Written by Andrew Chorley
The fishing in April on the Fraser Coast is one of the best times of the year for many species particularly our pelagics. Longtail tuna are one of the main attractions as their migration brings them into our waters in good numbers and they are the perfect sportfish. If sportfishing isn’t your thing there are plenty more options from estuary to reef fishing.
Burrum River
A few good whiting have been caught in the Burrum of late with 40cm fish being reported. Using live yabbies has been most effective on the whiting. For lure anglers the odd mangrove jack has been coming off the snags in the mid reaches with some trevally and tarpon also about. Out the front the Burrum 8 mile has produced golden trevally, longtail tuna, mackerel, cod and blackall.
Urangan Pier
Flathead, mackerel, queenfish and bream were the most common captures of the pier. Whiting have been taken in the shallows around the pier and surrounding beaches with worms, yabbies and small poppers working well.
Platypus Bay
Platypus Bay has produced some longtail tuna, mac tuna, spotted and school mackerel of late. Fishing deep around the tuna schools has also produced some trevally and grunter on soft plastics and small metal jigs. Bottom fishing with fresh baits has been good for scarlets when you can get out a little wider with the night tides producing best catches.
Sandy Strait
In the Straits whiting have been about on the Boral Flats and around the Susan River. In the Mary River salmon have been taken from Beaver Rock to River Heads but have been a bit patchy. Grunter have been in good numbers throughout the straits and Mary system also with live yabbies, soft plastics and small herring being the best offerings. On the ledges of the straits cod, sweetlip and parrot have been taken on baits.
Local Reefs
Some good grass sweetlip have been on the chew of late with the artificial reef, the boags hole and the channel hole all producing good fish. Sharks are a problem so moving about or drifting seems to work best to avoid the sharks. Tuna have also been in the channels taking soft plastics and metal slugs. Other species about on the local reefs have been coral trout, cod, parrot and blackall.
