Fishing Report for 12th June 2025

Fishing Report Wed 11 Jun 2025

New lifejacket laws came into effect on December 1, visit MSQ website for details.

Hervey Bay / Fraser Island

There haven’t been many big reports from Fraser Island lately, but there have been steady captures of winter whiting starting to move in, along with dart, along the Fraser Coast beaches. Reports have been coming in from areas stretching from Waddy Point down to Indian head, and even as far north as Manann Beach. Good numbers of dart, whiting, and flathead have been caught along that stretch, which has been promising.

Inside Hervey Bay, the water temperature has dropped quite quickly, from around 24°C last weekend down to 19–20°C, thanks to that persistent westerly blowing for the past week. That temperature drop is great news for snapper season, with fish already being caught out at the 25-Fathom Hole. There hasn’t been much happening in close just yet, but with the water cooling, it shouldn’t be far off. The good news is there are plenty of yakka schooled up inshore along the island, which should help draw those bigger fish in soon.

There’s also been a solid run of Spanish mackerel right throughout the Bay, from Platypus Bay down to Six Mile, as well as good numbers of broad-barred mackerel adding to the fun. A few quality inshore coral trout have been caught over the past week, along with cod, golden trevally, queenfish, and smaller squire around Moon Ledge, Simpsons, and the artificial patches around Big Woody. The straits and flats fishing has improved noticeably since the netting bans, with mid-sized golden trevally being caught on fly, which has been great for the fishos chasing them on the flats.

Good catches of sand crabs have been coming from around Point Vernon in about 8 to 10 metres of water. In the rivers, particularly the Burrum and Mary, there have been some excellent catches of barra between 60 and 90cm, along with threadfin salmon. The prawns down at Woodgate and in the Burrum were firing, but they’ve started to quieten off now.

Fishos Tackleworld
Ph (07) 4128 1022 | www.fishostackleworld.com.au

Tin Can Bay

The Rainbow Beach Family Fishing Classic is in full swing, with some excellent fish being weighed in. Recently, a standout red emperor hit the scales at over 18kg, with several others around the 15kg mark also weighed in. There’s also been a solid 18kg cobia caught during the event. Along with those, anglers have been landing good numbers of pearl perch, snapper, and red emperor, particularly from areas further offshore.

For those in smaller boats, fishing closer to Rainbow Beach around the nursery grounds has been productive, especially when floatlining for snapper or using lightly weighted soft plastics like 5-6 inch jerk shads for snapper and grass emperor.

Back inshore, sand crabs have started to show up around the moored boats in Tin Can Bay, especially around the full moon, and there are still a few mud crabs around as well. The creeks have been producing plenty of bream, with small jerkbaits and 2 to 3-inch soft plastics fished deep into the snags working well.

Flathead have continued to fish well, with 3-inch curl tail grubs proving effective. Anglers throwing larger lures like 120mm to 160mm hardbodies and MOLIX glide baits up to 130mm have also been finding success, particularly when chasing the bigger models. Larger lures help avoid smaller fish and increase the chances of hooking better-quality flathead. Overall, there’s been a good mix of species on offer across the region.

The Chandlery Bait & Tackle
Ph (07) 5486 4744 | www.tcbchandlery.com.au

Maroochydore

There’s been bream throughout the system and whiting showing right down near the river mouth. Trevally have been active through the middle reaches, and there’s still a few mud crabs getting about in the middle to upper reaches.

Swan Boat Hire
Ph 0403 601 452 |www.swanboathire.com.au

Noosa

It’s been another week of really good fishing offshore from Noosa, with snapper, pearl perch, goldband snapper, amberjack, Spanish mackerel, tuskfish, jewfish, and bluefin tuna all on the chew. The combination of light winds and a gentle current has made for excellent conditions.

Deep Sea Fishing Co Noosa
Ph 0411 222 749 | www.deepseafishingco.com.au

Flathead have been around throughout most of the lower estuary—not in big numbers, but with plenty of moving about, they’ve still been worth the effort. Bream are absolutely thick everywhere at the moment, and there’s also been some nice golden trevally caught in Woods Bay.

