Fishing Report for 3rd July 2025

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

**Snapper and pearl perch closure upcoming**
Where: East coast tidal waters
When: 15 July to 15 August each year

Hervey Bay / Fraser Island

At the Urangan Pier, the herring showed up for one night before disappearing again. Despite the lack of consistent bait, there have still been some decent flathead and jewfish caught off the pier. Bream numbers aren’t huge yet, but the fish being landed have been good quality. There have also been tailor at Gatakers Reef.

On the local beaches, a few summer whiting have been turning up north of the pier at Two Rocks, but not in large numbers just enough for one or two anglers to manage a feed. Around River Heads, herring and bream have been reported, and jewfish are expected to turn up any day now. Crustaceans have included sand crabs throughout the bay, with mud crabs more active up the Burrum River.

Looking ahead, snapper are starting to show up in southern Hervey Bay. They aren’t widespread yet, but quality fish have been caught at Moon Ledge and the Simpson artificial reef. In the bay, small marlin around the 2 to 3 kg mark have been turning up, which is unusual for this time of year. Down the straits there have been schools of giant herring, small golden trevally, a few squid, queenfish, and grunter.

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

Tin Can Bay

Flathead have been on the chew again this week, with shallow-running hardbodies proving effective on the run-out tide. Whiting have been active off Norman Point for land-based anglers, while bream and flathead have been coming through in good numbers on the start of the run-in tide.

Tailor remain thick through the system, mostly around legal size, though the odd better fish has been taken trolling 1 to 2 metre diving lures around the creek mouths at the start of the run-out. There’s still no shortage of estuary cod on the rocky ledges across the Bay, with strips of mullet, prawns, and deep slow-rolled soft plastics all getting results.

Some quality sand crabs have also been turning up in close, particularly around the creek mouths, deeper water near the moored boats, the power lines, and North Point.

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

Maroochydore

Plenty of golden trevally have been showing up through the middle to lower reaches. Flathead and bream are being caught around Chambers Island and Picnic Point, while tailor have been active down at the river mouth and at the Cod Hole.

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

Noosa

Great fishing again this week, with coral trout, gold band snapper, pearl perch, cobia, and tuna all coming from North Reef and Sunshine Reef. The offshore winds and sunny conditions have made for a fantastic run of weather and fishing.

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

There have been the odd flathead caught in the Frying Pan, along with a few Tilly trevally and cale cale trevally in the Woods. Bream are still showing up in good numbers on the flood tide at the mouth.

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

Fishing around North and Sunshine reefs this week has produced some solid results. Snapper are starting to improve in both numbers and size. There have also been quality catches of large mouth nannygai, maori cod, pearl perch, cobia, Moses perch, tuskfish, along with the odd late-season Spanish mackerel and some goldband.

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

It hasn’t been too good overall, but starting down towards the Noosa area, there have been a few tailor about, along with some good bream and whiting. Around Gympie Terrace, in front of the Boathouse, it’s been much the same with fair numbers of tailor, whiting, and bream. Not a lot of flathead or trevally showing at the moment. Mud crabs have been very slow overall, though things have picked up a bit towards Tewantin, around Makepeace Island and Sheep Island, with a few mud crabs coming in along with the odd jewfish and plenty more tailor in those areas.

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

Mooloolaba

Offshore has been fishing well with plenty of snapper and pearl perch still being caught, along with some big jewfish, especially in close where the westerlies have kept conditions nice and flat. It’s a good time to make the most of the snapper fishing before the closure starts on 15 July for a month.

Along the beaches, tailor have been showing up at the Bribie River mouth and Kawana Beach, with jewfish reported in the Maroochy River and off Marcoola Beach. Bream are everywhere at the moment as they’re in season, and they’re the most common catch across most areas.

In the passage, flathead fishing has been strong too, with plenty of big fish being caught. It hasn’t really mattered which river you’ve tried, though the timing of the tide has made all the difference.

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

No report this week

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

Caloundra

The forecast this week called for 10 to 15 knots on most days, but it ended up blowing a solid 18 knots or more out wide. Despite that, with no current, it was still very fishable. It has been overcast and wet days on the water, but a nice bag of Venus tuskfish have been coming aboard, along with a light mix of other species including a quality tomato cod and another red emperor, though the red was just under size.

