After all of the wind and rain we were lucky enough to have a couple of weeks of glass outs, with the fish biting everywhere.

The ocean has been absolutely teeming with fish. From the moment you crossed the bar the surface activity was full on, with tuna of all species smashing the baitfish and spotted, Spanish and school mackerel also going mad.

It has been easy to bag out on the mackerel, as they have made their welcome return following all of the rain earlier in the year.

Some days they have been a little slow to start, but we have found that spinning lures while under anchor and the addition of a little berley gets them fired up. Halco Twisties are doing the most damage and Raiders are a good second choice. Once you get them started they will take pilchards freely.

I think we are in for another bumper snapper season. We have caught plenty of good sized Squire around 2-3kg in close.

I have purposely stayed clear of snapper and pearl perch areas with the silly six week closure between February and March. But we will make up for that time-out now. Red emperor, lots of large-mouth nannygai and sweetlip have been a welcome mainstay during the snapper closure

Whiting have been biting well along the beach towards Double Island Point. I have seen some good little bucketfuls of these great fish coming in. Flathead are also in good numbers on the beach, but the soft plastics are a must.

There has been plenty of pelagic action in the Straits around Inskip Point, on the Fraser Island side. Tuna are prolific, as they are offshore with lots of them feeding on small bait fish. It has been easy to catch them as long as you match a small slug lure to the size of the bait that they are feeding on, which has generally been around 2”.

Flathead and bream are in good numbers in the Straits. Like the beach scene, they are going for soft plastics over bait.

Although mud crabs have slowed a little, they are still in good supply. But, what a season!

May is usually when the weather begins its winter pattern and should produce calm days and your pick of the fish. Pelagics will still be active and reef fishing should become more consistent.

I am also expecting a good early run of snapper.

Quite a few have asked my opinion regarding the six week closure that was imposed on snapper, pearl perch and teraglin jew. I think it was simply a silly idea and could not have come at a worse time.

Myself and many other charter operators were already doing it tough. The terrible summer of natural disasters was too much for anyone and with the flow on effect into the economy and tourism we could have done without these closures on top of it all.

To enjoy a day on the water with Keely Rose Fishing Charters phone 0754 863 150 or 0407 146 151 or visit www.keelyrosefishingcharters.com.au.