Last month’s weather antics were enough to make a grown angler cry. We experienced all kinds of seasonal weather compacted into one month, and few fortunate anglers had work off at the right times to wet a line.

Blustery westerlies have been the common recipe for last month with days producing our trademark ‘Ekka winds’, which we are sure to see again later this month. Westerlies are not all sad for anglers in the northern bay though, with this gusty cold sting often buffered by it travelling off the warmer land. This keeps estuary and inshore fishers rather happy to brave the conditions. Let’s see what’s been going down around the northern bay.

This time of year is a period many anglers in the area would rather forget. The abundance of weed is enough to irk the most patient of fishers and many are picking days with smaller tide changes to minimise their exposure to this snotty pest. Good reports of flathead have still been coming in with the mouths of Bullock and Ningi creeks being the choice spots, especially around the second half of the ebbing tide.

Poverty Point has also produced some decent flathead with anglers opting for fresh baits over lures and soft plastics. Bream numbers have been stable over the last month at the Bribie end of the passage and the Banksia Beach canals are the prime area to target these spawning critters with less weed presence. Slow presentations, like lightly weighted baits and soft plastics, have been the wise choice amongst anglers with some lure fanatics choosing the light Cranka Crab to extract bream out of tight structured areas. The Caloundra side of the Pumicestone Passage has been busy for bream fishing with the annual spawn drawing fish to this destination as usual. Green prawns, mullet strips and even chicken breast have been popular choices amongst anglers with days around the full and new moons producing better numbers.

Juvenile snapper has been the ticket this time of year with diehard anglers rewarded for their bravery in the cooler weather. North Reef, what some anglers call ‘The Carpark’ on good-weathered days, is the noted area this time of year that ticks all the boxes: good tidal flow and westerly winds that produce a vortex of baitfish to hold. Dawn and dusk have been the prime times of late to hit this area with the shorter days playing into angler’s hands nicely.

Juvenile snapper have been holding nicely down the southern end of the peninsula at Woody Point with fishers targeting around the green zone to take home some legal fish. Heavy fines have been issued lately for anglers caught fishing in this area, so be sure to check your position at all times to ensure your outing isn’t an expensive one!

Squid numbers have been good around the peninsula as the cooler water temperatures bring the cephalopods closer into the reefs for their annual spawn. Rocky outcrops and shallow reefs have been a score while the squid aren’t bias to any specific times of day. Tailor have been ripping through the peninsula at a rate of knots, busting through bait schools at regular intervals. Having an extra rod rigged with a chrome slug or larger soft plastic has been a rewarded move. Schools of tailor have been appearing around anchored boats and kayakers all the time, so fishers can take their minds off their cold feet!

The Pine has been fishing really well over the cooler months, bread and butter species keeping fisherman very happy in the area. Bream, flathead and tailor are the flavours of the month in the Pine, and the run-out tide produces in both the upper and lower reaches of the river. Diver whiting have also shown face around the mouth of the river with Hays Inlet and Bramble Bay being the pick of the areas.

Flathead numbers are good, but size is the issue. This is sure to resolve in the next few months as larger breeders find their way to the area and the water temperature slowly rises. Good bream are being picked up around the highway bridge, with baits, soft plastics like ZMan GrubZ and Slim SwimZ, and Cranka Crabs working effectively around the pylons on the top of the tide.

To combat freezing on the boat, be sure to keep your feet dry and covered at all times. Sneakers, socks and even old ugg boots will keep your feet warm when fishing, but ensure to keep them stashed in a dry safe hatch until you have launched the boat and got settled into your first fishing spot.