This past month has been very hot and cold angling wise plenty of ups and downs in the fishing patterns and action. One week produces sensational fishing; while the next week is a complete write off.

Some of this has had to do with the weather. Thirty-knot wind plus rain never does the fishing any good, nor does it make for comfortable conditions on the water. April is generally a pretty good month, but we had more than our fair share of ordinary conditions this year. Aside from the strong winds we have also had some dead-still and hot north-westerly conditions too. And as many of you know those conditions are never good for inshore fishing.

The fishing on the lead up to Easter was excellent but soon turned to still and hot weather over the Easter weekend, and as a result the fishing suffered. There would have been some disappointed anglers fishing the inshore areas with the Easter break being well below par. Luckily for me I had a sportfishing charter and we headed out to the islands and had a ball on big GTs and other pelagics.

The water temperature seems to be dropping a little earlier this year and some early season Spaniards might be just the proof of that. Many of the inshore Spaniard haunts have produced a few smaller fish around the 7-10kg mark. The end of March produced some Spaniards, which rarely happens. The cooling of the water might have also been a factor in the pelagics going crazy as well.

Bottom fishers at the reef have also seen some good results. Red throat emperor in reasonable sizes are showing up and could very well be an indicator of things to come this winter. Trout have been firing on occasions, but if you’re there at the wrong moon phase the fishing is quiet to say the least. Bar cheeked inshore trout have been good of late too. When it comes to chasing trout you can always maximize your efforts by fishing the making tides leading up to the moons. If you do this you’ll definitely increase your chances of a successful trip.

Barra have been fairly good, other than when the weather is bad of course. Providing there is no dramatic drop in water temperature they should continue to bite if we get some good fishing conditions over the following month. As the cooler months approach you should look for a low tide toward the middle of the day if when you’re fishing the flats and drains. This will give you the chance to fish the tide down to the bottom, which is the better period for fishing flats and drains.

Threadfin salmon have been sporadic, showing up when they feel like it rather than to a schedule or any distinct pattern. Hopefully if May delivers some better weather we may see them about with greater abundance and predictability. My favourite lures for threadfin are undoubtedly soft vibes and plastics, and also the Ballista LED Juggernaut hard vibe. The Juggernauts proved a real winner last year. Blue salmon have been rather active again this month, and have been mixed in with the threadfin around most of the deep holes in The Channel and Missionary Bay.

I expect May to deliver some good Spaniard fishing inshore, while the offshore reefs should come alive with demersal species. Fingermark around the 2kg mark should invade the rubble areas of the Hinchinbrook Channel, and are a welcome catch in the winter when barra become get patchy. School sized grunter will also be prevalent inshore. If you want to chase the larger grunter then look to the deeper island and headland areas. Large grunter will also readily take soft vibes.

If you’re keen to learn all my secrets on how to target threadfin salmon keep an eye out for our upcoming e-course ‘Thready Tactics’. For free fishing tips, notifications about our courses and the chance to win a barra charter, head to www.ryanmoodyfishing.com and enter your name and email to join our free fishing community.