Over the past month the fishing in the bay has really fired up with good catches of sweetlip, blackall, cod and a few coral trout around the shallow reefs. Squid, yabbies, herring and crabs have all been successful targeted especially when using berley.

Soft plastics fished in the same areas have been producing the better quality fish and have been a good way to sift through the small pickers that inhabit most of the reefs. Pencil squid have been thick in the past and are still being caught around the lights at night off the Urangan Pier and most rocky areas throughout the Sandy Straits.

The Pier is still fishing well for queenies, school mackerel, tuna and trevally with bait of live herring. Whereas plastics and Spaniard metal lures are still the best options for land-based anglers to get locked on to a decent fish.

Platypus Bay has a reputation for being one of those special places where anything can happen. There aren’t too many places in the world where you can sight cast to species as varied as whiting, flathead, trevally, queenfish, tuna and marlin all on the same stretch of beach! Fly anglers have long regarded this body of water as one of the best in the world to get connected to exotic species normally only targeted much further north.

Permit and bonefish are considered the flyfishing holy grail and have been known to inhabit this area for years, but the problem has always been finding the fish. Astute fly fishers with a fair bit of experience under their belt are usually the ones lucky enough to pin a boney. It takes a lot of practice to be able to drop that fly with pinpoint accuracy at the crucial moment. There is a hell of a lot of water to look for them in and that’s where a guide can help put you on to a fish of a lifetime.

Mark Barenquest has been running Hervey Bay/Fraser Island guided fishing charters for about three years and has been a pioneer in chasing wild barra, threadfin, goldies and all kinds of pelagics in the bay. Recently Mark has been getting clients into trevally over 30kg, longtails over 25kg and has had some good sessions chasing bonefish.

Recently Peter Trevaskis from Sydney spent a few days fishing with Mark and managed a bonefish, longtail and black marlin in consecutive days. Needless to say Pete was stoked. Making the encounter all the more unique was Peter’s bonefish was one of four caught in a session all trolled up on Rapala CD 11 lures. They even witnessed a couple of bonefish break the surface while feeding on bait schools.

If you plan on heading to the bay and want a chance at a fish of a lifetime give Mark a call on 0427230261 or email --e-mail address hidden--