Salty Fishing Charters Ph 0459 636 798  | https://saltyfishingcharters.com.au/

The bream are on in the passage at the moment, with the best areas being the river mouths from the bar through to Bells Creek. Tailor have been active inside the second breakthrough, and there have been a few flathead getting about, mainly on the drop-offs around the turn of the high tide.

The beaches have been fishing well too, with tailor along Bribie beaches, Kings Beach, Shelly Beach, and most of the local stretches seeing action. A few school jewfish have also been caught in the surf, along with bream and tarwhine, making it worthwhile for those fishing the surf during these westerlies.

Offshore has been quiet through the week with the blowy conditions, but with the good forecast ahead, plenty of boats will be heading out this weekend, especially with just two weekends left before the snapper closure. The Caloundra 5 Mile has been producing snapper and grassy sweetlip, while the 12 Mile has seen snapper and pearl perch coming over the side.

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

Northern Moreton Bay

It’s been windy this week, so there hasn’t been much to report from offshore, though the forecast is looking better for the weekend. There should still be some winter whiting out in the Bay, with the Cockle Banks and off Scarborough worth a look. Tailor have been active around the Bribie Bridge and Hornibrook Bridge, especially at night on the incoming tide.

The snapper closure isn’t in place yet, and there have still been good numbers of snapper showing up off the Redcliffe foreshore and around Mud Island in the shallows. Squid are being caught in the shallows near Middle Island during the day, and at night around Redcliffe. There have also been reports of summer whiting up at the mouth of Coochin Creek, along with good numbers of school jewfish in the middle reaches of the Pine and Caboolture Rivers. Mud crabs are still about, though the numbers have slowed as expected for winter.

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

It’s been one of those quiet weeks, with not much happening overall. Mainly bream and flathead have been coming from the rock walls and throughout the lower reaches of the Brisbane River. Snapper have gone very quiet, and even the jewfish activity has dropped right off. Threadfin have been scarce too. On a brighter note, there have been a few good reports of mud crabs in the mangroves and the lower reaches of the river.

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

Moreton Bay Offshore

Some great quality fish have been coming from around Point Lookout when conditions have allowed, with snapper, spangled emperor, and tuskfish all featuring in recent catches.

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

Tough conditions this week, but the Cathedrals managed to produce some good squire and solid pearl perch.

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

Redcliffe Peninsula

Tailor, bream, whiting, flathead, and school jew have been active in Hayes Inlet, the Pine River, Bramble Bay, off Woody Point Jetty, and off Scarborough. Yellowfin whiting are being caught in Hayes, the Pine, and along the eastern foreshores. Winter whiting and flathead are turning up north of Scarborough, in Deception Bay, and Bramble Bay. Snapper and tailor are being caught off the eastern beaches, jetties, rocky points, and inshore reefs, while squid are showing up around the jetties, rocky points, and inshore areas.

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

Nth Stradbroke Island

There have been mackerel and tailor showing up in the Rainbow Channel. Tailor and the odd jewfish have been caught down at the Manly Rockwall, while the Rous Channel has produced some good whiting.

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

It’s been blowing hard this week, but there have still been some nice bream and dart coming from Flinders Beach on Stradbroke. There have also been plenty of trevally caught on micro jigs and soft plastics around the jetties at Dunwich and Amity Point. Tailor have been showing at Cleveland Point around the top of the tide.

Harry Atkinsons has produced some nice pan-sized snapper, and flathead numbers are building across the southern Bay. Bream are widespread through the Raby Bay canals. Not much to report on the crabs this week, with crab bait sales slow, which is usually a fair sign of how they’re going.

For land-based fishing with kids, Cleveland Point and Dunwich jetties are good options worth trying.

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

Moreton Bay/ Jumpinpin

It looks like the bait and the fish are starting to move slowly in Moreton Bay, with some good-sized squire and sweetlip coming from the shallow reef edges around Peel Island and the north side of Macleay Island. The western side of Macleay has also been fishing fairly well. The key has been finding the bait schools on the sounder “where there’s bait, there’s fish” and soft plastics have been working well on them.

There are still good numbers of threadfin salmon and jewfish up around Saltworks, the southern side of Macleay Island, and across the southern Bay islands. The prawns are starting to disperse a bit now, so the big schools of fish chasing them have spread out, but they’re definitely still around.