Noosa River Fishing Safaris
Ph 0429 030 823 | www.noosariverfishing.com

Pending

Noosa Bluewater Charters
Ph (07) 5449 9355 | www.noosabluefishing.com.au

Fishing’s been pretty good lately, with a lot of activity around, which is great to see. Starting down towards Tewantin, around Lake Makepeace, there have been fair numbers of really good quality trevally moving through—typical for this time of year. Surprisingly, there are still a good number of mud crabs getting around, even with the colder water. A few have been caught up near the top of Makepeace as well

There have been plenty of good-sized bream and whiting in around the Marina and Tewantin, along with some quality big flathead. Around the front of the Boathouse, anglers have been landing some really nice bream and flathead too. Further up towards the river mouth, there’s also been a noticeable increase in trevally numbers moving through that stretch.

In Woods Bay and the surrounding spots, it’s been the usual mix of bream, whiting, trevally, and flathead. Around and under the Munna Point Bridge and along the canals, mud crabs have been going well, with quite a few around. As for prawns, nothing much showing up yet.

O Boat Hire & Bait Supply
Ph (07) 5449 7513 | www.oboathire.com

Mooloolaba

Right across the Mooloolah River and across the basin, there have been plenty of garfish caught on peeled prawns using size 10 long shank hooks and small floats. Prawns have also been active in the river, especially around the last full moon, with things going ballistic during the nighttime run. Squid have been in good numbers on the close-in reefs—any of the shallow reefs from about 10 metres down are worth a look.

Snapper have pushed in close, with plenty coming from Murphy’s Reef, Inner Gneerings, Currimundi Reef, and Coolum Reef. There’s also been some great grassy sweetlip caught up around Coolum. Spanish mackerel are still being caught on trolled hard bodies off Point Arkwright, and there have been plenty of jewfish showing up in the deeper gutters along the beaches. Overall, the fishing has been exceptional.

Tackleworld Kawana
Ph (07) 5444 0714 | www.tackleworldkawanafishingstore.com.au

There’s been plenty of grass emperor and snapper in close with the full moon and westerly winds lining up nicely to get them on the chew.

Smithys Fishing Charters
Ph 0407 574 868 | www.smithysfishingcharters.com.au

Caloundra

In the Bribie Passage, good numbers of bream are showing up as the spawning run gets underway. There’s also been solid numbers of tailor moving through the northern passage, from the bar mouth down through Bells Creek. Over the weekend, tailor were schooling up nicely, and a few flathead have started to show as well. The beaches have been a bit quiet, mostly due to the lead-up to the moon, but there have still been some bream, dart, chopper tailor, and the odd school jew around. The shallow reefs have been producing plenty of squire, snapper, and sweetlip, while the deeper reefs have seen cobia, tuskfish, and school mackerel starting to show up.

Crabs and prawns have gone quiet, likely due to the recent rain and those cold mornings, with temperatures dropping as low as four or five degrees. It’ll probably take another month or two before the crabs start firing again once things warm up.

Hot tip — snapper are usually not sitting right on the bottom, so floatlining or keeping your bait in the mid-water column will always be more effective.

Caloundra Fishing World
Ph (07) 5491 4566 | www.caloundrafishingworld.com.au

Northern Moreton Bay

The weather has been pretty good, and the fishing has followed suit. There are still a few Spanish mackerel around hutchies, with slow-trolled baits working well. There’s also been plenty of Snapper coming from the artificial reefs off Moreton, and also in around Bulwer through to Cowan, which covers the Curtain Artificial as well.

Closer inshore, there have been plenty of tailor around Redcliffe and under the Bribie Bridge at night, with some squid starting to show up there too. Snapper have been caught around Mud Island and peel island in the shallows, along with good numbers of squid.

Further up the rivers, the Pine and Caboolture Rivers have been fishing well on the outgoing tides, with some really good flathead being caught, along with plenty of action throughout the creeks—places like Ningi Creek and the mouth of Coochin Creek in the Pumicestone Passage have been producing. There’s also been some good winter whiting showing around the Cockle Banks, between Redcliffe and Bribie.

