Fishing Monthly - Latest Fishing Reports - Updated Weekly
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COMPILED WEEKLY BY GARRY SMITH IN CAIRNS:
e-mail: lavallesmith@iig.com.au
Gold Coast

John Polson & Paul Revie
The Fisherman Pty Ltd
Sporty's Warehouse
32 Strathaird Rd. Surfers Paradise
Gold Coast. QLD 4217
Australia
Phone: +61 7 5531 6511
Mobile: +61 418 751220
www.thefisherman.com.au

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Moreton Bay
Pelagics have been around in good numbers but have been extremely hard to hook on slugs and even flies. The bait they are eating is around 3m long but they won't even look at slugs most of the time. The mackerel have thinned out considerably but there are still a few isolated patches throughout the bay. The area around the Measured Mile has been one of the most consistent areas, especially for drifting with pilchards. If you can find any working the surface then a chrome slug cast in the general direction will usually produce a hook-up.

A few schoolies are still being jigged off the beacons in the northern bay and caught on unweighted pillies. The occasional Spaniard has also been caught on baits fished around the beacons, which is quite unusual for the bay.

Speaking of strange things turning up, there was a small black marlin of around 90cm caught near the Harry Atkinson by an angler trolling lures for spotted mackerel. He took a few photos (as you would have to for proof) and released it. It just goes to show that good concentrations of bait will attract a broad array of pelagics to the area.

Plenty of prawns are around at the moment, with anglers getting good hauls in the deeper holes of most creeks. Cast netting from the Woody Point and Sandgate jetties will also be worthwhile.

Good bream have been caught around the mouths of the creeks, especially around prominent snags. The grunter have been on the chew in the Pumicestone Passage, with the mouth of the canals opposite Spinnaker Sound being a good place to try.

The Bribie Island Bridge has held some good schools of tailor recently but few are making the grade size wise. They have attracted quite a few other species at times, including mulloway, cod, jacks and shovelnoses. Anglers live baiting off the bridge have regularly been getting smoked, even on 50lb line.

Fishing soft plastics around the bay islands has been worthwhile most of the time. I did a session with Keith "Grinner" Gough last week and we caught some small squire and estuary cod, as well as a few quality bream. Peel has been producing the better quality fish but anglers are losing a lot of gear at times while working just outside the closed area.

The Jumpinpin Bar has attracted a few quality tailor to over 2kg on the run in tide. Drifting live baits in the main channel and along Kalinga Bank will probably attract the occasional school jew and trevally.

May your bait be nervous.

Gordon Macdonald
Tackle Warehouse
Ph. (07) 3398 6500
masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

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Moreton Bay - Wide

In between south-easters, the fishing has been superb offshore. The jewels in the crown for us were two amberjack over 20 kg. We have had trouble, as previously reported, getting hooked fish to the surface, so a just legal squire with hooks was dispatched to make an inquiry down below. We suffered four spectacular bust-offs and landed two monsters.

Good snapper and squire are starting to show early morning and in the evenings, but do pick your weather carefully if planning a dusk fish - the evening storms are still alive and well. Despite the fish being there now, it may be better to plan a night fish later in the year, towards May, from a safety viewpoint, if fishing from smaller craft.

The monster sweetlip are still there in numbers around the Cape so get into them as they will thin out as the cooler weather encroaches. Small cobia in the 6-8 kg range are reasonably plentiful, along with little 3-4 kg amberjack and undersized red emperor in the shallows.

In short, the fishing at the moment is very good but do keep a weather eye out, as we are still in the storm season.

Keith Hall
INCREDIBLE CHARTERS
20 Courageous Ct,
Scarborough 4020
Tel: 3203 8188
Fax: 3203 8199
incrediblecharters@bigpond.com

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Southern Freshwater
BEJELKE PETERSEN DAM:

The fishing has been hard work at Bejelke Petersen Dam this past week, with the best results coming by trolling spinnerbaits for bass and yellowbelly. A few have also taken on live shrimp.

Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


BOONDOOMA DAM:


Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


CHINCHILLA:

There is still plenty of water around Chinchilla, with a couple of yellowbelly and jew taken in the Rocky, well downstream of the weir, if you can find a reasonable back eddy.

Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


CONDAMINE:


Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


COOBY DAM:

Some nice yellowbelly have been taken at Cooby Dam over the past week, on both lures and live bait, but there have been no reports of any cod being caught recently.

Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


COOLMUNDA:


Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


CRESSBROOK DAM:

Some good bass, up to 43cm, are on the move in Cressbrook Dam, mainly around the shallows in the early morning and late afternoon. They have also been taken in the middle of the day using Stanley Sting jigs.

A couple of yellowbelly have been taken on live shrimp.

Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


GLENLYON DAM:

A few cod are on the move at Glenlyon Dam, with three good ones landed recently. The biggest was around 21lb with a couple of undersized cod also released.

Some yellowbelly have been taken on lures and live bait.

Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


GOONDIWINDI:

A few yellowbelly have been taken in the river at Goondiwindi, mainly on live bait, but there are no reports of any cod over the last week.

Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


LESLIE DAM:

Leslie Dam has been fishing extremely well, with two nice 15lb cod landed recently in the washpool area. Last week there were a heap of yellowbelly taken on both lures and live bait, with some fish over 4lb.

Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


SOMERSET DAM:


Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


STANTHORPE:

The mid reaches of the Severn River, near Ballandean, have been fishing well for small cod on lures and silver perch on live worms.

Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


ST. GEORGE:


Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770


STORM KING DAM:


Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 46329770



TEXAS:

Peter Taylor
Mullet Gut Marine
Ph (07) 4632 9770
Fax (07) 4639 2543
mullet_gut@bigpond.com

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Stop Tailor Netting - Phone (07) 3284 0043 or 0414 376 217
Bribie Is. & Caloundra
Mackeral & Snapper Ahoy!
That's the cry out wide off Point Cartwright of late. It's a pleasure to be reporting that we are on fire.

As close in as Murphy's, large Spanish mackerel to 10 kg and mighty snapper are topping the scales at a whopping 8.7kg. Even the reefies such as pearl perch, spangled emperor and grassy sweet lip are on the tooth. Late afternoon to early evening seems to be the most productive times to bag a few. Caloundra Wide and 12 Mile have produced mackerel and smaller snapper, along with some great cod.

I had the pleasure of fishing with top angler, Paul Merritt, on Wednesday afternoon down along the boardwalk. We secured the services of some live herring with the jig and cast net and set off to land some flathead on the run out tide. There were not so many flathead about on the day but plenty of one kilo bream and sweetlip bounced on the bottom of the creel.

Whiting are still on the tooth, and it's best to try in the early morning for the bigger grunter bream and flathead along the drift wall and the northern tip of Bribie. Kings Beach after dark, or very early, also fills the bag. The problem is, if you don't get to the beach early you can't get a spot. Because of the hot weather the swimmers and board riders make it impossible.

Get into it!

Brad McKendrick
Raine & Horne - Caloundra (07) 5491 3555
Compiled by Brad McKendrick from local fisherman with local reports.
brad@caloundraproperty.com.au
Sunshine Coast

Gavin & Maria Platz
Tie ’N’ Fly Outfitters - Ph (07) 5444 0611
tienfly@sun.big.net.au

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Noosa

Gavin & Maria Platz
Tie ’N’ Fly Outfitters - Ph (07) 5444 0611
tienfly@sun.big.net.au

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Maroochy & Mooloolaba

Gavin & Maria Platz
Tie ’N’ Fly Outfitters - Ph (07) 5444 0611
tienfly@sun.big.net.au

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Hervey Bay

With the forecast as it is, fishing in our area will be restricted to the creeks and estuaries.

In the Susan and Mary systems barra and salmon have been taken on lures. Gold Bombers and Prawnstars have worked well.

