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Put some grunt into it!
  |  First Published: April 2016



With such a hot and sticky start to the year, let’s hope the weather starts to cool down a bit soon! The fishing has been as hot as the weather, and our local reefs, creeks and estuaries have fired up.

IN THE BAY

The Arty, Bagimba, Moon Ledge, McKenzies and the many scattered shallow reefs inside Moon Point will continue to fish well for a host of reef fish as we head into autumn. Mixed bags of parrot, cod, blackall, squire, coral bream and coral trout have made up the bulk of the catch on a mixture of live and cut baits, plastics and jigs.

You don't have to fish deep water for success, and finding patches of ground not often fished is a better option than fishing among all the other boats at better-known locations.

UP THE CREEKS

The creeks have been a better option with all the wind we have had recently and anglers in the know have had plenty to keep them entertained with good numbers of threadfin salmon, cod, grunter and barra on plastics and hardbodies. Baitfishing in the lower reaches adds more species to the list with good catches of flathead, bream and whiting and the occasional catfish to keep anglers busy.

Crabs are still about in decent numbers, and there have been a few prawns on the move so don't forget the cast net!

ON THE FLATS

The flats just keep getting better with some truly amazing flathead sessions over the past month. Fish in the 45-65cm range have been found all over. Small hardbodies fished around structure on the incoming tide has worked wonders. During a 20 minute hot bite the other day I couldn't get a lure back to my feet without getting a strike – this is truly amazing fishing.

Among all the flathead there has been bream, tarwhine, cod, trevally, queenfish and grunter hitting lures, which makes for some epic flats sessions. My go-to lure is the shallow Predateck MinMins in natural colours with the rainbow trout profile a star performer. Fish them over rock bars and weed beds and work the edges of bait schools to get into the action.

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