Fishing Report for 31st July 2025

Fishing Report Thu 31 Jul 2025

***Seasonal closure for snapper and pearl perch will be in effect from July 15th 25 to August 15th, 2025***

Hervey Bay / Fraser Island

The beaches and creeks around Toogoom, Woodgate, Burrum Heads, and along the Esplanade in Hervey Bay have seen good numbers of flathead and winter whiting. Inshore reefs and the stretch past Big Woody down the straights have produced plenty of fish, including broadbar mackerel in good numbers. Quality queenfish, along with some grunter, cod, and trout, have been caught around the gutters.
At Rooney’s 25-fathom hole, big Spanish mackerel are being caught using live yakkas as bait, with cod and trout also showing up. Offshore reefs remain productive, with deep dropping in the 200 to 300-metre range bringing up flame tail, bar cod, and ruby snapper. The Bay’s pelagic scene has been quiet lately, but around the Wathumba area, big longtail tuna up to 20 kilograms have been caught down deep feeding on yakka schools.

Fraser Straits continues to produce tiger squid, which remain a popular target. Flathead, winter whiting, grunter, blue salmon, and small jewfish are being caught throughout the system. Mulloway have started showing up as well, adding to the variety. The Burrum system is fishing well, with strong numbers of flathead and plenty of smaller tailor, supported by abundant bait. In the Mary system, blue salmon and flathead are being caught regularly.

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

Tin Can Bay

Winter whiting have been in good number especially near the power lines all the way to the entrance to Carlo. Squid have also been showing up — not in huge numbers, but good sizes. Try upping the sizes of your jig to a 3 or 3.5. Fishing deep around the moored boats has been productive. Also try mixing up colours; start bright and switch over to a dark colour until you find what’s working. Flathead are being caught at the mouth of Crab Creek, mostly on the last couple of hours of the run-out tide. Trolling the edges of the flats during the run-out has also been a winner. Lures like Tango Shads and Dr Stretch have been racking up the numbers. There have been good-sized tailor moving through the Bay. Keep an eye out while travelling, if you spot birds or bait, it’s worth having a cast or a troll past them. Norman Point has seen a nice run of grassies. Squid baits, pilchards and small vibes have worked well. Some anglers are also getting fish on 20–30g slow-pitch jigs.

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

Noosa

The snapper closure is still in effect, but plenty of tuskfish, moses perch, cobia, goldband sweetlip, and amberjack are being caught on the local reefs. Moses perch are showing in good numbers. The weather has been great, making it a prime time for fishing out off Noosa.

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

Golden trevally and flathead have been caught in good numbers around Woods Bay. Bream are widespread throughout the area, especially along the rock edges and pontoons. A few whiting have also been taken along the shallows near the river mouth, mostly on yabbies and worms during the run-in tide.

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

Another good week of weather has seen plenty of quality species biting. North Reef has produced lots of grass sweetlip, along with Moses perch, tuskfish, and Spanish mackerel. Longer trips up at Double Island Point have been rewarding with quality tuskfish, cobia, hussar, and red emperor.

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

In the lakes, jewfish have been active alongside bream, flathead, trevally, and whiting. Around the Makepeace Island area, the jewfish are starting to fire up with the season turning on for them; and mud crab numbers have improved too. In front of the Boathouse, bream and tailor have been caught in the clearer water. Noosa has been fishing well overall, with Woods Bay producing plenty of mud crabs this week.

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

Mooloolaba

Starting with the Maroochy River, there have been good whiting caught from the motorway bridge down to the mouth, along with solid flathead around the river mouth itself. In the Mooloolah River, flathead and bream have both been reported at La Balsa Park, with consistent catches from the shore and nearby pontoons.

Offshore, grassy sweetlip have been caught on the close-in reefs, and kingfish have been showing up out wide at the Outer Gneerings. Along the beaches, jewfish have been taken from the deeper gutters, and there’s been the odd tailor landed off Point Cartwright.

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

There’s been grass emperor and snapper (snapper released) showing up around Hancock Shoal, while Cape Moreton has produced jew and kingfish.

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

Caloundra

Throughout the Passage, there’s been a mix of bream, tailor, trevally, and the occasional quality flathead. The canals have also been producing trevally and queenfish. Tailor are still showing up along the beaches, along with good numbers of dart.

Offshore, there have been a few Spanish mackerel about, but most fishos are targeting grassy sweetlip and tuskfish over the shallow reefs. School mackerel and the odd cobia have been around in the same areas. It’s also worth checking the really shallow ground for giant squid, which have been turning up more frequently.

