After a cool beginning to spring this year, we are finally experiencing the warmer weather that we are accustom to as we roll towards another summer.

It’s not just the temperature heating up this month, the fishing becomes unreal as we say goodbye to our winter dwellers and say a big hello to our summer speedsters. The pelagics start to make their presence known in our northern bay, however our estuaries are where the real action has been heating up as several good hauls have been reported in all corners of our wonderful playground.

Flathead numbers have been up with concentrated numbers being caught around the mouth of the Pine River and upper reaches of the Pumicestone Passage system. Margate foreshore has still been a constant producer with baits like live herring, live pike, poddy mullet and mullet strips doing the bulk of the damage in these areas.

Be sure to give soft plastics a go as they are a sure bag filler with the pick being Atomic 3-4” Prongs in clear copper flake and radioactive rooster colours, and Squidgy 100mm Wrigglers in bloodworm and lava. Be sure to rig these plastics on slightly heavier jigheads to keep your plastic along the aquatic floor which will maximise your chances of hooking these sneaky bottom feeders. Smearing your plastics with artificial scents may give you that extra edge so be sure to try Megastrike and the trusty S-Factor.

Another species that has shown great prominence around the bay of late has been sand whiting. Red Beach at Bribie, the mouth of Nudgee Beach and the foreshore of Suttons Beach have been the recent hotspots this month with majority of the catches falling to fresh baits like bloodworms, squid strips and the trusty live yabbies.

The best recipe for success is keeping your main line around 4-8lb and your baits lightly weighted; these tenacious feeders in shallow waters are known to spook easily whilst feeding in these areas.

Be sure to try small surface lures during these warmer months as whiting have a reputation to be awesome fun on topwater. Reports of surface action have come out Donnybrook Flats and the mouth of Ningi Creek where anglers have had good sessions using Rebel Pop-R’s, Atomic Pop 50’s and Ecogear PX45’s.

Bream have also been on fire lately with good catches recorded throughout the bay. Warming water brings a greater increase in breaming activity in shallower waters as these aggressive crusaders scale rubble flats in search of their next prey. Hardbodied lures and lightly weighted soft plastics have been the best weapons and with the water temperature rising daily this month, don’t be afraid to chase bream in narrow waters. Outstanding performing lures have been Atomic Crank 38’s in purple shadow and ghost brown, Jackall Shallow Chubbys in clear shrimp and Chubby Minnows in Ghost Ayu. In shallow waters be sure to use 4-5lb leaders which are clear but strong enough to turn fish out of crazy rock bommies.

Sand crabs have increased in activity over the last month and look for them to really fire during this month. Deception Bay has been the pick of the spots with many fishos also concentrating their pots in the deeper waters off Woody Point and the mouth of the Caboolture River. Another area worth trying is Clontarf foreshore and the lower reaches of the Pine River.

While these hotter days are becoming more frequent, so are the late afternoon storms. As people are ducking for cover on land to avoid lightning and even hail, be sure to stay safe if you happen to get caught out on the water. Seek refuge where possible and try to avoid fishing as your favourite fishing rod can become your least favourite lightning rod. Not a scenario anyone wants to be in. With this safety warning comes a lighter side though. During this period of pre and post storm activity, anglers can experience the most electric - pardon the pun - fishing ever. This is usually due to the spike in barometric pressure just before a storm arrives, which fires fish into a feeding frenzy before the heavens open up. Elements of this barometric spike remain after the rains, keeping the fishing at its premium for a good 30-40mins. So next time you are caught in a storm don’t just get ready to keep dry, get ready for some great fishing.