What an amazing time to be an angler in southern Queensland. So many different species are on the bite this month, but a lot of the talk is about the bass.

The bass have been on fire throughout most of southeast Queensland’s rivers and creeks. The upper reaches of the Pine River has been fishing particularly well with both bass and yellowbelly hitting a variety of mid and deep diving lures.

We recently had an awesome session fishing for bass on the surface with the Atomic K9 Walker 60 and the Maria Pop Queen 50mm being very successful. The good conditions gave us the perfect opportunity to test paddle a new kayak brand the Tackle Shop had just brought out. We headed down straight after work and were on the water by 6.30pm. Surface fishing at night adds a whole new dimension to your fishing. The fact that you cast and can’t exactly see where your lure is landing makes things very interesting. It’s so quiet, all you can hear is the sound of your lure blooping across the surface. When the fish strikes, you don’t see it you hear it; what an exciting way to fish!

September and October are generally two of the best months to spend some time in creeks and rivers. Mangrove jack will be on the move now with the warmer days and water temperatures up around the 20c mark. Early indications have been fairly good with some decent fish starting to show up.

Sand whiting will definitely be worth chasing with large fish up to 40cm and 600-700g in weight a possibility. Whiting move across the sand flats of estuary systems as well as in the surf of our ocean beaches where they forage around looking for worms, pipis and small soldier crabs.

Whether fishing from a boat or land based, the best places to fish is near tidal sand banks. As the tide rises the whiting move up on to the banks in search of food, and as the tide falls they move off the banks to deeper water. Fishing the edges of channels and drop offs should yield good results. If the fish stop biting then move locations, often several moves may be necessary to relocate feeding fish.

Some of the best spots to try are the southern tip of Bribie Island just inside the mouth and up the eastern beach, and the foreshores of Scarborough, Margate and Sandgate. One of the best bait for whiting is live bloodworms rigged on a 4/0 Mustad long shank bait holder hook. Hook size will depend on the size of the fish and the bait you’re using. Most whiting anglers place a small length of red tube above the hook as an added fish attractant. Use a 70-90cm fluorocarbon trace and away you go.

Flathead numbers have slowed a little but they have still been around in reasonable numbers. September is usually the start of their spawning run, and is also when the larger females start to congregate around the mouth of rivers and estuary systems. Please remember to let the big females go as they are the breeders and have a maximum length of 75cm.

Live poddy mullet is dynamite bait for large flathead, but a well presented dead bait like whitebait, mullet strips or small pilchards will also do. A variety of soft plastics and larger hard body lures can also be very effective.

A couple of fishos I spoke to recently have been doing very well chasing jew in the Pine. Live poddy mullet and herring are the preferred baits but soft plastics and hard body lures have also accounted for some quality fish. Caboolture River and the southern end of Bribie passage have also produced some nice jew.

The Brissy River has also been fishing well over the past couple of weeks with a variety of different species on offer. Whiting and flathead are coming from around the mouth in the shallows. Snapper and mulloway have been available throughout the river with some larger fish around the 60-70cm caught from around the main terminals with both bait and plastics been successful.

Hopefully fishing in the river will remain consistent, and continue to produce quality fish through October and November. Threadfin salmon will also congregate around the main terminals and are often taken on live herring or mullet.

Some nice Cobia have started to turn up around the usual places like Western Rocks, Curtain Artificial Reef, and Wide Caloundra. Live slimy mackerel, yellow-tail pike and yakkas are all ideal baits and can be fished on various rigs depending on depths of water and bait size.

There’s plenty of mac tuna and bonito in the bay at the moment for those who are prepared to spend the time chasing them.

Snapper should remain fairly consistent through out the bay with most reefs and islands holding reasonable fish for at least the next month or so. Caloundra wide in particular has been fishing very well for snapper with some awesome fish around the 8kg mark being caught. Pearl perch have also been around in almost plague proportions but unfortunately the majority of the fish are only small.

At the Tackle Shop we now have our loyalty program in place. Loyalty card members automatically go into the draw to win a $60 gift voucher every month. This month’s lucky winner is Jamie Mobbs from Caboolture. If you would like more information on tips and techniques, locations or for an up to date fishing report please give us a call on (07) 38629015 or just call in to say G’day. Myself and my team are all mad keen fishos and are always happy to help.