Fishing Report for 13th March 2025
Queensland east coast: Spanish mackerel closed seasons dates: 1st of March to 21st March. Please see https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/fisheries/closures/tidal/seasons
Due to damage from Tropical Cyclone Alfred, the following Seqwater recreation areas remain closed:
- Baroon Pocket, Borumba Dam, Cooloolabin Dam, Ewen Maddock, Gold Creek Dam, Hinze Dam, Lake Kurwongbah, Lake Manchester, Lake Samsonvale (North Pine), Maroon Dam (open from 15 March 2025 but no on-water access), Moogerah Dam.
The following areas are partially open from 13 March 2025 (no on-water access unless stated):
- AG Muller Park, Fred Haigh Park (road works), Wyaralong, Meebun Day Use Area, Lilybrook Recreation Area.
Hervey Bay/ Fraser Island
With the strong SE winds lately, bluefin and mac tuna have been spotted in the Bay, even close to the shore, with sightings from the beach. Expect more of them around the islands, through Platypus Bay, and Watoomba. Once open season begins on March 21st, smaller Spanish mackerel (3-5kg) will start moving into the Bay, lasting through to May before heading back offshore.
The Burrum system has flooded due to water release from Lenthalls Dam, flushing prawns and bait to the mouth, making it a prime spot for fish. The Teddington Weir has also spilled over, and while it’s unclear how much water was released, the Mary River’s impact is uncertain. Grunter should be caught around the mouth if the fresh water pushes out. Mud crabs will fire up in the coming weeks after the rain, with a lot of crabs expected to surface in the area.
| Fishos Tackleworld Ph (07) 4128 1022 | www.fishostackleworld.com.au |
Noosa
In March, the close reefs are teeming with grass sweetlip. These fish are best caught with floating bait, using little or no lead depending on the current—aim for the lightest tackle possible. Target them in the 15-40m depth range, where they fight hard and taste great. They particularly love whole pilchards, squid, or flesh baits.
| Deep Sea Fishing Co Noosa Ph 0411 222 749 | www.deepseafishingco.com.au |
We’re heading into what’s arguably the best time of year for inshore reef fishing! A bit of rain really fires up the reef species, so expect plenty of sweetlip, coral trout, pearl perch, tuskfish, and snapper. Cobia, mulloway, and cod will also be biting well over the next few months. Depending on the fresh water levels, anglers might need to travel a bit further to find Spanish mackerel (once the season is open), but they should be hanging around the 50m line. Typically, the sharks start to thin out during March, so fingers crossed they move on soon—they’ve been a real challenge this summer.
| Noosa Bluewater Charters Ph (07) 5449 9355 | www.noosabluefishing.com.au |
Maroochydore
Plenty of crabs are around, but fishing has been quiet lately. Once the water settles a bit, it will definitely be worth targeting the creek mouths and the motorway bridge. Crabbing should be productive upstream from Chambers Island, especially for mud crabs, although sand crabs are a bit scarce at the moment.
| Swan Boat Hire Ph 0403 601 452 |www.swanboathire.com.au |
Mooloolaba
Once we can get back out, the inshore reefs should fire up around Easter. Grass sweetlip will be a solid target, and there should be plenty of wahoo and mackerel sitting along the dirty water line, likely around the outer beacons. The clearer waters toward 12 Mile should also be productive, with snapper typically showing up well after a big rainfall event. This will also be a prime time for crabbing, especially in the deeper holes where the crabs tend to hold to the saltier water.
| Tackleworld Kawana Ph (07) 5444 0714 | www.tackleworldkawanafishingstore.com.au |
Caloundra
Mud crabs are definitely on the move, and there have been reports of mangrove jacks and trevally in the canals. Other than that, not much else has been coming through, with today being one of the first real chances for people to get back on the water. There’s still a lot of debris floating around the passage, so it’s worth taking extra care when running around in the tinny.
