For those windy days when you can’t head offshore, the Sunshine Coast rivers have been fishing like never before. On the Noosa River; the mouth has been producing a great variety of fish, with bait making its way into the river on the run-in tide.

Large flathead, trevally of all kinds, mulloway, and the odd queenie have all been on the chew, and lures such as the Fuze Pulse vibes can be great option for the Noosa River mouth. A double hop slow lift is one or the best retrieves in this area.

A little further up river there have been some thumper whiting around the dog beach and Frying Pan with fish up to 40cm not uncommon. One of the most important things when fishing for whiting is the business end of the operation. The rig is fairly simple, and a small running ball sinker (where the size is determined by the run in the tide) leading to a swivel, then a 4lb fluorocarbon leader of about 3ft, finishing with a hook. Most use a worm-style hook like the Mustad Bloodworm or Long Baitholder in size 4-6. The other option is a size 4 Fine Worm hook from Mustad, which is finer, has no offset and being a lighter gauge, dose less damage to the bait.

Upriver the jacks are also out to play. The fresh water in the system tends to upset the bait fish and the jacks can’t help themselves. Surface and suspending lures like the Maria twitch baits in the 70mm are perfect for working along the edges first thing in the morning. Diving lures, paddle vibes and soft plastics in the deeper water as the sun rises is also another way to target the red devils.

Woods Bay has again been the place for surface lures, again first thing in the morning. Queenies along with the tailor and trevally have been on the prowl. The Noosa sound has also been going off with the sound of these ravenous feeders hitting bait on the surface.

Down in the Maroochy River, the stretch from the river mouth across the flats to Chambers Island has been firing on dusk for thumper whiting. Upriver the deeper hole from of Coolum Creek up to Dunethin Rocks have been fishing great for trevally, mulloway, flathead and mangrove Jack. Vibes like the Zerek Fish Trap and the Fish Candy Jack Hammers have been working very well.

Last month the summer rains had just started and with this we should see those muddies walking. It’s amazing the amount of ground a mud crab will cover when the fresh water starts to infiltrate the normal saline water that the crabs like, and as the fresh makes its way down the system, the crabs will also head down stream looking for a little more salt. This is the time to check out the pots and see if they are still serviceable, and if not, both Davo’s stores carry a great range of pots, floats and all the gear you will need to bag some quality bucks. Fresh or frozen mullet is the ideal bait for mud crabs! Remember your size and bag limit, you can only take the bucks and they must make size 15cm across the carapace, and your bag limit is 10.

If you are planning a trip offshore, you will need to make sure you’re up early to get your spot at the boat ramp, it seems every car park and side street near the ramps has car and boat trailers parked up when the weather is good!

The offshore anglers have been having a ball with some sensational fish caught. North Reef seemed to be the place to be with good-sized cobia, tuna and a host of reef fish all on the chew.

A little closer in Chardons Reef also produced some great pearlies as well as sweetlip and the odd billfish.

A little further south, anglers who were leaving from Mooloolaba have seen some good action out wide with good reports of snapper, pearlies, tuskfish and cobia all coming from the Barwon Banks.

One successful method many anglers are using out there is float lining. Float lining consists of usually a light to medium size outfit with your choice of braid or mono, and as the name suggest you use very light weight sinkers and ‘float’ the bait down through your berley trail to the fish below.

Another bonus for this time of the year is the onset of the pelagics season. Spotted mackerel have already started to show up and this month we should also be seeing some good sized Spanish starting to appear. With trolling for pelagics becoming more and more popular there are some outstanding trolling lures hitting the market such as the Samaki Pacemaker, a lure with an amazing colour range and the ability to be towed at up to 12 knots. These are perfect for working those reef edges the pelagics love to cruise around.

Another great way to target pelagics is with stickbaits and the new Zappelin stickbait from Zerek is outstanding. These surface stickbaits are 160mm long and at 57g, they are a great casting weight and can be fast retrieved or worked a little slower with a sweeping action. The Zappelin is squarely aimed at topwater predators such as, mackerel, tuna and other pelagic predators.

• So for all the best advice, the gear you need and where the fish are biting, call into Davo’s Tackle World Noosa or visit our store down at Marcoola, Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle. Also check out the latest catches, fishing reports and bar crossing info at www.fishingnoosa.com.au and remember, tight lines and bent spines