In the Burrum, jack, flathead and whiting have made up the bulk of the catches. Prawns have been taken in the Gregory.

On the shallow reefs at Scarness and Gatakers, heaps of undersized school mackerel are about. Watsons bonito are also around in the same area.

Ray Ozich - Jim Sullivan
Fisherman's Corner - Ph (07) 4128 1022
fishcor@itfusion.com.au

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Bundaberg
The reports coming in this past week have been good regarding crabbing and fishing of all sorts. Our local river systems have been fishing very well, with big bream, grunter and huge whiting. Some of these whiting have reached the 40cm mark, which are top quality fish.

The mouths of the rivers are also producing plenty of fish, with flathead, trevally, queenfish, mackerel and the odd barra being landed. Trolling and casting lures have been the best methods. Soft plastics such as Slider and Atomic baits, in natural colours rigged on 1/8th jig heads, have been the best for the flathead, trevally and queenies. For the mackerel and larger trevally, 35gm Flasha lures used with the cast and retrieve method is definitely the best. For the big macs try trolling big baits such as gar and slimeys, and trolling big lures such as Halco Laser Pros in bait fish colours.

The crabbing is also hot, with many people catching three and four legal crabs a trip.

Brett Jones, of Stillwater Charters, has been doing well at Monduran, landing several big barra to 90cm and the odd bass has also been taken.

A bit closer to the home front, the local impoundments have been firing with big bass.

Tim Mulhall / Matt Costar / Ben Shorten
Salty's Fishing Team
Salty's - Ph (07) 4153 4747
info@saltys.net

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Yeppoon

Probably the best fishing has been in the estuaries would you believe? A few king salmon are about in the middle reaches of the river and the odd decent barra is still being taken on live bait up towards the city.

Coorooman Creek has provided a feed for the regulars, and again the odd nice barra has been taken there as well.

Corio Bay wasn't outstanding, but did give up a surprising number of mud crabs all of a sudden.

With the uncertainty of the weather this time of year, it's hard to predict where you might get a feed this week.

The dark moon tides are pretty big and could bring some queenies and GT's around Corio Headland. The water inshore in the bay is still very murky, so beach fishing isn't likely to be terrific.

Offshore - who knows? If you can get out, you should get a feed of reefies around the Keppels and bigger reds further out, but be very vigilant of the changing weather. Try the Causeway run-throughs if all else fails.

Good luck.

Kim Martin

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Stanage Bay
Howdy everyone from Stanage Bay, Shoal Water Bay and surrounding islands.

This last week at Stanage Bay has been quite rough, as I suspect it has been everywhere. However, in saying that, there were a couple of days of reasonable weather for the reef and islands. Some nice catches of trout were to be had but not much else that I saw.

Thirsty Sound proved a winner, with some nice barra, fingermark, king salmon, blue salmon and flat salmon being caught.

The muddies are a little slower than expected, however my mates from Brisbane, John and Rob, went home with a couple of nice ones from setting pots off the bank. Shoal Water Bay and Port Clinton sure are the places to have been for huge full muddies over the past couple of weeks. (In between the army exercises).

The road in is quite good up until the last 35km, so do take it easy if you are heading up this way. The council are due to grade it any day now. Tilpal Bridge was an old timber job, and it's now a flash concrete bridge (for the bush). There are a few more strips of bitumen and rumour has it - in the near future ( but who really knows) the Stanage Bay road to the Army turn off may be fully sealed.

Remember, winter is not too far off and the accommodation at "Pacific Villa" and "Pacific Oasis", is filling fast. So if you are planning a trip to Stanage Bay, it may pay you to book in a.s.a.p. Usually our winter months are just the best for the reefies, mackerel, salmon and barra, so you'd best get your gear ready and come up. " If You Dare"

I have to apologise about not giving a regular report since I have been home - but my computer died.

Till next time - Keep Reel'n in the big ones.

