The fishing has been exceptional. Kicking off mid December, the warmer water coming in has flushed away most of the green water and algal bloom that haunted the area for the preceding spring months, which has brought with it one of the best pelagic seasons in years.

Black marlin, wahoo and Spaniards continue to encourage recreational anglers as far as Hutchies and east of Cape Moreton. The weekends are starting to resemble an aquatic version of the Gateway northbound on a Friday afternoon!

Reef fishing around Flinders and Hutchies using paternosters and float-lines has produced good catches of hussar, Moses perch, wrasse and sweetlip, with yellowtail kingfish also having a chew when they are home on the hills and peaks.

Sounding around the many hills and valleys through the area is well worthwhile and a buzz when you find new ground that produces big kingies. This year the fish are not holding up on the marks very often and need to be found, sometimes sitting up to 100m away.

The wider grounds 60-80m deep north of Hutchies has been very productive for pearl perch using the paler coloured 6” jerk shads. Anything with lumo has been resulting in great hook ups of this premier table fish. Keeping it simple works the best.

Flick the plastics out wide of the vessel on spin gear and let the line free spool down while watching for a big and sudden run out of line. Be prepared for a mid water snapper to grab hold on the way down as the bigger knobbies haunt the mid and lower water depths clear of the bottom. Acting like a lightly weighted float-lined pillie on their way to entice the pearlies they very often don’t make it down there, being inhaled by a knobby patrolling mid water. Watch your sounder to give an indication whether mid water hook ups are on the cards.

Trag jew will also take plastics near the bottom and this year there have been some crackers coming over the side. Trag tend to frequent wide Caloundra but the bigger fish have come in this year on the 80m line. They put up a good tussle and are good on the table too; as are most offshore varieties if they are bled and iced immediately.

After the last two years of floods and constant strong wind warnings almost every weekend its great to be cashing in finally on the good times!

If you would like to fish Wide Caloundra or other offshore destinations with Incredible Charters, please call Brendon Watson on 3203 8188 or 0427 038 188 or email: --e-mail address hidden--