Fishing Report for 8 August 2024

Australian bass closed season all Queensland tidal waters from 1 June to 31 August.

Snapper and Pearl Perch closed all season all Queensland tidal waters from 15 July to 15 August.

Murray cod and Mary River cod closed season from 1 August to 31 October in all Queensland waters in the Murray-Darling Drainage Division.   Some additional restrictions on use of fishing lines also apply; there are exceptions to restrictions in some stocked impoundments (see Fisheries Queensland website).  

Hervey Bay / Fraser Island

Urangan Pier has been yielding small tailor, school mackerel, flathead, and whiting, though bait has been scarce this week. Inshore reefs at Point Vernon and 8 Mile have seen an influx of whales.

Throughout the bay, mack tuna have been prevalent with plenty of bait around, but not many other reports have come in. In the straits, there are flathead, tarpon, whiting, small trevally, grunter, and plenty of pencil squid within the deeper channels.

In the Mary River system, near River Heads, there are abundant legal-size tailor. School mackerel, mack tuna, and grunter have been caught off the River Head boat ramp area. Crabs and other crustaceans are being caught throughout the Mary system.

The Burrum system is currently abundant with white bait, leading to good catches of flathead, bream, and whiting. On Fraser Island, both Woody Point and Blighton have tailor. A recent fire has closed down some campsites, so there isn’t much else to report from the area..

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

Rainbow Beach Offshore

No report this week.

Rainbow Beach Reef Fishing Charters  Ph 0439 775 070 | www.rainbowbeachfishing.com.au

Tin Can Bay

Seeing similar activity over the last fortnight — still plenty of squid, including around the entrance to Pelican Bay, and whiting in the same area. Bream, golden trivially, small GTS remain in Snapper Creek. Mack tuna between Teebar Creek up to Browns Gutter.

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

Noosa

Just out from the Frying Pan track, you’ll find a good supply of bream and flathead along the sand flats. Down at Makepeace Island, there is also a good number of flathead. Occasionally, you might find the rare jewfish hiding in this area, best targeted with soft plastics if you are persistent.

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

There are still plenty of sand flathead in the river mouth at Noosa. Bream and tarwhine are abundant in both Woods Bays. Cale cale and golden trevally have been active in Tewantin’s ski runs.

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

Up at North Reef and Sunshine Reef, longtail tuna have been on the bite this week. Interestingly, a different technique has been successful: bottom bashing, which is unusual for these fish. Additionally, there have been some good tusk fish, amberjacks, and cobia, but fishing has been limited due to the closure.

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

Anglers aboard three different boats have reported a variety of catches this week offshore, despite the ongoing closure on big perlies and snapper. The favorable water temperature, hovering around 17 degrees, has contributed to successful fishing expeditions.

Species such as tuskfish, moses perch, goldband snapper, longtail tuna, and cobia have been abundant within the deeps. The redirection of efforts towards these species has yielded commendable results for local anglers.

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

Maroochydore

This week, we’ve had a few tailor caught at the Cod Hole. There have also been bream and flathead reported towards the river mouth, with heaps of trevally in the middle reaches.

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

Mooloolaba

The basin within the Mooloolaba River has been productive, with plenty of garfish being caught. At Labalsa Park, anglers are reporting great catches of bream. The canals are currently flooded with flathead, making it an excellent location to targeting this species. Tailor are very active at the river mouth, providing consistent catches.

The beach conditions have been rough, so not many have ventured out recently. However, Mudjimba Island has seen an influx of squid, making it a worthwhile location to check out seeing as though not many have been able to venture out offshore due to the weather.

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

Cobia and amberjack are being caught at Caloundra Wide and the Barwon Banks. Tuskfish and hussar have also been reported at the Banks.

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

Caloundra

Bream are being caught on bait in the passage, thanks to the spawning run observed all along the coast. Good-sized flathead have also been making an appearance this week. Tailor have been spotted in the passage and on the beach, with Happy Valley Beach reporting some good catches.

