Spring is upon us once again and with it comes the promise of warmer weather and summer species to chase again. Not that our winter was hard to endure in glorious Hervey Bay, as we really only had a few cold snaps.

The full moon at the start of August coincided with a total glass out for several days and gave anglers a chance to get out wide and chase a few snapper. Their efforts were rewarded with many boats bagging out quickly on snapper giving them plenty of time to chase other species for a mixed bag of quality table fish.

The Southern Gutters and 25-fathom hole were the big producers and always held a good variety of reef fish, including coral bream, spanglies, blackall, tuskies, hussar and Moses perch.

Boats willing to go further have enjoyed good catches of big red emporer and coral trout amongst the usual suspects when fishing the Northern Gutters.

The water temperature was 21°C at the start of August at Rooneys so it won’t be long before it nudges over 23°C, which is considered to be optimal for black marlin and most pelagic species.

The word on the game fishing scene is that once again there are plenty of little blacks being caught, so it’s shaping up to be another mind blowing season for blacks in the bay.

September is one of the best months for targeting sailfish across the 13-mile crossing and when you find them they often in schools of 10-20 fish, promising chaotic action for game fishers.

Expect to see more bust ups on the surface in Platypus Bay from longtails, mac tuna and mackerel as the water warms over the next few months.

Leading into winter, I was averaging 6 bream all in the 28-34cm range and a couple of flathead per trip on the good tides and then everything went dead. There wasn’t even the usual 20 turtles popping their heads out or flathead being spooked as you walk through the shallows.

I’ve been fishing the area for nearly 10 years and have never seen the place so barren. The mystery was solved after talking to a fellow who walks his dog every day and had seen the pros netting the guts out of the area for the past month. Why they are still allowed to work so close to the mainland, I'll never know! And the quicker we solve the problem the better it will be for everyone. Let’s hope they give the place a rest and allow it to recover before netting it again!