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Have you ever seen the rain?
  |  First Published: March 2015



Last month there was still no monsoonal rain for North Queensland. I think we will get some rain but it will be late just like last year. It would certainly be nice if we went back into our proper wet seasons, but I’m not holding my breath.

Central Queensland’s fishery should prosper with the Fitroy River flooding a couple of times already. The Fitzroy is basically a big run off catchment that drains all the rain from inland storms. In cycles where the monsoon is slack, Central Qld will benefit thanks to the heat lows and associated trough lines that come with this kind of weather pattern, not to mention the excessive heat this year helping the storms develop. It all comes in cycles and depending on the annual weather patterns it will determine which part of the coast will flourish the best. Fingers crossed we will get our rains soon too.

In saying this, our barra season did not go off with a bang accordingly, although further south is doing well thanks to the rivers getting a good flush in January. The large tides and northwest winds were not much help up here either, so I’m looking forward to it improving, as the tides get better shortly.

Another problem for live bait anglers has been the influx of sharks both big and small. It has been hard for many anglers to keep a livey in the water thanks to the sharks running riot at the moment.

But it’s not all doom and gloom as we will see the barra pick up very soon and we certainly can’t complain as other species have been fishing pretty well.

There has been some good reports of golden snapper on the deeper headlands out past Missionary Bay. The evening hours has been the best time and if you’re thinking about doing it then set yourself up a squid light so you can catch live squid and even jig for herring under the light as well. Both baits when live are exceptional. You can also fish with soft vibes and plastics under the squid light too. Remember to drop your plastics right to the bottom, don’t just jig it under the light.

Some good reports of big grunter have come from the deeper waters around the islands. Search the deep water by day and the shallows at night is a little tip worth remembering. Anglers who are night fishing for grunter and golden snapper can also run into the black jewfish at this time of year, especially if you’re fishing out around the headlands and islands. Either way whatever you catch at night you are always best to use live squid and herring. They are always number one choice for me and I’m sure number one for the fish too.

A warning to fishers that we are having a bad run with the box jellies again this year, so don’t wade in dirty coastal water as its not worth the pain. This is our second really bad year in a row for them as they are loving these hot northerly winds.

Fishing in March will be dependant on what happens. This could be the month that we do see some rain with a low or cyclone. If it rains, it will keep us off the water momentarily but will be a great benefit to the fishery at the same time.

Barra will be the most targeted fish during March as usual, with mangrove jack hot on their heels. Offshore fishing in March is never the best traditionally, but you could still get some reasonable sessions if you fish the making tides up to both moons.

A big thanks to all our new students joining our Barra Basics e-course and we will catch you all next month.

If you would like to book a charter or join our fishing community for some great fishing competitions etc. head on over to www.ryanmoodyfishing.com. And you could also win a free charter drawn twice a year.

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