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Plenty of trevally in the sunshine coast rivers
  |  First Published: June 2017



The Noosa River has to be one of the best systems on the coast if you love chasing trevally. Good sized giant trevally have been coming from around the Coast Guard boats near Munna Point as well as the Inner Woods Bay. Surface presentations have been the way to go with smaller walkers and surface poppers doing the job. When fishing these smaller surface lures it is a good idea to upgrade the trebles to cope with the bigger fish.

Smaller golden and tea leaf trevally have been found throughout the river nailing 3” plastics and small vibes. Bream will be in good numbers in the river as the water temperatures drops. Small grub pattern soft plastics or lightly weighted flesh baits have been fishing well around structure like bridge pylons and pontoons. Jacks are still feeding and are taking mainly live baits with the night anglers having the most success. Tailor are also taking live baits throughout the river with the river mouth in the low light periods your best bet. Flathead are also in great numbers with many fish well over the legal limit succumbing to live baits and slowly worked plastics. The big breeding females are protected and are vital to the sustainability of the fishery so take a quick pick for the brag wall and release the fish as quickly as possible. 75cm is the upper limit on dusky or mud flathead however most anglers release fish of 60cm or better to promote the species and guarantee a great long-term fishery.

Flathead are a fish that lend themselves to plastics fishing as they tend to lay in wait and as such it is not hard to find an area that is their ideal feeding ground. Fishing the run out tide and working the drop-offs near mud and sand banks will most likely see a result. If you are in a boat drifting slowly down the edge of the bank fishing prawn profile plastics is a winning tactic. ZMan ShrimpZ have become my favourite with many of the range having a chartreuse tail which flathead seem to love. The brighter colours are working a treat.

In the Maroochy River winter bream and diver whiting revel in the cooler waters. Structure, such as bridge pylons and jetties, are great places to start when chasing the larger bream. Whiting have been in good numbers on baits like worms, yabbies and soldier crabs. You can also target these fish with lures - poppers are great fun and when worked across the surface can deliver amazing results and fantastic visual angling. Areas like Chambers Island, Black Banks and Cotton Tree have all produced nice fish on the incoming tide. Trevally are also in good numbers in the river with the most common being giant trevally. We are however seeing more and more of the stunningly beautiful diamond trevally in the system. Queenfish and tailor are also in good numbers with some good quality fish taken on the run-in tide. Fishing areas around Goat Island and the Jet Ski run has seen some good results.

offshore

Anglers out of Noosa have still seen the odd mackerel even though the water temperature has started to drop. Halls Reef has seen some quality Spanish mackerel with most caught on live yakkas. North Reef has also seen Spanish and spotted mackerel on pilchard and live bait floating presentations.

On the bottom at North Reef snapper, pearl perch, cod and spangled emperor have also been caught. Snapper have to be the most sought-after target in the cooler months with many anglers chasing these fantastic table fish. Snapper can be targeted in a number of ways but my favourite has to be with soft plastics. Pink is by far the most productive colour for me and fishing some of the closer reefs has historically been very fruitful. For those of you venturing to the deeper reefs with more run try using Elevator Heads for your plastics from Berkley. These heads come in a couple of colours with different weights and sizes and are perfect for those deeper reefs.

Sunshine Reef has been the spot for coral trout. Live baits fished hard on the bottom has been the best approach. Further north the reefs east of Double Island Point have seen some great fish hitting the decks including amberjack, cod, snapper, pearl perch and cobia.

Offshore out of Mooloolaba the wind has been a little unpredictable so most anglers have been fishing the closer reefs. As the water cools we will see a definite improvement in catch rates. Snapper, sweetlip, cod and trout have all been accounted for over the last month. Further afield the deeper reefs have been holding some nice jew and cobia. Pilchard floaters have been working well as have live baits. Schools of tuna are still about but are very flighty and need to be approached in stealth mode. Try cutting your motor upwind and drifting within casting range.

beaches

On the beaches we are starting to see some good schools of tailor moving up the eastern beaches with the low light periods prime time. Good sized bream and dart have been taken on live worm baits around the Peregian Beach area. Tailor and dart have been in good numbers south of the first cutting on Noosa’s North Shore. On some beaches, gutters have been a little hard to come by so you really have to rethink the way you approach beach fishing. With no gutters berley is the key. Small pieces of prawn, pilchard or whatever bait you are using dropped into the wash will help to attract fish within casting distance. Another great trick to enhance your chances is to fill a mesh bag with Big John’s Berley Mix and let it roll around in the white water, perhaps tied to a stake or rod holder. The resulting aromas drifting around in the water will bring the fish from far and wide.

freshwater

Bass have been congregating around the weed packed edges of Lake Macdonald. These fish will become a little more lethargic as the water cools and tend to school in thermoclines in the deeper water. Fishing early morning and late afternoon should still see a result. Give deep diving lures a troll in the main basin or along the old creek bed. Dark green and gold chrome have long been great colours for bass in Lake Macdonald.

For all the latest information log onto www.fishingnoosa.com.au for up to date bar and fishing reports and don’t forget to drop into Davo’s Tackle World in Noosa or Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola to find out where the fish are biting. All your boating needs can be met at the new Superstore in Noosa so check it out the next time you are in town!

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