Holidaymakers will be making the most of what the Sunshine Coast has to offer on the fishing front with plenty of great captures in the rivers and offshore being reported.

The key to getting in amongst the fish when we are in full holiday swing is to get out on the water early. The low light periods are by far the most productive as the fish tend to feed with more ferocity at these times. Some of the lesser-known waterways really fish well in the warmer months and are worth having a cast or two in.

Weyba Lake has been fishing well for those wanting to catch whiting and bream and the odd flathead.

The canals around Noosa Sound will be firing with trevally in the early mornings and late afternoons with small surface walkers and poppers taking plenty of fish.

The Maroochy River is a great spot to fish in December with whiting and flathead at the river mouth and along the black banks area. The odd tailor and mulloway will be on the prowl too, especially when the high tide coincides with the lower light periods. The cod hole has been fishing well for mulloway and trevally and should continue throughout the month. Try mixing it up a bit with live bait and soft plastics, with so much bait in the rivers, matching the bait is always the way to go.

The Maroochy and Noosa rivers have seen a great influx for prawns so soft plastic like the Zerek Hot Legs and the Live Target prawns have been working a treat. Try a drift near the bridges working your lures close to the bride pylons and you should see mangrove jacks, school mulloway and trevally all taking a liking to a well-presented plastic. Don’t forget your scent on these plastics – it can really increase your strike rate. To check these out, call in at Davo’s Tackle World in Noosa or Davo’s Northshore Bait and Tackle in Marcoola and the team will show you through the range.

The Noosa River Mouth has a deep channel running right up next to the rock wall and has created the ideal spot for mulloway and mangrove jacks to take up residence. These ambush predators are feeding on the bait as it rolls in and out with the tide. You have to fish your lures close to the rocks, so the attrition rate of lures and tackle can get up there but it is well worth the reward for a 50cm+ jack.

Woods Bays and the many jetties and pylons that line the river has seen jacks marauding about at night, in fact, some of the biggest fish seem a little more comfortable to hit a lure as it passes close by the structure that they call home. Being quiet is the key, and a boat full of loud-mouthed anglers will more than likely spook a big fish and they will shy away from your lures. Paddle Vibs like the River2Sea Fish Candy have really been making there presents felt with a great range of colours and sizes you will certainly find the lure to suit your needs.

Crabbing in the rivers is at its best in December and January and a trip upriver with the pots could prove worthwhile. Remember that if we get a lot of rain, the crabs will start to walk down river looking for more saline water. So if there’s rain about set your pots a little more down river.

Offshore fishing as always is dependent on the weather but with a little luck we should get plenty of good days in to get out on the reefs.

Sunshine Reef is my favourite in summer as not only is it a shorter journey, but the list of species to be caught here is very impressive. Coral trout is the first on your list when you get to Sunshine Reef in the early morning, then as the sun comes up, hopefully the Spanish mackerel and tuna come out to play as well.

Trolling in this area can be very rewarding with a Davo’s Spanish special very hard to beat. If you haven’t got one of these lures, drop into one of our Davo’s shops and the boys can walk you through how to fish these very unique lures.

Little Halls is another spot that isn’t a huge journey and when the spotty mackerel are on it can be hard getting bait down to get into anything else.

North Reef has been a haven for big cobia and there has been plenty of big fish hooked and lost of late so check your gear is up to the job.

The Sunshine Coast is famous for its billfish, with small black marlin and sailfish smashing fast trolled lures meant for mackerel. Not a bad by-catch!

Trips up to Double Island point or out to the Banks are in the hands of the weather gods, but if the weather permits it’s well worth the effort. Big red emperor are the target fish up here, but you have to make sure that the boat is up to the job, because if the weather turns foul, it’s a long ride back home.

• Merry Christmas from the team at Davo’s Tackle World in Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait and Tackle in Marcoola, and for more info on the latest check out fishing Noosa on Facebook or log onto www.fishingnoosa.com.au and remember, tight lines and bent spines!