As the year continues to fly by, our fishing attention focuses back on the species that the ‘Pin is well known for. Mangrove jack, cod and many pelagics are mostly shut down for the year, but the bread and butter fish like flathead, bream, whiting, tailor and mulloway should make up the bulk of catches from here on in.

Banana prawns have dried up as well after a bumper prawn season, so the fish can no longer gorge themselves on prawns and will be in search of some other food source. Flathead should be around in good numbers, as per usual, and can be caught on a variety of baits and lures.

Whitebait, pillies, prawns, froggies and herring are the pick of the baits to use. When choosing soft plastic colours and shapes it is best to pick lures that best mimic these baits and twitch them in a way that best resembles how these fish behave.

When using soft plastics in this manner, pay attention to the conditions of the light at the time you are fishing. A mullet in the middle of a bright and sunny day is illuminated and easy to spot, but on overcast days the mullet has dark and dull colouring, making it harder to spot. Taking light into consideration when choosing the colour of your lure may greatly improve you catch rate, because the lures you’re using look just like the baits they are feeding on.

For a feed of flatties, try Kalinga Bank, the sand banks across from Slipping Sands, the Stockyards, Cabbage Tree Point sand banks, Pandannus weed banks, behind Tabby Island and the top of Crusoe Island.

Whiting catches tend to slow in the cooler months, but rest assured they are around in good numbers. Target all the usual hotspots like out the front of Couran Cove, the Broadwater, Never Fail Islands, Tipplers Island, the Gold Bank, the Pig Styes, Cobby Passage and Ageston Sands in the Logan River.

You can expect to find bream anywhere there is decent structure, rockwalls, drop-offs, snags, jetties and weed beds. These are all great spots to start and you should always be able to get a few hanging around these structures. Bream love a good berley trail. By using a little bit of berley, often you’ll keep the fish interested and stir up a few of the larger ones that come around to see what the smaller fish are feeding on.

Have a go around the Pig Styes, Short Island, Cobby Passage, the Five Ways, the Powerlines, Steiglitz and Fishermans Channel. For the lure fishers, small soft vibes and 2” plastic prawns have been working really well. Try to use as small a weight as the conditions allow to slowly work the lures through the water column. This way you can find where the fish are holding.

Small schools of tailor can be expected to cruise into the bar as they start to make their way up the coast feeding on white pillies, froggies, hardiheads and other small fish they can find. This time of year they are usually just legal chopper tailor. Every now and then a few bigger 2-3kg specimens turn up unexpectedly.

If you are chasing mulloway, try to focus on the smaller tides with not much run in them. That is when you will have your best chance at a mulloway. Use big live mullet, herring or pike and be prepared to sit for a long time without a hit, as they can be extremely finicky. Funnily enough, when using 5-9” soft plastics they can absolutely smash a lure and nearly rip the rod out of your hands, so be ready for anything when mulloway fishing. Try in the deep water off Swan Bay and the Pin bar, the eastern point of Short Island, Rocky Point and Flat Rock.

• Thanks for all your reports and keep those fish coming in. If you’d like any advice or up to date fishing information drop us a line at Gem Bait & Tackle on (07) 3287 3868 or email --e-mail address hidden--