On the inshore reefs, anglers are seeing tusk fish, school mackerel, sweetlip, and winter longtail/mack tuna. The canals are teeming with trevally and queen fish, making for an exciting chase with numbers plentiful.

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

Donnybrook

Summer whiting are being caught at Husseys and Roise, while winter whiting can be found along the main channel from Mission Point to Poverty Creek. Flathead are active up at Glasshouse Creek and on the sand banks in the main channel. Bream are widespread at the moment, with larger specimens hiding in the deep holes. There’s a heavy presence of tailor throughout the passage. Mud crabs are scarce, though some have had luck catching them. 

Hot Lure: The Z-Man MinnowZ 3/4″ in Bloodworm colour is highly effective.

Donnybrook Takeaway, Bait & Tackle   Ph (07) 5498 8247 | www.facebook.com/Donnybrook-Takeaway-Bait-Tackle

Bribie Island

Tailor are active in the passage at Bellara. Whiting are being caught at Red Beach, while Surfside Woorim has seen tailor, dart, and the occasional dusky flathead. Mudcrabs in Mindy Creek have been very active. Grinners have been a bit of a pest this week.

Gateway Bribie Adventures  Ph (07) 5497 5253 | https://www.facebook.com/gatewaybaitandtackle/

Northern Moreton Bay

Plenty of bream are spawning up at Caloundra at the moment. Redcliffe has been slower, with reports of snapper (still in closed season), grassy sweetlip, and the occasional grinner. The canals at Redcliffe have been been slower with the bream compared to Caloundra.

Jewfish are active at the mouth of the Pine River, with some threadfin mixed in. The area near the bridge has been particularly productive. Flathead are biting on the run-in tide at the mouth of the Pine River and at the rocks near Poverty Creek. Reports from the Brisbane River mouth have been mixed with multiple difference species.

Squid are hiding in the long weeds at Mud Island, Coochiemudlo Island, and Redcliffe Pier. Winter whiting can be found at the Pine River, Copley Banks, and around Sandstone Point. Tailor are widespread, with some good-sized catches reported.

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

Moreton Island

 There are plenty of gutters south of the middle track on the beach side of Moreton Island. Most of these are smaller, shallow gutters that are great for whiting. On the back edge, where the whitewater meets the gutters, you’ll find some excellent dart, with a few reaching over 45 cm. Tailor are scattered along the beach, but you might only catch one or two in the deeper gutters near the trees at the southern end of the island.

David McDonald Private Fisherman | Runaway Bay Marina

Sandgate

Still catching good tailor early in the morning off the Shorncliffe Pier and Woody Point Jetty. Plenty of 23cm to 26cm winter whiting are being caught from the hut to the platform on Shorncliffe Pier, although you may need to hunt around a bit to find them. Bloodworms, preserved beach worms, and peeled prawns work best. No. 6 or No. 8 long shank hooks are perfect for these guys, along with a running No. 1 ball sinker and a small piece of pink tubing.

There have been some spectacular bust-ups in close of mac tuna. One was caught from the footpath leading to the Shorncliffe Pier on Sunday. A few more have been both caught and missed from the end of the Shorncliffe Pier. Great-sized flathead have been taken from Brighton right through to Nudgee Beach.

Within Moreton Bay over the weekend a few anglers landed a couple of cracker Spanish mackerel.

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

Brisbane River – Northern Moreton Bay

School mackerel are very thick up at Amity Point and in the Rouse Channel. The lower reaches of the Brisbane River have seen healthy numbers of bream, whiting, and flathead. The eastern side of Fisherman’s Island continues to be a great spot for your basic bread-and-butter fishing.

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

Moreton Bay Offshore

Despite the large swells on Thursday and Friday, fishing 4 nautical miles off Point Lookout was highly productive. We caught heaps of large snapper, brought home some sizeable flathead and tuskfish, and even hooked a couple of tuna still in the area. 