Jumpinpin has been fishing really well now that the water’s cleaned. The bream are still in spawn mode and will be right through winter, so they’re aggressive on light gear. Coalinga Bank, Short Island, and Crusoe Island have been productive spots for bream. Flathead are also starting to show up in good numbers and size. Look for them on the high tide where the bait is sitting along weedy sand patches at Gold bank, Green Bank, and Crusoe Island are all worth trying. The lagoons have been fishing well lately too.

On the low tide, heading back towards Jacobs Well Channel has been worthwhile, with the drains and run-offs holding good flathead, if there’s bait around, there’ll be flathead close by. There have been good numbers of trevally in Jacobs Well Channel, as well as some school jewfish rolling through the area. Giant herring and tarpon have also been showing up around the South Arm of the Coomera River.

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

This week the prawn run has started to slow down. Threadfin are still about in good numbers, with 3-5 inch soft plastics, vibes, live mullet, and live prawns all doing the job. Tailor are swarming the Jumpinpin surf beaches, helped along by the big westerlies that have pushed through. Stickbaits, metal slugs, and whole pilchards have been effective. Flathead are active around the Pin, responding well to most of the usual techniques. Big jewfish are being caught in and around the bar.

South Stradbroke Island

Looking ahead, the weather is shaping up well from 4th of July onwards across the Gold Coast. Despite the recent rain, the westerlies have helped keep the water clarity pretty good. Arrow squid are being caught on the high tide at Labrador, while tailor are turning up in the deep channels from the Seaway through Tipplers and up to the Pin. The surf side of South Straddie is definitely worth a look for some greenbacks, with the westerlies making for pleasant beach conditions.

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

Gold Coast Broadwater

It’s windy at the moment, but by the weekend the wind should die down, and it should turn into a great weekend with the odd shower on Sunday. Low tide mid-morning will help those chasing flathead, with consistent catches coming in. The banks around Crab Island have been working well, with a large number of boats working the area, especially between Big and Little Crab.

Squid continue to be caught in the channels, but not in massive numbers with the smaller tides. It would be worth targeting them on the afternoon run-in tide as the tides increase. The usual spots like opposite Sea World, the inner channel near the aquatic centre, Runaway Bay South, and along South Stradbroke have held squid, but it’s worth moving around to find the better numbers.

Bream are everywhere and are a great land-based option during the school holidays. Trevally and tailor are being caught in the seaway. Whiting are in the upper sections of the Nerang, from Monaco Street up to the freeway. If the surf dies down, the beaches should be a great option, with the westerly winds hopefully bringing the bait in closer.

David McDonald  Private Angler | Runaway Bay Marina

Southport

School mackerel and reef sharks have been showing up on the 12-fathom reefs while anglers look for shelter from the recent blustery westerlies. Out on the 24-fathom reefs over the weekend, there have been cobia and longtail tuna about. Bottom fishing has been a bit slow, with just the odd snapper here and there, as it seems that bite hasn’t properly kicked off yet.

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

The 50-fathom line has been producing plenty of big kingfish, amberjack, and samson fish for the jiggers, along with good numbers of pearl perch and snapper. The 36 and 24-fathom grounds have seen nice parrotfish, some big cobia, and solid snapper coming through. Closer in around the 18s and 12-fathom reefs, there have been heaps of longtail tuna, with Spanish mackerel still about and plenty of doggy mackerel as well.

On the beaches, the tailor are starting to show up in good numbers and size, right along the coast from the Jumpinpin Bar down to the border.

Inside the Broadwater, squid are still about in good numbers, with flathead and summer whiting also being caught on the banks. In the rivers, there’s been trevally around, particularly on surface poppers, and tarpon have been active at night. Bream are being caught steadily during the day.

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

Tweed Coast

Not much has changed from last week. The tailor are still biting well along the beaches and headlands, with middle-sized slugs and soft plastics in flashy greens, reds, and silvers working best. A few Spanish mackerel are still offshore as the water hasn’t cooled too much just yet. Snapper and pearl perch numbers remain strong, with plenty being caught. Cobia are still about, along with some spotty mackerel. In the rivers, flathead are starting to become more active, and big bream are moving in, including some solid blue nose bream at the river mouths. Large winter mangrove jacks have also been showing up from time to time.

