although also common on the ocean beach, are usually in bigger concentrations over the rocks. Some of the most consistent whiting fishing is to be had around the coffee rock edges. Mulloway also like to frequent the rock structures, and are sometimes taken during the day. After dusk it is usual for them to move into the inner gutters to feed.

At Poyungan Rocks and a little further north at Poyungan Valley there are more excellent accommodation options.

Another 10km of beach driving takes us to Yidney Rocks, also well known for its accommodation units almost right on the beach. There are more coffee rock outcrops around Yidney, and these extend as far as Happy Valley. It is usual for some of the most reliable features to be found here. I recall a single gutter just north of Yidney, a few years ago, producing big catches of tailor every day for two weeks.

Happy Valley, the second town of the ocean beach, also has lots of accommodation available. There is also a shop, restaurant and fuel supplies.

During the last two months there have been many reports of permit being taken along the ocean beach. Locally known as snub-nosed dart or oyster crackers, these great sportfish are best known to fly fishers sight targeting them over the shallow flats in some of the world's most idyllic locations. For many anglers this is the holy grail of sportfish.

Fraser Island's ocean beach doesn't lend itself to sight fishing because the breaking waves prevent you from getting a clear view. However, judging by the numbers of permit caught here accidentally, you have to wonder just how many of these fish patrol the shallows of Fraser's ocean beach. From what we know about the feeding preferences of permit, they might well be hunting pipis that wash out of the beach and into the break under certain conditions. Most permit are taken here on pipis or worms by anglers targeting dart or whiting. The 85cm fish photographed was taken by an angler fishing for mulloway after dark, baiting with a big bunch of sea worms.

As I write the anticipated tailor season is making a slow start. Although we have had some decent offshore breezes we probably need a strong westerly to blow for a few days. This is usually what's needed to bring the baitfish inshore. See that happen and we will soon see the tailor.

Hervey Bay inshore waters have seen enough action to keep most anglers happy, but we probably need to get into the depths of winter to see cold water species like snapper, bream and diver whiting really deliver. Diver whiting have been quite plentiful offshore from Gatakers Bay but the usually reliable flats off the southwestern end of Woody Island have been disappointing.

The Mary River downstream from about Beaver Rock is still producing king salmon, with a few blue salmon coming in as well. Bream have been patchy, with the best catches coming in from Beaver Rock and South Head.

Next month we will return to our journey up the east coast of the island, by which time I expect the tailor to be well settled into their season.