Once offshore conditions settle, the inshore reef fishing should fire up with sweetlip and snapper. And with the Spanish mackerel season reopening on the 21st, plenty of anglers will be gearing up to chase them as soon as the closure lifts.
| Caloundra Fishing World Ph (07) 5491 4566 | www.caloundrafishingworld.com.au |
Bribie Island
Mud crabs have been active, especially around Ningi creek and Banksia Beach. With all the freshwater runoff, it might take a little longer before the fishing really picks up, but crabbing is definitely worth a shot in the meantime.
| Gateway Bribie Adventures Ph (07) 5497 5253 | https://www.facebook.com/gatewaybaitandtackle/ |
Northern Moreton Bay
Once we get a break in the weather, the snapper around Redcliffe should fire up, as they often do after a bit of rain. The southern bay, particularly around Mud Island and Peel Island, should also fish well for snapper and grass sweetlip—finding the cleaner water will be the key.
The bream have likely pushed down into the creeks after the big flush, but give it a couple of weeks, and they should really start to fire up again. Mud crabs should be on the move now, with the fresh stirring them up, so working the creeks should be worthwhile and try to find some deep holes where they will be sitting in the lower end for that higher salt water ratio. Offshore, once the weather settles and we get some decent windows, fishing should be solid for a few weeks.
| Tackleworld Lawnton
Ph (07) 3205 7475 | www.facebook.com/tackleworldlawnton |
Sandgate
Fishing was solid on Thursday and Friday, with anglers hitting the water around Sandgate, Brighton, and Nudgee. Conditions were perfect—flat seas, crystal-clear water—and the flathead were coming to the net one after another. Chris was out and reckons it was some of the best fishing he’s seen in a while. Bream were also on the chew, with some quality fish landed. After Cyclone Alfred, the water quality has slowed things down, but Young Harvey (pictured below) still managed to pull a cracker flathead off Baxters Jetty. Fingers crossed for more good reports next week
| Tackle Land
Ph (07) 3269 5060 | www.tackleland.com.au |
Brisbane River – Northern Moreton Bay
Plenty of crab pots and bait have been selling, so more people are likely to start targeting them good sized mud crabs. The biggest concern right now is still the debris in the water and the heavy freshwater runoff, which has thrown everything out of sync. It’ll probably take another two weeks to settle. The big tides building with the moon should speed up the process. When it does settle, it’ll be worth trying for everything around the bay’s islands—snapper, sweetlip, and mackerel—especially with all the bait that’s been flushed into the bay.
| Mr Bait
Ph 0431 222 721 | www.facebook.com/Mr-Bait-182344678957765 |
Redcliffe Peninsula
No report this week due to Cyclone
| Hornibrook Bait & Tackle Ph 0483 846 966 www.facebook.com/HornibrookBT |
Redland Bay
At the moment, those heading out are encountering plenty of sharks and catfish due to the freshwater push into the bay. However, in the canals, there have been good numbers of bream, particularly in the Raby Bay canals, along with a few flathead and flounder caught from Cleveland Point through to Ormiston and down to Wellington Point.
As we move into next week and the water begins to clear, the fishing should improve significantly. With fish deprived of oxygen and food over the past week, they’ll be feeding aggressively once conditions stabilize. This pattern was evident after the 2021 floods when the bay experienced one of its best runs in the following months.
| Mossops Tackle Store Cleveland Ph (07) 3821 1240 | www.mossopsfishing.com.au |
Moreton Bay/ Jumpinpin
Jacobs well – After the cyclone, we saw around 500 to 600mm of rain over just a few days, so the water is filthy, and it’ll take a while to clean up. With the Coomera, Logan, and Albert Rivers pushing all that dirty water out, we’re expecting murky conditions for some time. Hopefully, by late March or more realistically April, we’ll see things start to clear up, and when that happens, we should see good numbers of threadfin salmon and jewfish moving through, especially as the prawns return. Flathead season is also shaping up to be a strong one—some of the best flathead fishing we’ve had was after the floods a few years ago, so fingers crossed for a repeat of that this year.