Tackleworld Lawnton  
Ph (07) 3205 7475 | www.facebook.com/tackleworldlawnton

Sandgate/Shorncliffe Pier

Pending

Tackle Land 
Ph (07) 3269 5060 | www.tackleland.com.au

Brisbane River

The lower reaches of the Brisbane River have been encouraging, with good threadfin salmon and jewfish about. Most of the jewfish have been just legal or slightly under, but the threadfin have been decent quality. They’ve pushed up a little, with flathead and snapper showing up from Bulimba and Hamilton (around the jetties) right through to the mouth of the river.

There are still a few mud crabs about, mainly from Wynnum Creek north up to the back of Fishermans Island, with the mangroves through that stretch fishing well for mud crabs. The area on the eastern side of Fishermans Island is also worth a look for diver whiting, particularly near the old compass adjustment buoy.

Mr Bait 
Ph 0431 222 721 | www.facebook.com/Mr-Bait-182344678957765

Moreton Bay Offshore

There’s been some great fishing in the shallow water between 10 and 40 metres along Moreton Island, with good catches of grassy sweetlip, snapper, tuskfish, morwong, and Moses perch all reported

High Calibre Charters
Ph 0421 922 713 | https://highcalibrefishingcharters.com.au/

Fished Cathy’s North on Saturday with reasonable results before moving out to the 35s, where there were plenty of snapper on offer but also plenty of sharks making things difficult. Along with the snapper, there were good numbers of pearl perch, Moses perch, and tuskfish. On Sunday, fishing in closer to Moreton around Shallow Tempest produced a great variety, including jewfish, golden trevally, amberjack, and some quality tuskfish.

Moreton island fishing charters
Ph 0413128056 | https://moretonislandfishingcharters.com.au/

Redcliffe Peninsula

There’s been a good spread of bream, whiting, flathead, and school jewfish showing up throughout Hayes Inlet, the Pine River, and Bramble Bay. Yellowfin whiting have been active in Hayes, the Pine, and along the eastern foreshores. Winter whiting have also been coming from around the Woody Point Jetty and in Deception Bay. Snapper and tailor have been caught along the eastern beaches, jetties, rocky points, and inshore reefs. Bramble Bay and the area off Woody Point Jetty have seen tailor, school mackerel, mac tuna, longtail tuna, and school jewfish moving through.

Hornibrook Bait & Tackle
Ph 0483 846 966 | www.facebook.com/HornibrookBT

Nth Stradbroke Island

There have been good numbers of bream along the waterfront at Manly, with tailor also showing up along the waterfront and around Wellington Point. Whiting have been reported at The Darcy, just north of there, and squid are being caught in the shallows around Green Island. In the Brisbane River, prawns are still about around the Chelmer area, and there have been some great snapper caught as well.

Water Tower Bait & Tackle
Ph(07) 3396 1833 | https://watertowerbaitandtackle.com.au

This week there have been whiting showing up at Maroon Banks and tailor around Cleveland Point at the top of the tide, with plenty of snapper being caught at Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef, which is always reliable this time of year. It’s been producing some really good fish lately, particularly on cuttlefish and red spot whiting baits, which have been very popular and working well. There have also been some nice blackspot tuskfish coming in from around the Bulwer wrecks, with three-spot crabs proving to be the standout bait for them. Bream are holding around the Raby Bay canals, with solid numbers reported in that area. As for the crabs, they’ve definitely dropped off a bit lately, likely due to the cooler weather.

Mossops Tackle Store Cleveland
Ph (07) 3821 1240 | www.mossopsfishing.com.au

Moreton Bay/ Jumpinpin

It seems like the bait is still holding up north around the Redcliffe area, but Mud Island has been fishing well this week for squire and other shallow water reef species. There’s still been reports of flathead and pelagics being caught off Shorncliffe Pier and further north, so it’s definitely worth a try over the weekend, especially with the weather looking good.

Peel Island has also started fishing well for those targeting shallow water squire, with some solid fish coming from the shallows around Horseshoe Bay. The prawns are still running from the Redland Bay Channel down through to Cabbage Tree Point—just look for the birds, and you’ll be in with a good shot at threadfin salmon, jewfish, and tailor.

