Blog

Jun 12, 2023

Fishing report: Sweetlip are starting to fire up

This weekend is looking mint for any inshore fishers with the swell and wind looking good for the small boats to head out and the weather starting to warm up we should see a lot of trout and sweetlip

This weekend is looking mint for any inshore fishers with the swell and wind looking good for the small boats to head out and the weather starting to warm up we should see a lot of trout and sweetlip starting to really fire up and start smashing the baits and lures being offered.

A lot of the inshore reefs will be holding good numbers of trout, sweetlip and other tasty species, some of the better methods whether it be dropping down a bait like a pilchard or squid or jigging soft plastics and metals should see you landing one of the many tasty fish.

A good way to find trout is to look for a ledge or bommie that is holding a good amount of bait because chances are there will be a trout or two close by feeding on the bait.

Good sized grunter are also being caught, soft vibes are the lures doing the damage on these fish or whole prawns if you rather soak a bait or two.

We are still seeing some quality Spanish mackerel lurking around the reefs and along the shoreline so if you find yourself wanting to target these tasty fish have a look at slow trolling a live pike or yakka behind the boat about 30m or so and also troll a hard body on the other side so you have both bases covered.

With the many schools of baitfish showing up there has been a few pods of longtail tuna and mac tuna working these schools. Some of the best ways to catch tuna is with a high-speed setup something with a 110cm per crank or faster retrieve like a Penn Slammer 4500 HS to crank the lures back at speed so they look like a fleeing bait fish.

The one lure you can't go past and has caught the team numerous tuna is an Arma Anchovy metal slug!

Speaking from experience if the tuna are feeding on something that’s 4-5cm long they will not touch a 7cm slug so it always pays to have various sizes in your tackle box ready to go.

Another great way to target pelagic's is to throw around a popper or stick bait.

The splash from a surface lure will usually gain the attention from any nearby predators even if they aren't actively feeding.

Looks like the weather will be playing the game this weekend so it will be worth dusting off the boat and having a crack at the countless opportunity’s we have at our door step!

Some cracking red emperor, trout and nannygai have been on the chew with big flesh baits doing the damage on these species.

There has also been some big sweetlip, venus tusk fish and cobia being caught in the shallower ground and around the wrecks.

Some of the proven ways to target these fish is using a Molix Fork Flex Shad and a Samaki Golden Carrot lure hopped through the schools of bait and over the ledges.

Remember to fish hard during the tide change, all of these species have been on the chew one hour either side of the tide so definitely be on a good looking patch of ground as this two hour window can sure change your day and fill the esky!

The Burnett has been producing some very nice blue salmon and bream!

The salmon have mostly been hanging out in the town reach.

Using soft vibes or live sprat has definitely been the standout technique to get the bite.

Remember the usual bite time for them in the town reach is one hour either side of low tide.

There’s been some cracking sized bream being caught on most the rock bars throughout the river.

Target these fish towards the top of high tide. Hoping 2.5” Zman Grubz over the rock bars has definitely been the standout way to get the bite.

If you are more into bait fishing using mullet gut and prawns will definitely get you into some bream action.

Also be sure to have your cast net handy, occasionally there’s been some really good-sized prawns being caught in the deeper holes.

The Elliott River sure is fishing red hot at the moment with a great mix of summer and winter species on the chew!

This time of year is usually a good opportunity to start chasing species like mangrove jack and barra before a lot of other anglers.

Although the fishing may be tougher it is a great way to get ahead of the rest and figure out a few techniques for when the water heats up.

Those throwing the cast net and catching some fresh bait have been doing well when fishing on rock bars and deeper holes in this river.

Good numbers of cod and jack are starting to be caught and the barra have been showing themselves in these same areas.

The flats fishing is still really good with once again those using fresh baits certainly getting the better results.

For the lure enthusiasts flicking small soft plastics along the flats and drop offs has seen good numbers of flathead, bream, grunter and even some good sized summer whiting being caught.

