The usual November weather for Weipa is hot mornings with cool afternoon sea breezes. Later in the month, storms start to form, accompanied by a build-up in humidity. Leaving an air-conditioned building feels like running into a hot brick wall.

However, the fish think this weather is perfect, and it puts many species in the mood to make babies. Golden trevally swim in pairs, bumping each other, and mangrove jacks form large schools on the bottom where the water clouds with their eggs and milt.

Out on the water is definitely the most pleasant place to be. Just be sure to cover up with appropriate clothing, use sunscreen, and drink plenty of water.

Heading out at first light then returning before the sea breeze gathers strength in early to mid afternoon makes good sense. Up the rivers, the heat in the smaller creeks can become oppressive by late morning so head for the more open stretches where the breezes can be found.

The clear water at this time of year is great for sight fishing along the beaches and tidal flats, particularly when the winds are light. Barra are off limits but there are usually plenty of threadfin, queenfish, bream and trevally around.

Around the snags, jacks, fingermark, black and gold spot cod and the odd Queensland groper are usually ready to ambush a lure or live bait fished close to structure. The bait schools tend to move close inshore, attracting macks, queenfish, giant herring, various trevallies and tuna.

When the storms break, the fishing can go into overdrive. Dirty water running into the estuaries prompts feeding frenzies. The hatching of marine worms on the high tide around the full moon can also cause a hectic feeding session. Soft plastics are the go if this happens.

Many anglers think November is too hot or too near the start of the wet to be a prime fishing time. That means fewer anglers on the water at one of our most productive times – a good reason to visit!

At the recent Gold Coast Tackle Trade Show it was hard to find the time to examine all the products on display. It would have been easy to dismiss the new products on the Bozos Lures stand as just another soft plastic, but the passion of designer Phil Alder made me want to know more. He had obviously put a lot of thought into developing lures that did not compromise on quality or performance.

Before long we had organised a tackle testing visit to Weipa, and a week later Phil met me at the airport with a suitcase full of jigheads and tails.

Over the next three days those lures caught stacks of fish. Josh Lyon, Phil and I landed barra, jacks, estuary cod, pikey bream, barracuda, fingermark, black jew, coral trout, queenfish and trevally. Interestingly, the Bozos accounted for two good jewies off a reef patch while a boat baitfishing nearby could only catch lesser species. Big mackerel also regularly nailed the Bozos on the drop, snipping the leader every time!

By the end, the test lures were virtually unmarked. This was pretty amazing and makes the Bozos even better value for money.

The 6” pre-rigged mullets have 45g of weight inserted so they head to the bottom pretty fast in deeper water and troll well at low speed. They caught some good fingermark on the reefs when jigged off the bottom. Our favourite weight for deep reef areas is around 70g, so Phil is designing models with up to 90g.

If our Weipa testing was any indication, these plastics are going to be a well worth having in your tackle box. You can find your nearest stockist by contacting Bozos at --e-mail address hidden-- or on 0433 190 033.

[CAPTIONS]

1) Mr Bozos Lures, Phil Alder, with one of the team that helped field test his new soft plastic lure range.