Snapper, snapper and more snapper! In the past month, Moreton Bay has put on some awesome snapper fishing! This time of the year certainly puts on some great weather and most weekends have been calm and have enabled us all to get out!

Autumn is a great time to be out on the water, mild temperatures and low winds makes for some nice sessions out on the bay! The Tuna are still out in force and are another option for anglers to target and it’s business as usual on the many mulloway that call our bay home. There really are plenty of options at this time of the year!

There have been a few mulloway showing up in the usual locations over the past month. So far, there hasn’t been any great big numbers, and they certainly haven’t been in large schools, but there have been some big fish around!

Anglers that have been having success are concentrating on watching the fish finder for signs of fish before casting in. Peel Island Artificial Reef and the House Boat Wreck have been producing mulloway. They can be there one day and gone the next, so it is hit and miss at the moment.

Most trips I will have a quick sound around the likely areas and if they aren’t there, I just move on. Drifting with soft plastics over the sounded fish has been the best technique.

The tuna have still been prevalent in Moreton Bay with more fish moving south into the Southern Bay region. Both longtail and mac tuna have been around, but both have been quite tricky to tempt at times. The main reason for this is the small baitfish they have been feeding on.

The fish can be intent on just chasing micro-sized bait, and no matter what lure you throw, unless it’s the same size they will never bite! It can be extremely frustrating, so downsize your lures if you find that they are shying away.

A popular option is the 3.5” soft plastics. You can also trim the soft plastic a fraction to make it smaller. The tuna have been showing up in a lot of different areas, but the best bets so far this season have been from the Sand Hills at Moreton Island and all the way up to Tangalooma. Around Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef and towards the eastern side of Peel Island is also worth a look. Run-out tide has been the ideal tide for them as the tide helps congregate the baitfish together.

March and April proved to be great months for snapper fishing in Moreton Bay, with some monster fish being caught! Some fish close to the 10kg mark have been showing up, with plenty of fish in the 4-5kg range around to have fun with.

Without a doubt the most popular and productive spot has been Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef. As much pressure as it does cop, it still produces some trophy fish! The anglers that have been having the most success have found that getting there when there’s less boat traffic has been key. Whether that means getting there early or staying longer than most others, once the masses leave it tends to fish better and the fish come on the bite.

Using lightly-weighted soft plastics and allowing them plenty of time to sink and waft in the current has been the stand out technique. This allows for a natural presentation, which the fish find hard to resist!

If bream is your preferred species, there has been plenty about all around the islands. I have been hearing reports of large numbers being caught with some big fish amongst them! Fish pushing the 1kg mark have not been uncommon, so it’s well worth a shot as those big ones sure pull some line!

Surface lures are the best bet and make for some great visual fishing. Just look for some rocky or weedy structure in less than 1m of water, use long casts and a slow retrieve and the fish won’t be far away!

Hopefully this great weather hangs around a bit longer! Moreton Bay is in great shape and fishing well, get out there and give it a crack! If you have any success or a story you would like to share, send it through to --e-mail address hidden-- and I will do my best to get it in the magazine!