3 to 4 inch curl tail soft plastics have been the go to lure in this system, rigging them on a 1/8th or a 1/4 oz jig head depending on the depth of water you are fishing will help keep the lure looking natural and get you more bites!

The Baffle has been fishing very well with whiting and grunter being the standout captures!

For this weekend low tide is around midday so pumping yabbies around midday and fishing the incoming tide should get you into a very nice feed of whiting.

If you miss the low tide the beach worms that we sell will get you the whiting bite.

Be sure to use very light line and a small sinker, presenting the bait as natural as possible is the goal.

The grunter have been taking a liking to prawn imitation lures and live or dead prawns as bait.

The gravel or yabbie bars is always a great place to chase them with the incoming tide being the preferred time to chase them.

Also don’t forget to drop the crab pots in, there’s been some good quality muddy’s being caught.

The standout two species for the Kolan has definitely been flathead and the early season mangrove jack.

The flathead have been loving 3” paddle tail soft plastic’s slow rolled over shallow sandbars preferably bars that hold yabbies.

Also, trolling hardbody lures has been doing the trick, Zerek Tango Shads and Daiwa Double Clutch lures has been the go-to lures.

There’s been some early season mangrove jack being caught as well! Working Samaki Redic DS80's and Jackal Squirrel’s out of mangrove roots and shallow rock bars has been doing the damage.

The outgoing tide is usually the go to when all the bait fish are moving and the water clarity is getting dirtier.

Dropping your leader size down to around 25lb will help you get the bite while the water is cool like it is.

Again, don’t forget to drop the crab pots in, the bigger night time tides this weekend should have some good quality crabs moving.

With the weather forecast looking good for our beaches we should see plenty of people having a crack and with the fishing still being red hot we should see plenty of action.

Those fishing our beaches recently have found good numbers of flathead, bream and summer whiting being caught in the gutters especially during the incoming tide.

Beach worms and fresh yabbies have been the baits doing most of the damage however chook and mullet gut has got some great results too.

Some big schools of dart have also been showing up and have smashed baits and also small soft plastics hopped through their school.

There has also been some good-sized trevally and queenfish schools come through with small metal lures getting these fish to bite.

Lake Gregory

Fishing on the lake this week has been really good with plenty of cracking bass over 45cm being landed.

Most of the anglers doing well on the lake have been using their sounder to pinpoint exactly where the fish are which is usually around the points and drop offs.

Once the bass are located throwing a variety of lures at them until one bites is really the key to figuring out how these fish are feeding.

Small paddle tail soft plastics around 3 inch in size along with small metal blades have been getting plenty of fish to bite.

For those who have been getting good numbers of fish in the shallower water we have found throwing small hardbody lures to be extremely effective at getting a reaction bite out of one of these bass.

Using an 8 to 12lb mono leader has been getting the bites from these bass and still allowed for plenty of abrasion resistance if they tangle you up in the weed. As the saying goes, fish light to get the bite!

Things are sure heating up for the dam at the moment! With the water temp on the rise in the dam we have seen a lot more barra being caught and some big ones at that.

Those fishing the early mornings have been doing better with the barra chewing during the first light period and around the recent early morning moon set times.

Once these barra have fed in the mornings it has been hard to convince a bite out of one of these fish especially during the day, but the moon rise time in the late afternoon or night has accounted for a few fish being landed.

Suspending hardbody lures have no doubt been getting the bites out of these barra, ensuring you are letting the lure sit still in the water column in between twitches is vital as these barra are not aggressively feeding and need plenty of time to eat a lure.

Working a point or an area where the barra are moving through around the moon set/rise times and the Kolan River tide change times can surely change your session and get a few bites out of these fish in a very short time window.

Be sure to be extremely stealthy when sounding for these fish or whilst fishing, as we have seen plenty of times this week a few noises form the boat can spook a whole school of barra away in no time at all.

From the team at Tackle World Bundaberg

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