Summer is officially behind us, but March will continue to deliver bursts of hot weather and all the summer species along with it.

After good rains, the entrances to the estuaries should have received a good push of sediment from upstream. This sediment brings with it a huge variety of food for bait schools, which provides well for fish trying to increase body fat levels as the water temperature starts to cool.

Cabbage Tree Creek, Pine River, Caboolture River and Pumicestone Passage are all great locations for March.

Flathead are always good this month with whiting and grunter still in good numbers.

Queenfish are at their peak in Pumicestone around now, with high tides over sand flats your pick time. Live baits, slender hardbody minnows and large streamer flies, in natural tones, are three great options for these fish.

Crabs are still popular, with both sand and mud crabs in good supply across the region.

The freshwater scene is steady in south east Queensland at present with all our local dams fishing well.

Somerset has been producing some outstanding golden perch of late on slow trolled lures, such as RMG Crazy Deep; purple and gold are the two pick colours.

Bass have been in good numbers on sounder screens but not always playing the game when it comes to actual catch rates. When this occurs try fishing the very edge of the school rather than sitting directly over them.

North Pine Dam and Kurwongbah are still fishing well for bass, goldens and saratoga, which are showing up more and more. Spinnerbaits are popular with a lot of anglers and cover all three species. However, in some situations for shore-based anglers, the cast distance can be the difference between a fair or a great session.

Sinking bibless lures are a good choice for this style of fishing and recently I have used the Saku 60mm crawl to great effect on local bass. These lures come in six colours and fly beautifully on light gear.

The bay in March should still be holding good water temp so many of our summer species are very much on offer. Mackerel and tuna will be two targets well worth chasing along with a variety of reef species such as snapper, sweetlip and cod from most of the bay islands and reefs.

Hardbody lures can be very successful at bay island locations, trolled just above rubble and the rough bottom. Two choices worth considering are the Rapala Rippin Rap RPR-7 and X-Rap Shad XRS-8.

Keep in mind that previous heavy rains through late January and early February have had a dramatic effect on our bay, but as condition improve, so will your catch rate.

Sand crabs will still be on in our Northern Bay. Work across shallow sand flats as they pick through sediment pushed into these areas from recent rains.

March is one of those months that can be difficult to predict as it has major seasonal changes.

The hot run of small black marlin in previous months has unfortunately moved on, but wahoo, Spanish mackerel and various tuna species should be around in reasonable numbers.

Trolling high speed skirted pusher style lures has been a highly successful method. Pakula lures aren’t the cheapest lures on the market, but well worth the money when considering skirted lures. When it comes to bibbed or bibless lures, Halco Laser Pro and CD 18 Rapalas are tried and proven when it comes to chasing large pelagics.

For the bait fishos, fishing with bait on any of the offshore reefs could hold a mixed bag at the moment with good numbers of pearl perch, Moses perch, some quality parrot and juvenile snapper. Using a paternoster rig can increase your chances of not only catching two fish at a time but also fishing slightly higher off the bottom to hopefully entice that ‘big’ one.

At The Tackle Shop we are continually expanding our range. We now have a lot of new products in store, at very competitive prices. We have something for everyone, from beginner to expert. Also, we still have the largest ranges of fresh and frozen baits in Brisbane. Our business hours are from 5.30am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday, Saturday from 4.00am - 6.00pm and Sunday 4.00am – 4.00pm. 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 3862 9015 or just call into 1754 Gympie Rd, Carseldine (The Caltex service centre on the way out of town). My team members are all mad keen fishos and are always happy to help.