BEFORE I give this month’s report, I’d like to tell you about Australian Sea Bird Rescue – a non-profit organisation made up of caring people working hard at their own expense to help injured sea birds. The birds’ injuries arise from fish hooks, line wraps and many more influences.

So how can we help? Firstly, please don’t discard any fishing line; take it all home. Secondly, don’t feed native water birds, as this can lead them into fatal dependency. Thirdly, you can phone SBR on (07) 5485 3543 to volunteer in your district or to make a donation.

If you’re in the Hervey Bay area, the local branch needs whiting and mullet frames to lure injured birds for treatment. If you can help, call the Hervey Bay office on (07) 4125 5022.

More information on Australian Sea Bird Rescue is available at www.waterbirdrescue.org.au.

A few large golden trevally were caught last month, most in excess of 9kg, and Spanish mackerel and whiting are available now right off the beach. The Eight Mile Reef has been hard to fish of late, but hopefully by the time you read this the weather will have changed for the better. Some recent catches include Spanish macks, some in excess of 13kg, and I was also told of a large 5kg tailor. The artificial reef recently produced a 3.5kg parrot caught on – believe it or not – freshwater yabbies! Quite a few 40cm-plus squire have been boated recently as well.

Good catches of quality flathead, whiting, trumpeter and bream have been recently reported at Theodolite Creek. Not many cod or jacks have been caught of late, but that’s to be expected at this time of year. I don’t see much change for June except for fewer flathead and a lot more bream.

Very good quality trumpeter are available right now, with the deep hole at Buxton being the place to be. The prawns have fallen by the wayside but they were good while they lasted! Mud crabs are still available, but you will have to work hard for them. Bream are the number one ticket for the cooler months around here. Hopefully the tailor will have made their presence felt by the time you read this.

Plenty of good-sized flathead, trumpeter and bream have been boated recently at the Burrum. Also, sand whiting catches have improved in size and quality. Many golden trevally, some in excess of 10kg, have been landed, and small queenfish and 1-3kg giant trevally are still around. There have been many reports of 30cm-plus tailor being caught on lures near the mouth of the Gregory River, especially near the bottom of the outgoing tide. Not many cod or jacks have been reported, but the early season was wonderful. A few crabs should still be available.

Trumpeter and bream are definitely the best bet right now. Also, there are still a few giant trevally around and I expect the tailor will move through soon and hopefully stay for a while. Some of these early fish can be real bruisers. Crabs will still be around in June but numbers have fallen substantially. As I write, there are no prawns available.

The best spot for prawns locally at the moment is probably the Gregory, but by the time of print they’ll be more scarce. Bream, trumpeter, whiting and hopefully tailor will be your best bet in June. A few crabs will still be up for grabs, so it’s not too late to put your pots in. Hopefully the small giant trevally and queens will stick around this month.

1) There’s plenty anglers can do to help the hard-working volunteers of Sea Bird Rescue.

2) These whiting were caught during the Burrum Heads Easter Classic.