Written by Andrew Chorley
What a wild few months it has been for Fraser Coast anglers!
Local fishos have been riding a roller-coaster of weather with extreme rain events and then a few glass outs in-between. The good news is that the winter weather is on its way and we should see some stability in the weather.
Burrum
The Burrum has produced some good whiting catches over the bigger tides but away from the moon will be a little slower.
The night tides seem to get the best results with some good bream in with the whiting. Out the front, mac tuna can be found working the small bait along with longtail tuna. The Burrum 8-Mile will be one of the early spots to target snapper.
Day break tide changes are always a favourable tide and if you can get live bait, even better!
School mackerel, golden trevally and blackall have been reported coming from the 8-Mile.
Urangan Pier
Big longtail tuna have been creating some fun off the Pier taking live baits under balloons, along with free spooling live baits out with the current.
Spanish mackerel, broad bar mackerel and school mackerel have also made an appearance at times. Whiting, bream and flathead are the main targets in the first channel. Squid have been about at times but are not in any numbers as yet.
Wide Grounds
The wider reefs have been a little out of reach for many over the last few months. For those with larger vessels they reported coral trout, squire, scarlets, parrot, cod and red emperor.
Local Reefs
The local reef scene has seen some impressive coral trout taken inshore. Many of the better fish have been taken on live baits, with cod also being a steady bycatch. Snapper have not showed up yet but will not be far away.
Diver whiting have been reported in their usual haunts, but the size seems to be different every day. The bigger fish certainly seem to be more scattered with the bigger patches holding smaller size fish. Live yabbies as always have been the go-to bait along with gulp worms for those willing to try soft plastics.
Mac tuna can be found In the shipping channels with very small slugs from 10 to 15g getting results. A few spanish and school mackerel can be found off Point Vernon and have responded well to trolling.
Sandy Strait
On the ledges a few cod have been taken on live baits and soft vibes along with grunter.
Whiting fisherman will have to work hard this week with less run in the tide.
Again, night-time tides are the go with it getting harder to get a feed in daylight hours these days. Flathead have been about on the flats with soft plastics working well. In the Mary River system, a few barra have been in the upper reaches of the Mary. The lack of rain has seen a few fish push right up along with threadfin salmon.