Morton Island Fishing Charters   Ph 0413128056 | https://moretonislandfishingcharters.com.au/

Redcliffe Peninsula

Bream, whiting, and flathead are being caught in Hayes, the Pine, and Bramble Bay. Diver whiting can be found in Deception Bay and off Scarborough. There have been good catches of bream and tailor off the eastern beaches, jetties, rocky points, and inshores. Tailor are also being caught off Woody Point jetty and on the inshores. Scarborough reef is producing bream, flathead, and tailor. Squid are being caught off the jetties, rocky points, and on the inshore reefs. School jew and grunter are being caught on the inshores, and sand crabs are plentiful in Bramble Bay and off the eastern foreshores.

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

Moreton Bay / Brisbane River

Jewfish have been plentiful in the Brisbane River. Mackerel are active in the Rainbow Channel. Stradbroke Island is seeing excellent fishing for flathead, bream, and tailor.

Water Tower Bait & Tackle Ph (07) 3396 1833

North Stradbroke Island

There has been good fishing along all beaches with abundant tailor and bream, as well as whiting.

Point Lookout Bait & Fresh Fish   Ph (07) 3409 8724

Redland Bay

School mackerel are plentiful in the Rainbow Channel at the moment. Flathead are being caught at the mouth of Tingalpa Creek, with the area offering good opportunities for a decent flathead. Whiting are abundant in the Rouse Channel, providing steady action for those targeting them. Tailor are active along Main Beach on Stradbroke Island, particularly around the surf. At West Peel Artificial Reef, jewfish are being reported, on live baits.

Hot Tackle – Shimano Plays 4000 Electric Reel Black 4000

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

Jumpinpin

Whiting and tailor have been most active around sunrise and sunset, with the change of tide being the prime time for these species. School jewfish are being reported at the bar, providing additional fishing opportunities.

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

Bream and flathead are being caught off Jacobs Well jetty. Javelin fish are biting at Kangaroo Island, particularly on banana prawns. Inside the Pin, anglers are having success with jewfish using live bait and plastics. Tailor are being caught in good numbers on the eastern surf beaches.

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

South Stradbroke Island

In the Broadwater, anglers have encountered and released baby hammerhead sharks, adhering to the protected status of these remarkable creatures. Around the old oyster lease in front of Wasp Creek, a couple of reasonably sized leatherjackets have been caught. Additionally, a nice flathead was landed in the northern arm of the Coomera River.

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

Gold Coast Broadwater

There’s been a lot of bait out the front of runaway bay this week so should be on the lookout for schools of tailor chopping the surface. Birds are a great help so keep an eye out for them. As the tides get smaller the seaway will get a lot easier to fish. Jew are always an option this time of year and should be still around in the usual spots. Whiting are still right up the rivers and with a little rain it only helps fishing for them. It won’t be long before they start heading down to the seaway. Flathead still along the edges of the banks and out the front of drains around crab island. Further up towards Jacob’s well channel has produced a few larger fish in the 70cm range which are always welcome. 

Good luck and send through your pics to info@coastwatch.com.au

David McDonald  Private Fisherman | Runaway Bay Marina

Southport

At 50 fathoms, kingfish, amberjack, and samson fish are being caught using live bait and deep jigging techniques. At 36 fathoms, there have been good numbers of parrot fish and some large cobia taken on live baits. In the 18 and 24 fathom depths, jewfish and longtail bluefin tuna have been hitting live baits and small stick baits. On the beaches, tailor are abundant, with big tarwhine and good-sized bream also being reported.

The Seaway is seeing plenty of tailor, trevally, school jewfish, and the occasional large cod. In the Broadwater, squid are plentiful. Flathead are active at the banks from Jumpinpin up to Russell Island, with both soft plastics and hard body lures proving effective. Big jewfish are being caught at the Jumpinpin Bar on live baits. The Coomera, Nerang, and Pimpama rivers are producing good catches of bream.

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

Tweed Coast

This week, fishing on the 30s east of Tweed Heads has yielded catches of snapper, pearlies, venus tusk, flathead, and cobia.

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

Brunswick Heads

The conditions have improved over the past two days. Anglers who ventured out were met with catches of snapper, pearlies, and kingfish on the wider reefs. On the closer reefs, some nice snapper are starting to appear, offering hope for smaller boats.