Good schools of grunter and bream have been showing up in the shallows around the southern bay islands up on the shallows. Finding bait and throwing small, lightweight plastics will give you the best chance.

Jumpinpin has been fishing well now that the water is starting to clean up. Tailor are still coming through on the last of the incoming tide around the mouth, and with the bream spawning, areas like Kalinga Bank, Crusoe Island, and Short Island have been producing quality mid-30s bream in the deeper channels.

Flathead numbers are also building with some good-sized fish being caught. The run-out tide has been best, with anglers getting results from the banks around Cabbage Tree Point and Jacobs Well. Anywhere you can find bait, the fish have been stacked, and smaller presentations like three-inch minnows or prawn imitations have been working really well. There’s also been some nice threadfin salmon turning up between sovereign Island and Cabbage Tree Point.

Capn’s Charters
Ph 0410 590 049 | Capns Charters – Lure & Soft Plastic Fishing Charter

Jumpinpin

Whiting have been caught around the Lagoon at the top of South Straddie, as well as the Pig Sties and Gold Bank. There’s been some good bream coming from Kalinga Bank, the Dead Tree, and Cobby Rocks. Flathead have also been active, with fish taken north of Eden Island, at the bottom of Kangaroo Island, and around Cabbage Tree Point.

Gem Bait & Tackle
Ph (07) 3287 3868 | www.facebook.com/gembait

This week has produced plenty of good jewfish, threadfin, tailor, and flathead. The threadfin have been running well, with solid numbers and good-sized fish caught on a range of lures and baits. Tailor have mostly been school-sized, although a few larger fish have been landed. Flathead are reasonably spread throughout the Pin, with no particular hotspots or standout techniques. Whiting have also been fishing well, especially on live bloodworms.

Jacobs Well Boat Hire
Ph (07) 5546 2608 | www.jacobswellboathire.com.au

South Stradbroke Island

There have been tailor caught in the Seaway and the deeper channels leading up to it, as well as around the yellow marker on the northeastern corner of Crusoe Island at the Pin. Mulloway have been showing up in the deep channel off Millionaire’s Row, while flathead have been active along the eastern side of Rat Island at the mouth of the southern arm of the Coomera River. Whiting have been holding over the weed banks north of Crab Island at Runaway Bay.

Gold Coast Boat Hire 
Ph 0432 710 892 | www.goldcoastboathire.com.au

Gold Coast Broadwater

The fishing at the moment is fantastic, with great weather ahead for the weekend. Tailor schools have been found in the Broadwater from the top of Crab Island down to Sea World. The morning run-in tide should see them appear over the weekend. Keep an eye out for birds or sometimes just a bit of surface activity—they were out the front of Runaway Bay Marina during the week. Bream schools are moving in, with good numbers and quality coming from the foreshores on the high tide. The high tide at night will produce the better quality fish. Use flesh baits or baits with plenty of scent, as the bream will be feeding and pushing up into the shallows on the rising tide. It’s a great time of year for land-based fishing if you can brave the cold.

Another land-based option is the surf beaches, which have been on fire with good deep water close in, especially at low tide. Great catches of dart, bream, tarwhine, tailor, and the occasional flathead have been reported. Good news—the squid are back in town, with the edges of the main channels fishing well on the run-in tide at the moment. In front of Runaway Bay, Carters Bank, and in front of Sea World to the Yacht Club have all been producing.

David McDonald
Private Angler | Runaway Bay Marina

Southport

The calm winter conditions have been a very welcome change after the windy, wet summer and autumn, even with those 5-degree mornings. Young Oscar scored fish of the week with a cracking 80cm snapper taken on a float-lined Tweed Bait pilchard. There’s only been one Spanish mackerel reported this week, with the cooler 21-degree water marking an obvious slowdown in their bite. On the upside, it’s shaping up for a great snapper and cobia season ahead. The Gold Coast is absolute tuna town right now, with longtail tuna showing up on almost every reef.

