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Clear, calm catching conditions
  |  First Published: June 2017



This month the water should clear considerably. When combined with lighter winds, this should make the southern bay a pleasant place to fish.

We should see good bream numbers around the Pin, and snapper around the bay shallows. The longtail tuna should move further south and winter whiting should be in big numbers. The top end of the bay along with the Brisbane River has cleaned up nicely. There have been a few threadfin and the odd mulloway showing up towards the lower reaches. There have also been some good fish caught upstream at night.

There are still a few longtail around north of Harrys. There have been a few caught south of there too, and they should become more prevalent around Peel this coming month. When chasing the longies, try not to drive straight in on top of the school. Always be wary of other anglers chasing them, and try not to cut them off.

A lot of people get the adrenaline running when fish are busting up, but sometimes a slower, more stealthy approach will achieve better results, especially on weekends. Sit back and watch which direction the school is heading, and try to position the boat so they are feeding toward you.

Prawns are going off in the southern bay at the moment, with reports of bag-outs in under an hour once the schools have been located. Make sure you use your sounder to locate the prawns first. A little searching will save those sore shoulders from casting all day. A lot of the better numbers have been coming from areas within sight of the mouth of the Logan River, and the deeper water around Lamb Island.

The crabs have also been thick in recent weeks, with plenty of muddies around the southern Moreton Bay islands after the floods. Further north there have been good reports of sand crabs off Point Halloran and Wellington Point. Please remember the boundaries for taking uncooked crustaceans if you plan to transport them a long distance.

Bream should start to congregate closer to the Pin bar over the next month. The schools can be huge, and cricket score catches of fish can be expected when located. Bream will hold in all the deeper holes and even the deep sand flats in the undulations. The best baits are live nippers or worms fished with the tide. Alternatively, try using small metal blades like the 1/12oz Ghost Blades and 1/8oz Switch Blades.

Small mulloway have been prevalent throughout the southern bay. They have been around the Peel Artificial, Hanlon Light, Harrys, the rocky ground at the red buoy at Coochie and on any of the wrecks that are holding large numbers of baitfish. These mulloway gorge the bait, and are best targeted with either live baits or 4-5” plastics to match the bait profile they are feeding on. Quite often these fish can be found in large schools. You can catch multiple fish as they move through, or by finding them with your sounder.

From all reports the winter whiting have been in great numbers throughout the southern bay. These tasty little fish offer a great target for the kids for a great family day on the water. The best reports have come from the Pelican and Banana banks, with a few along the Redland Bay foreshores. It’s best to drift with baits until you find a few fish, and then anchor on the school. The best baits are worms or thin strips of squid. This should see a nice tasty feed in the esky.

If you have a great capture from the Southern Bay you would like to share, email them through to --e-mail address hidden-- Until next month, tech-it-easy.

• If you would like on-water sounder or fishing tuition, please call Nick on 0422 213 669 to customize a session to suit your needs or check out the Tech Fishing Facebook page. Your boat – my knowledge – more fish!

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