As for Moreton Bay, the shallow reef fishing should bounce back well once things settle. The bay tends to clear up faster than the Jumpinpin region since it doesn’t have as many feeder creeks and rivers dumping in as much runoff. Once both systems have cleaned up, fishing in the Bay and further offshore should be excellent, and we’re looking forward to getting back out there.
| Capn’s Charters Ph 0410 590 049 | Capns Charters – Lure & Soft Plastic Fishing Charter |
Jumpinpin
No report this week due to Cyclone
| Gem Bait & Tackle Ph (07) 3287 3868 | www.facebook.com/gembait |
With Cyclone Alfred ripping through the Pin, the water has turned a milky brown. Freshwater species like tilapia and bony bream are showing up in typically saltwater areas, while saltwater fish are scarce. The region is littered with debris, and the high freshwater concentration has shut down the bite for many species.
| Jacobs Well Boat Hire Ph (07) 5546 2608 | www.jacobswellboathire.com.au |
South Stradbroke Island
The Broadwater is currently chocolate brown, with poor visibility due to heavy debris, including tree branches and sunken vessels, creating serious navigation hazards. My advice is to stay on shore unless you absolutely need to venture out. It could take several weeks for the waters to clear up, depending on the weather. In the meantime, mud crabbing is a good option, especially with all the fresh water flowing downstream. Alternatively, consider a road trip to the Gold Coast hinterland to target bass while supporting the local community there.
| Gold Coast Boat Hire
Ph 0432 710 892 | www.goldcoastboathire.com.au |
Gold Coast Broadwater
Hopefully most people are back to normal after Alfred. There has been a lot of rain putting all rivers into flood and there will be fresh water pushing out for about a week. Unfortunately it will push those prawns out to sea just as we were getting good numbers. It seems to happen every year when the prawns start. What it should mean is the season should last longer as it did last year. When we have a rain events like this it creates a great time to target mudcrabs in big numbers. The fresh water pushes all the crabs from right up the rivers in creeks down to deep water where the water is still salty. This means a large concentration of crabs in the deepest sections of rivers or further out in the main channels. Have a look at your charts and find those deeper sections and target those areas. Crabs are being caught in 6-8m at the moment so don’t be afraid of too deep as there’s a lot of fresh on top. You will need long ropes and there is a high chance of debris catching your float but the reward can be worth it. It is worth trying a number of different spots to locate the crabs and once you find them move the rest of your pots. Make sure your crab pots floats are marked and the pot itself is tagged up. The bag limit is 7 per person and 4 pots each.
| David McDonald Private Angler | Runaway Bay Marina |
Southport
With all the fresh water around, we’re not expecting any mackerel, so the focus will be on snapper and cobia for now. Once we head east, we’ll start trolling to find the blue water. Fingers crossed the FADs are in clean water, and the pelagics are hungry.
| BK’s Gold Coast Fishing Charters Ph 0414 293 034 | https://bksfishing.com.au/ |
The weather looks great for an offshore trip, with excellent conditions expected. Offshore fishing will likely be much better than inshore at the moment, and the wave height looks favorable for Sunday, so it’s all systems go. The plan would be to head offshore, targeting blue marlin, striped marlin, or yellowfin tuna in the offshore canyons while trolling. If that’s not on the agenda, they can head into the 50 fathoms for striped marlin or a smaller black marlin. It’s also worth jigging around the 42 fathoms for species like amberjack and Samson fish. If conditions aren’t too rough and the current is manageable, they should also find some good pearl perch and snapper.
Back on the 36s and 24s, expect plenty of jewfish and snapper, especially in the dirty water. Snapper are known to thrive in murky water, and live baits fished on the bottom can land some big specimens. The fishing in these conditions should produce solid action.
For crabbing, mud crabs are on the move, so now is a great time to set your crab pots. The crabs are moving around with the fresh water runoff, and placing a pot out at the 24 fathoms will likely yield some results. Crabs are also being found up in creeks like Pimpama, Coomera, and Nerang. It’s best to avoid the run-out tide to steer clear of catfish and other undesirable catches, and focus on the incoming tide. Expect to catch whiting, flathead, and jacks. You can also target jacks and trevally with surface poppers at night, especially with the full moon and jelly prawns around.
| Gold Coast Fishing Tackle Ph (07) 5679 0840 | www.goldcoastfishingtackle.com.au |
Tweed Coast
There’s still plenty of debris moving around, which will continue shifting the muddy water. For the local creeks, be cautious—there have been some sewage leaks, so it’s worth being mindful of what you’re catching and eating. That said, mud crabs should be on the move in the dirty water, making it a good time to drop the pots.
