With Gavin Dunne away fishing the Daiwa BARRA Tour, I’ve decided to do a bit of investigating to see what’s biting around Brisbane and what we can expect in January.

Greg Livingstone fished Moreton Bay in early December taking squire to 45cm on Berkley 3” Berkley Gulp minnows and landed some excellent whiting and sweetlip as bycatch on the same lures while fishing around Mud Island. The water wasn’t too clear, but the fish were well on the chew. The big tip, Greg says, is to not rush the presentation of the plastic – keep it slow and keep it low.

While fishing for squire and sweetlip, Greg noted schools of tuna and mackerel popping up and they hung around the area for about two hours. Greg and his fishing mate hooked a few but didn’t land a fish. All the tuna (longtails and mack) and mackerel were hooked on 14g River 2 Sea, Sea Rock lures. The fish were up to 8kg and feeding on small baitfish and I’d expect the action to be well and truly on by January. Try not to use wire in your casting rig if you can help it; you’ll get more interest from the fish without it.

The rains have knocked the Brisbane River around a bit with the water colour being affected greatly. There are still some mulloway, snapper and flathead to be caught on lures and baits, but if we continue to get heavy rains you’re better off concentrating right down at the mouth of the Brisbane River or out near the close islands of Mud and St Helena.