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

Northern Moreton Bay

Unfortunately, it’s shaping up to be a blowy weekend, so offshore fishing opportunities will likely be limited. But for those who did get out earlier in the week, there were Spanish mackerel caught around Hutchies Reef on trolled dead baits. A few tailor were also taken closer in around Settlement Point. With the snapper closure still in place, there hasn’t been much else happening offshore.

Inshore, there’s been plenty of tailor caught around Redcliffe, especially through the Bribie channel and under the bridge at night. Flathead have been fishing well around the mouth of the Brisbane River. The Pine River and the Caboolture River have also produced some good flathead, and the mouths of the creeks feeding into Pumicestone Passage have had consistent activity, particularly on the incoming tide.

There have been reports of school jew caught in the upper reaches of both the Pine and Caboolture Rivers, and even in the creeks running into the Passage near Coochin. Winter whiting have been turning up on the Cockle Banks and the front of Scarborough, with some fishos landing good summer whiting despite them being out of season around Hays inlet. There’s also been some solid whiting caught through the skids which is in the Pumicestone Passage.

Mud crabs are still around, even though it’s winter. The upper reaches of the creeks are holding some good quality crabs at the moment.

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

Moreton Bay Offshore

Shallow tempest produced a few gold spot wrasse and the odd Spanish mackerel. Snapper were around in good numbers but had to be released due to the current closure.

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

Sandgate/Shorncliffe Pier

Fishing was tougher this week with the wind, but still possible for those who timed it right. Monday’s session at Shorncliffe Pier produced a solid run of quality bream, with several going 27cm and very fat through the shoulders. A few flathead also showed up in the first 80m of the pier. Once schools of whiting were located, flathead weren’t far behind.

Small live winter whiting fire bait worked well on the flatties, especially given how active they are. One unlucky hookup turned out to be a grinner. Some nice jew have been caught this week in the Pine River, Cabbage Tree Creek and around Shorncliffe Pier. Live pike and herring have worked, as have white or pearl-coloured soft plastics.

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

Brisbane River

From the front of Wynnum Creek north to the Darcy Light and behind Fisherman’s Island, whiting have been consistent. Fish in 8 to 10 feet of water and steer clear of the weed beds. If you start pulling weed in, it’s time to move, the fish are usually just outside those patches. Flathead have also been caught in the same area. In the river, bream and flathead have been steady over the past few weeks. No jewfish or threadfin reports this week, which is unusual.

Squid reports are still coming in, with tiger squid and cuttlefish showing up at the top end of Green Island and out the front of Wellington Point. A few have also been caught at night along the Wynnum foreshore and the Manly rock walls. There’s also been the odd mud crab around, mostly in the mangroves and lower reaches of the Brisbane River.

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

Redcliffe Peninsula

Tailor, bream, whiting, flathead and school jew have been caught in Hayes Inlet, the Pine River, Bramble Bay, off Woody Point jetty, and off Scarborough. Yellowfin whiting are still in Hayes, the Pine, and along the Eastern foreshores. Winter whiting, flathead and tailor have been coming from north of Scarborough, Deception Bay and Bramble Bay. Tailor and school jew are also being caught off the Eastern beaches, jetties, rocky points and inshore areas. Squid are hanging around the jetties, rocky spots and inshore shallows too.

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

Nth Stradbroke Island

Whiting have been caught just north of the Darcy Light and around Wellington Point. Green Island has produced a few squid, including tigers, and there’s been tailor along the Manly rock wall.

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

The forecast isn’t looking great, with conditions expected to blow up by the end of the weekend. In the meantime, there have been heaps of squid in the bay and plenty of trevally around Stradbroke and Peel Island. Moses perch have been caught near Harry Atkinson Reef and the western side of Peel’s artificial reef.

Tailor are starting to show up in good numbers, especially around the Jumpinpin, through North Stradbroke Island, and throughout the bay. Land-based anglers have also had some luck from the local beaches and points, including Cleveland Point and Victoria Point.

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

Moreton Bay/ Jumpinpin

Moreton Bay is fishing well. The southern bay islands around Peel, Macleay, Lamb and Garden are all producing. With the snapper closure in place, the focus has shifted to other reefies. Peel’s southern shallow reef edges are giving up a good mixed bag. Macleay has been holding decent jewfish around the wrecks, and hairtail are showing up on sounders in the same area. Lamb and Garden Islands are worth fishing for flathead, especially where water runs off the banks on the falling tide. Squid are still on the chew. The wrecks around southeast Peel and Goat Island have fished well on the high tide. Further south, Russell and Long Islands are producing tailor, jewfish, threadfin salmon and snapper (release only).