Jewfish are also a solid target off the headlands, as they tend to thrive in the slightly rough and dirty water. Aside from that, most anglers are waiting for conditions to settle and clear up before heading out in full force.
| Addict Tackle Ph (07) 5523 3535 | https://www.addicttackle.com.au/ |
Brunswick Heads
No deep sea report at the moment, but the river is pumping with big bream, many over 40cm, and most being released. There have also been a few jewfish and mangrove jacks caught. Mud crabs are abundant as well.
| Bruns Beach, Bait & Tackle https://www.instagram.com/brunsbeachbaitntackle/ |
Ballina
There has been no offshore fishing post ex-tropical cyclone alfred as we currently have a few more days of significant outflow of the remaining flood water. Conditions aren’t looking too bad for the weekend, so I am expecting to see a few boats head out to the 32’s and beyond in search of some mahi mahi, snapper and other bottom species. The close reefs are looking very discolored which will not be ideal for mackerel. At the mouth of the river the flood water has fired up the mulloway, with some quality fish up to 27 kg coming from the break walls. Large soft plastics or hard body lures have had the most success. Some good numbers of flathead and bream have also come from the area closest to the mouth of the river. The bream have been keener on baits such as mullet, pilchards and mullet gut, while the flathead have been aggressively attacking 3-5 inch soft plastics. Brighter colors seemed to have been working slightly better given the poor visibility at present. The beaches further away from the river mouth are a little clearer at present, and will probably fish a little better, so check out Seven Mile and Patch’s over the weekend if you would like to wet a line.
| Ballina Bait and Tackle Ph 0266862527 | https://www.facebook.com/p/Ballina-Bait-and-Tackle-100063582669959/ |
Evans Head
Jewfish and bream have been biting at Airforce Beach and Main Beach, with more action around the rock walls at the river mouth. In the lower reaches of the river, bream and flathead are active, while mud crabs are still being found in the lower reaches, particularly in deeper holes where the saltwater hasn’t been overrun by fresh water.
Offshore, before the storm hit, some anglers were chasing snapper and trag, but the freshwater runoff is still heavily impacting the bite.
| Evans Head Sports & Marine Ph (02) 6682 4536 | www.facebook.com/EvansheadSportsMarine |
Yamba
The river is going to stay dirty for quite a while, given how much water has come through. With the sheer volume of runoff, it’ll take a long time for things to clear up, so we’re looking at murky conditions for the foreseeable future. Most fish will push out onto the beaches or just outside the river system, and as things begin to clean up slightly on an incoming tide, you might start to see them around the mouth. However, it’ll take even longer for the bread-and-butter species to properly return in good numbers. At the moment, most anglers are focused on chasing jewfish off the end of the wall, as floodwaters often push them into these areas.
| Yamba Bait and Tackle Ph (02) 6646 1514 | https://www.facebook.com/yambabaitandtackle/ |
FRESHWATER FISHING (Please see closure at the start)
Borumba Dam
For those fishing the dams, Lake Borumba has risen with the recent inflows, and the fish will likely be feeding along the freshly covered edges. Working these areas should be productive, as fish take advantage of the new food sources washing in.
| Tackleworld Kawana Ph (07) 5444 0714 | www.tackleworldkawanafishingstore.com.au |
Kurwongbah and North Pine Dam
In the dams, bass are being caught, but again, cleaner water is the main factor—find that, and you’ll find the fish.
| Tackleworld Lawnton
Ph (07) 3205 7475 | www.facebook.com/tackleworldlawnton |
Hinze Dam
Hinze Dam offers potential for fishing around the rising water, as the new ground created by the tide over the grass flats could attract fish. It’s a good idea to use your sounder to locate areas with concentrations of fish. Start by targeting the points and then try soft plastics or metal jigs, fishing vertically to target those fish effectively.
| Gold Coast Fishing Tackle Ph (07) 5679 0840 | www.goldcoastfishingtackle.com.au |
THIS WEEK’S GALLERY
David McDonald
Noosa Bluewater Charters
Deep Sea Fishing Co Noosa
Tackle Land