BK’s Gold Coast Fishing Charters
Ph 0414 293 034 | https://bksfishing.com.au/

There’s been some nice snapper showing up in close on the reefs, with pilchards proving very popular as bait. Tailor have been active along the beaches, especially up around Jumpinpin, and there’s also been reports of squid up towards Jacobs Well, along with a few more tailor in that area as well. It’s been an interesting mix with a few fish getting around. The usual bream and whiting are still hanging about, and some good quality flathead have been caught too, so overall it hasn’t been a bad run this week.

Offshore, longtail tuna have been reported, but not much else at the moment. There haven’t been many reports of cobia or other species this week, with most of the action focused on tailor along the beaches, snapper on the reefs, and the longtails offshore. As for crabs, there haven’t been many coming through lately, and that recent cold snap likely slowed them down a bit.

Gold Coast Fishing Tackle
Ph (07) 5679 0840 | www.goldcoastfishingtackle.com.au

Tweed Coast

No report this week

Cushy Fishing Charters
Ph 0418 631 076 | www.cushyfishingcharters.com.au

This time of year always brings that crossover into winter fishing, and it’s shaping up to be a really good season. The tailor have been absolutely firing off the headlands and beaches, with some solid fish pushing up around the 70cm mark. Anglers are still chasing the big jewfish off the headlands, but they haven’t moved up into the rivers just yet. There have also been plenty of larger flathead showing up in the shallows, taking advantage of the sun and warming themselves on the higher tides.

Offshore, the snapper are starting to show in good numbers, with pearlies mixed in, making for some solid catches already. There’s been a noticeable run of cobia at the moment too. Plus the whale migration has excitably kicked off. That’s about the size of it this week, with conditions really starting to lean into that classic winter fishing pattern.

Addict Tackle
Ph (07) 5523 3535 | https://www.addicttackle.com.au/

Brunswick Heads

All types of fishing are firing right now with excellent conditions on offer. Offshore, there’s been a good mix of mackerel, longtail tuna, snapper, and cobia. The beaches and rocks are fishing well too, with tailor, dart, and bream being caught, along with the odd jewfish mixed in. The rivers are producing quality bream, blackfish, mangrove jacks, flathead, whiting, and the occasional jewfish. Mud crabs are still being caught but have started to quieten down over the past few days.

Bruns Beach, Bait & Tackle
https://www.instagram.com/brunsbeachbaitntackle/

Ballina

The cooler weather is still keeping the flathead a little on the quiet side in the river, but there have been fish coming from both the creeks and the main river. They’ve been a bit more active later in the day, especially on pilchards and prawns. Good numbers of bream have been landed in the lower reaches of the river on the run-in tides, with prawns, mullet, and squid all proving effective. Small curly-tail soft plastics have also accounted for a number of fish, with jighead weights varying depending on the tides.

Some quality mulloway have been showing up at night on both live baits and lures, and the tides this weekend should line up nicely for them. Mud crab numbers have dropped off quite a bit, but there are still a few around in the main river and North Creek.

The close reefs have produced snapper, tuna, and the occasional mackerel. With live bait still a bit scarce, pilchards, squid, or 5-inch soft plastics have been the go. The current has been inconsistent wider out, but there have still been some snapper on the southern 32s, along with a few pearl perch and smaller kingfish on the northern 48s.

The beaches have been a little quiet this week, but with the weather looking good for the weekend, we should see a few more bream, tailor, and flathead starting to come through.

Ballina Bait and Tackle
Ph 0266862527 | https://www.facebook.com/p/Ballina-Bait-and-Tackle-100063582669959/

Evans Head

Airforce Beach has been producing some good bream, flathead, jewfish, and the odd tailor, with more jewfish showing up around both the north and south walls. There’s also been a mix of bream, flathead, and luderick in those areas. Surprisingly, there are still good numbers of mud crabs hanging around further upstream. Since the weather has settled, Chaos Reef has been fishing well with solid numbers of snapper and trag, and around South Reef, there’s still the odd Spanish mackerel being caught.