Jumpinpin is fishing well on the run-in tide with big schools of whitebait and dart pushing through the mouth, bringing the tailor with them. Birds diving make them easy to find. They’re not huge but great fun on light gear. Good bream are on the deeper ledges around Short Island, Klinger Bank and Crusoe Island, especially where eddies are forming. There’s plenty of bait in these areas and some heavy, aggressive bream being caught. Flathead are firing around the high tide on shallow flats at Short Island, Gold Bank and the Bedrooms. Low tide is better for chasing them around run-off points and drains through Jacobs Well and Cabbage Tree Point. Trevally are around the Measured Mile, with a good mix of flathead and school jew. Most schoolies are 50 to 70 cm and in good numbers. Threadfin are also starting to show up more, especially near Cabbage Tree Point.

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

Jumpinpin

Pending

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

Tailor have been feeding well along the beaches and near the bar, with average sizes around 50cm. Pilchards have been the most effective bait, particularly within 2km of the bar. Extra-large flathead are showing up in the more remote Pin areas further from the bar, around the mud and mangroves. My Lure Box soft glides have been getting results on them. Jewfish activity has slowed with this tide cycle, but should pick up again near the full moon and tide changes. Friday and Saturday are the only suitable fishing windows before a strong low moves through, bringing 5m swells and 40-knot winds.

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

South Stradbroke Island

Nice-sized tailor have been caught around Crusoe Island. Leatherjackets and trevally are showing up under Sovereign Island Bridge, while Moses perch have been found along the Runaway Bay Marina break wall. The Coomera River has produced some big bream.

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

Gold Coast Broadwater

What a difference a week makes, the squid have turned up in numbers. I was beginning to think we weren’t going to get a good season. Great numbers are coming from Runaway Bay to Bayview in the main channel, out from Sea World to the Southport yacht club and a few along South Stradbroke. It’s been perfect conditions for the beach with small swells and offshore winds and the tailor are in full swing.

Most fishers have caught good numbers and quality fish especially on dark. Finding a gutter along Main Beach with no one fishing is the challenging part. Walking the beach, staying mobile and covering ground is a great option. Long casts out the back with a slow to medium retrieve depending on the lure near the whitewater should yield results. Some great sized whiting were caught this week from the upper reaches of the Nerang. Not in massive numbers but definitely worth the trip up. The seaway is still fishing well with bream, tailor, trevally and flathead.

David McDonald
Private Angler | Runaway Bay Marina

Southport

We’ve just added a second boat and are now running inshore estuary charters. The first trip in the new boat went out Monday, with a solid catch of flathead and tailor in the Broadwater. Offshore has been active too, with good catches of trag, blue-spot flathead, tuskfish, and tuna.

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

Big swell this weekend will likely keep boats off the water, so most of the fishing will be land-based. That cold change should fire up the tailor off the beaches, and there’s been the odd mulloway caught too. Inside the Seaway and Jumpinpin bar entrances, there are GTs, tarpon, and trevally getting caught, and a few mulloway still hanging around.

Up on the banks, there’s still good numbers of arrow squid. In the rivers, plenty of bream and a few threadfin salmon toward the northern end of the Gold Coast. Crabs are about but not in huge numbers.

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

Tweed Coast

Pending

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

There’ve been some big tailor showing up off the beaches lately, both in size and numbers. Longtail tuna are still about, and there’s been plenty of snapper from Cook Island to wider grounds, with pearl perch in similar areas. Big flathead are being caught up the rivers, and there are still plenty of solid bream around. The odd big jewfish has been landed off the headlands and in the gutters while targeting tailor. Dart are also coming off the beaches, and bream are starting to move out of the rivers as spawning time approaches.

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

Brunswick Heads

Deep sea fishing delivered solid results earlier in the week, with snapper, pearl perch, and kingfish landed before the swell and wind made conditions tougher. On the closer reefs, fishos reported a mix of snapper, cobia, and mackerel. Beaches and rock walls produced a varied catch, with flathead, dart, bream, blackfish, tailor, whiting, and the odd jewfish turning up in recent sessions. In the rivers, there’s been consistent action on bream, blackfish, flathead, whiting, and mangrove jacks, while jewfish have been showing closer to Mullumbimby. Mud crabs have eased off, with reports quiet across most systems for now

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

Ballina

The weekend is shaping up to be extremely wet and windy. Earlier in the week there was some quality tuna and snapper coming from the close reefs, and a few snapper and flathead on the 32’s. Unfortunately the leatherjacket have just shown up, and will usually be here for the next month. They have a serious set of teeth, so be prepared to loose plenty of terminal tackle while they are hanging around.