The rock walls continue to produce jewfish with patience, and there are also reports of tailor and large bream. The river has been inconsistent, though good-sized bream are still being caught, with some larger flathead beginning to show as spring approaches. The beaches are slowly recovering from the swell, but there have been no recent reports for this location.

Bruns Beach Bait & Tackle Ph 0432 394 869

Ballina

Good numbers of snapper and tuna have been showing on the close reefs. Lightly weighted pilchards and mullet fillets have been the best bait options. Five-inch soft plastics have also had some success, but keep the jigheads to 1/4 oz or 3/8 oz depending on wind and current conditions on the day.

Out wider, the current has slowed, allowing anglers to fish the shelf, where some good-quality bar cod were caught early in the week. Back in the river, there has been plenty of bream and a few luderick once again. Most fish are holding fairly close to the bottom, so metal blades and curly-tail soft plastics have been fairly successful. Prawns, squid, and mullet have been good bait options for bream, with yabbies accounting for a few luderick at night. High tides this week have produced a number of mulloway, with live baits working well behind the CBD. The flathead have been a little hard to tempt due to the cooler conditions, but better numbers of fish have still been up river from Pimlico Island to Broadwater. Pilchards, mullet, and suspending jerkbaits have all worked, with run-out tides being the best bet.

Ballina Bait and Tackle  Ph (02) 6686 2527 | https://www.facebook.com/p/Ballina-Bait-and-Tackle-100063582669959/

Evans Head

In the lower reaches of the river, particularly around the rock walls, there has been a good mix of luderick and jewfish, along with the usual flathead and bream. At Airforce Beach, jewfish and tailor are being caught in the morning and evening, while bream, flathead, and whiting are more active during the day. Offshore at Chaos Reef, snapper and teraglin are being reported. At North Ground, there have been some tuskfish along with snapper and teraglin. Hot tackle – Squidtrex Squid Vibe by Nomad

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

FRESHWATER FISHING

Lake Kurwongbar

No report.

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

Hinze Dam

Hinze Dam is fishing well. Live shrimp with a running sinker dropped among the sticks have been the most successful approach. Metal jigs are also effective in this area if you don’t have any shrimp.

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

North Pine Dam

Nothing to report.

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

Wivenhoe Dam

Fish are finally coming online at Wivenhoe Dam. Platypus Cliffs is a good spot to start, looking for some humps in the water. Further north, some good fish have been reported near Hammond’s Cove, Captain Logan’s Inlet, and Pelican Island.

Spoons in the 20 to 30 gram range, ZX blades, and 3-inch paddle tail soft plastics with 5/8 or ounce heavy jig heads are working well. Crankbaits that dive around the 4-meter mark are also effective. Lipless crankbaits, particularly the Jackall Trigon, have been popular as they stay well down in the water column with a slow retrieve.

Maroon Dam

The fishing is starting to improve, although it’s still a bit patchy. A nice 52cm bass was caught recently. At the back of Bracken Creek, use little black blades along the tree line where the big fish tend to hide.

If you’re not having luck there, try near the wall by the rocky bank. Target this area with little blade spinners, blades, and small soft plastics, slow rolling them off the bank.

Moogerah Dam

The fishing has been really good, with big bass being caught at the spit. Target the deeps at the 30-40ft mark using big metal spoons. Make long casts and retrieve slowly along the bottom. Persistence is key, as the bass often come in waves and large patches.

Next, move up into the trees with 3.5-inch paddle tail soft plastics on a 5/8-ounce or heavier jig head. Opt for bright green or white colors. The lure “Dear John” (which mimics tractor colors) has been working particularly well.

Somerset Dam

There is a competition on this week, so be careful on the water. It’s a great time to fish here with plenty of fish to be caught. Best spots include Queens Street, Bay 13, and the humps (call the shop for the location of the humps).

For lures, you have plenty of options. Metal blades, spoons, crankbaits, and soft plastics all work well in the deeper waters around the 20ft to 30ft mark. Lure of the week: The Rezan spoon (30/40 grams) is highly recommended for use in deeper waters.

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