Evans Head Sports & Marine
Ph (02) 6682 4536 | www.facebook.com/EvansheadSportsMarine

Yamba

The ocean rocks and beaches have been fishing really well, with good numbers of bream and a few flathead still showing up. Blackfish are still about too, and there’s been some solid tailor turning up along the gutters. In the river, things have started to improve after all the recent rain. There’s finally been some catches of flathead pushing back into the system, particularly along the middle walls, around the training walls, and possibly up into Oyster Channel. The water’s still pretty dirty, so it doesn’t look all that appealing, but there must be enough salt influence underneath to encourage the fish to move back in, which is a good sign. Hopefully the rain stays away now so conditions can continue to improve.

Offshore has been fishing really well on the calmer days, with some impressive catches of pearl perch and snapper reported. The pearlies in particular seem to be around in really good numbers at the moment, which is great to see. There’s also been a few tuskfish mixed in, and while there haven’t been many reports of mackerel this week, they could still be about. Longtail tuna are still turning up, along with some bycatch like Maori cod and Moses perch out wide.

Yamba Bait and Tackle
Ph (02) 6646 1514 | https://www.facebook.com/yambabaitandtackle/

FRESHWATER FISHING

Wivenhoe Dam

Over at Wivenhoe Dam, there’s been some solid fish caught, especially around Platypus Cliffs in Billy’s Bay, and heading up the dam towards Hammond Cove. Those fish are still on the move, trying to find where they’re comfortable, but you’ll pick them up on crankbaits, metal spoons, soft plastics, and chatterbaits. It’s just a matter of moving around and finding where they’re sitting. If you’re trolling at Wivenhoe, a lot of good fish were taken over the weekend rolling hard bodies around the submerged timber near the old riverbed. Troll back and forth across that old river course, and you’re a good chance at finding some better fish.

Charltons Fishing
Ph (07) 3818 1677 | www.charltonsfishing.com.au

Moogerah Dam

At Moogerah Dam, fish are still holding close to the weed beds, and the best way to tempt them has been with a jerkbait worked right along the edges. Small plastics will also work, but the jerkbait tends to be the go-to when they’re tight in the weed. There are still fish roaming the open flats and around the spit near the dam wall, and for those, metal vibes, spoons, soft plastics, and crankbaits have been doing the job. It’s definitely worth working the edges around the rest of the dam with crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, cherub blades, and chatterbaits, as fish are often holding in those areas as well. Interestingly, chatterbaits have also been producing in deeper water at other dams recently, which is a good reminder to keep them in the mix even when fishing deeper.

Charltons Fishing
Ph (07) 3818 1677 | www.charltonsfishing.com.au

Hinze Dam

Hinze Dam on the Gold Coast is still fishing well, with some quality bass coming from the eastern arm. Up the backs of the bays and along the points has been the go for numbers, with lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and shallow diving crankbaits doing the job. Once you move into the main basin, you’ll also find fish holding deeper near the dam wall and around the old quarry. Metal spoons and soft plastics are the go in that deeper water to get down to them.

Charltons Fishing
Ph (07) 3818 1677 | www.charltonsfishing.com.au

North Pine Dam

In the freshwater, North Pine Dam has produced some bigger bass recently on trolled hard bodies and metal spoons.

Tackleworld Lawnton  
Ph (07) 3205 7475 | www.facebook.com/tackleworldlawnton

North Pine Dam, it’s been fishing really well with plenty of healthy bass coming from the banks. Metal spoons, soft plastics, and spinnerbaits have all been working as you walk the edges, making it a great option for a land-based session. Grab a rod, take the kids for a walk around the dam, and you should be able to pick up a few quality fish along the way.

Charltons Fishing
Ph (07) 3818 1677 | www.charltonsfishing.com.au

Lake Lenthalls – Lake Monduran

Monduran and Lenthalls have been a bit quieter but are still fishing really well. Some great-sized Barra up to 120cm have been landed on charters, and some of the locals have been putting together impressive sessions, landing up to 5 or 6 barra per trip, with most fish around the metre mark.

Fishos Tackleworld
Ph (07) 4128 1022 | www.fishostackleworld.com.au