The beach produced some quality bream, and a few flathead and small tailor during the week, but as with the offshore fishing this weekend, the beaches will be a right off from Friday onwards. In the river the tides have been on the smaller side, but there has been some reasonable flathead in North Creek, and upstream from the Burns Point Ferry.

Good numbers of bream and a few luderick have come from the break walls and in the lower reaches of the river during the run in tides. Prawns, pilchards and soft plastics have all worked well on the bream. The mulloway will be an option from the break walls with the rough weather right through to the middle of next week, but take a lot of care when fishing these areas, as it can be dangerous. Large soft plastics and hard body lures should produce most of the fish during this weather pattern.

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

Evans Head

Along Main Beach and Airforce Beach, there have been reports of tailor and jewfish. Around the river mouth, anglers have picked up bream and tailor, with longtail tuna showing just off the front near the rock walls. Up the Evans River, there’s been a good mix of bream, flathead, whiting, and luderick. Further up in the upper reaches, a few mud crabs have also been caught. Offshore reefs have produced a mix of snapper, trag, and jewfish in decent numbers.

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

Yamba

The river is still producing a solid mix of species. There have been good numbers of blackfish and bream around, with fishos reporting consistent catches. Flathead are improving again, with some fish starting to push up onto the flats during the warmer days. They’re still being caught in deeper water too, so the fish are spread out from the river mouth right up to Maclean. It’s a fair stretch of water, but they’re definitely still around.

There’ve also been a few grunter caught in the river, which isn’t too common in this system but always worth noting. A few whiting have been caught along the beaches as well, which has been a welcome change and a good sign for the season ahead.

Offshore, the snapper fishing has been very good. Pearlies have also been coming in from one of the wrecks, with a few jewfish caught out wide as well. Bait schools have made it tough at times, especially on the wider grounds, but anglers using soft plastics have managed to work around them and still get results. Overall, it’s still fishing well offshore.

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

FRESHWATER FISHING

Wivenhoe Dam

Wivenhoe Dam has had some bass caught out at Billy’s Bay and around Platypus Cliffs. Most have come from trolling that deeper water along the riverbed in 25 to 30 feet. Similar results have come from Hamon Cove, where trolling the rock walls has picked up some good bass. For yellowbelly, metal blades or lipless crankbaits worked around rocky points are your best bet.

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

Moogerah Dam

Moogerah Dam has been fishing okay. It was spilling a little last weekend with water over the wall, which tends to shift fish around. The deeper water near the spillway has held some fish. Metal spoons in the 20 to 30 gram range, soft plastics rolled along the bottom, or metal blades have all been worth using. If nothing’s happening in that area, try heading up into the creek arm and working the timbered sections or open flat water near the junctions.

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

Hinze Dam

Hinze Dam is probably fishing the best right now. Both the eastern and western arms have been producing bass on jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and soft plastics. Fish are sitting around the trees, including inside the bays, along the sides of the main channels, and on the edges of the timber. You don’t need to cast deep into the timber to find fish. Working soft plastics or reaction lures along the tree lines in the main channels has been effective.

In the main basin, especially up near the quarry, fish are still holding but have been harder to catch. Metal spoons have worked well here. A small soft plastic on a heavy jig head, slow-rolled through that deeper water, can also get a reaction bite.

Up in the bays, a few Saratoga have been active. One fisho reported a couple of sessions with multiple strikes, some hookups, but struggled to keep them pinned long enough to land. Still, it’s a good sign they’re moving and will take a bait.

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

Hinze Dam is still fishing well for saratoga and are hitting surface lures early on warmer mornings, but deeper down weighted plastics, spinnerbaits and metal jigs are working best.

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

North Pine Dam / Lake Kurwongbah

Up at North Pine Dam, there have been a few bass schooling, and trolling hard bodies or working spoons through the schools has been effective. At Lake Kurwongbah, some Saratoga have been caught early in the mornings on surface lures along the edges. Bass have also been holding deeper in the basin, with soft plastics and spoons working well through the schooling fish.

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

North Pine Dam is still producing a few fish along the edges, mainly early morning and late afternoon. Spinnerbaits and small lipless crankbaits like the Jackall TN50s and TN60s have been working along the banks.

Lake Kurwongbah, just across the road from North Pine, has also been fishing well. Bass have been sitting around the weed edges. Small chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, blades, and Jackall-style lures have worked around the edges. In the deeper middle sections where the arms meet at the junctions, schooling fish have been showing up. Small metal spoons and blades are the go there.

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