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

Brunswick Heads

Deep sea fishing out wide has been off the cards due to strong winds and big swell. The local reefs are producing snapper, jewfish, tuna, and there are still a few mackerel about, which is a welcome surprise for this time of year. The beaches and rock walls have been reliable for tailor, dart, bream, flathead, trevally, blackfish, and the odd jewfish. In the river, there are plenty of bream and blackfish, along with a few flathead and whiting.

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

Ballina

Pending

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

Evans Head

Try along Airforce Beach where tailor and jewfish are still about in the evenings, while daytime has produced a mix of bream, flathead, and the odd whiting. In the lower reaches of the river, bream and flathead are still coming through, along with the occasional whiting. Around the north and south rock walls, there have been some good luderick caught. Offshore has been tough with the wind, but conditions are looking more promising heading into the weekend.

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

Yamba

The bottom end of the river is still fishing well right up to the Browns Rocks Reef and around the Palmers Island area. There have been good numbers of bream, with some flathead showing up in the river too, though not in huge numbers. Grunter are still being caught, along with jewfish and tailor throughout the system, so overall the lower river continues to fish consistently.

Offshore, conditions have remained much the same thanks to the run of calm weather. There are still plenty of snapper, pearl perch, and tuskfish being caught, with a few tuna still about. It looks like the mackerel have moved on now, as there have been no recent reports. The better quality fish seem to be coming from the shallower reefs in 10 to 30 metres of water, while anglers fishing the deeper reefs in 70 to 80 metres are still finding fish, but not quite the same size. Both the northern and southern grounds have been fishing well, and choosing where to head largely comes down to the day and conditions.

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

FRESHWATER FISHING

Wivenhoe Dam

Whivenhoe Dam has continued to produce some good bass and yellowbelly, though the bass are still on the move and haven’t settled into consistent areas yet. Fish are being caught from the cliffs at Platypus Cliffs, out in the main basin off the rocky points, along the buoy line, into Billy’s Bay, and along the edges heading toward Hammond Cove and Hayes Inlet. The main basin is holding smaller, roaming schools that are responding well to metal spoons. Around the edges, crankbaits diving to around 2/3 metres, chatterbaits, and lipless crankbaits have been effective. Further up near Hammond Cove, good fish have been coming from the cliffs, mostly on crankbaits diving to 3/4 metres.

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

Moogerah Dam

Moogerah Dam remains one of the most consistent options at the moment, with bass spread right across the dam from the spit to the timber and up into the creeks along the edges. Lipless crankbaits, chatterbaits, crankbaits, metal spoons, and small jerkbaits have all been getting results.

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

Hinze Dam

Hinze Dam has seen some solid bass coming in. The fish are still adjusting after all the early-season rain and colder conditions, but as winter settles in, they’re starting to move into more typical holding areas. The backs of the bays and among the trees are still worth fishing, with spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, small crankbaits, and chatterbaits doing the job. In the deeper sections, try the sleeper points, submerged timber, and main basin with metal spoons.

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

Hinze Dam has been fishing okay. It’s been a matter of moving around to find the fish, with metal jigs and soft vibes doing the job around the deeper points.

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

Lake Kurwongbah/ North Pine Dam

At Lake Kurwongbah, fishing has been reasonable, with bass schooling up in that 5 to 6 metre depth range. Slow-rolling soft plastics through the schools has been working best.

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

Lake Kurwongbah/ North Pine Dam

Lake Kurwongbah is fishing well for the kayak anglers, with bass being caught on metal spoons, chatterbaits, small crankbaits, and jerkbaits, particularly around the weed edges. Over at North Pine Dam (Lake Samsonvale), there are still bass being taken off the bank, especially early mornings and late afternoons, with metal spoons and spinnerbaits working nicely.

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

THIS WEEK’S GALLERY

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Fishos Tackleworld

Noosa Blue Water Charters

Deep Sea Fishing Co

Noosa River Fishing Safaris

The Chandlery Bait & Tackle

Salty Fishing Charters

Capn’s Charters

High Calibre Charters

Moreton island fishing charters

Mr Bait

BK’s Gold Coast Fishing Charters

Addict Tackle