Yours in fishing & crabbing,

Von Ann Ireland
stanagebaymarine@bigpond.com
www.stanagebay.com

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Mackay

OFFSHORE:
Bad weather - nil to report.

INSHORE:
Twenty knot winds this past week has kept most boats in dock, although the wind has been easing off at night when a few anglers have caught jewfish longer than a metre from Hay Point and Dally Bay. Check for exclusion zones on the notice board at Half Tide Tug Harbour.

CREEKS:
Building tides this week will see an improvement in fishing. The upper reaches of the Pioneer will hold grunter, trevally, flathead and barra. Soft plastic lures are a good option.

Herring bait is working well for king salmon out the front of Rocky Dam Creek and don't forget to take the crab pots. McCreadys Creek is also worth a visit.

DAMS:
With Teemberra now around 30% capacity, sooty grunter catches have improved and will continue to do so as it gets cooler. Lure the trees during the day then troll the banks at night for barra.

The world sooty titles are planned for Eungella Dam on the Sunday after Easter.

Tight lines

Arthur Lavern / Bruce Nash
Northside Fishing Centre - Ph (07) 4957 2272
Peter Faust Dam

Andy Thomsen (Fishing Guide)
www.andysfishing.com.au
0409 466 336

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Airlie Beach / Whitsundays

Andy Thomsen (Fishing Guide)
www.andysfishing.com.au
0409 466 336
Whitsundays - Bluewater

Capt. Ken Bryant
Marlin Blue Charters Ph 07 49465044

www.marlinblue.com.au

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Townsville
Conditions in the north are a little uncomfortable for fishing at the moment as the low situated off Cairns starts to make its next move.

Prior to the formation of the low the barra fishing was an absolute treat, with all the rivers and creeks around the local area fishing very well. Captain Andrew Mead of Aussie Barra Charters reported big catches of barra in the Haughton River early last week, with clients catching up to twenty fish per day. The majority of these fish were taken on live mullet and prawn.

Fingermark are still being caught consistently around Magnetic Island and Cape Cleveland but I would suggest you give this dark moon a rest, and try the next one, as the conditions on the water are going to be a little uncomfortable and dangerous for the week or so.

With more rain on the way the prawn population should continue to rise. Mud crabs should also remain plentiful as the freshwater running off the flats will help to keep them out of their holes.

Well I'm off to nail down the roof, so until next week - Good Fishing.
Regards,

Tony Katsaros
Tackle World
Ph. 0747251266
tackleworldtsv@beyond.net.au

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Hinchinbrook

Al Goodwin
Crackajack Sportfishing Adventures
Lucinda Ph/Fax 61+07 47778365
crackfish@ozemail.com.au
www.crackfish.com

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Mission Beach

Malcolm Hills
FNQ Fishing Adventures- Ph (07) 4068 9000
fnqfishing@bigpond.com
www.fishingnorthqueensland.com

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Cairns

Robert Erskine
Erskine's Tackle Shop
51 Mulgrave Rd Cairns
Ph (07) 4051 6099
erskinestackle@bigpond.com
Cairns - Reports compiled by Garry Smith

Garry Smith
lavallesmith@iig.com.au

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Port Douglas

Lynton "Heff" Heffer
Ph (07) 4098 5354
www.fishingportdouglas.com.au

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Cooktown

Leonard Todaro
Reel River Sportfishing.
PO Box 829 Cooktown Qld 4871
Ph 07 4069 5346.
reelriver@hotmail.com

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Karumba

Jason Jesse
Gulf Sportfishing Adventures
P.O. Box 228 Karumba
Phone - (07)4745 9434
gsakarum@tpg.com.au
www.gulfsportfishingadventures.com.au

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Weipa

Barra Dave Donald
Dave Donald SPORTFISHING - Ph (07) 4069 9064
DDSPORTFISH@bigpond.com
www.weipafishing.com

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Queensland Tide Times

Bureau of Meteorology