By Andrew Chorley @herveybaysportfishing
July brings excellent winter weather, making it a perfect month for crews to head offshore to the fish-rich grounds of Breaksea Spit and beyond. Here is the latest fishing report for our local areas:
Burrum
Reports indicate bream, whiting, and flathead are active, particularly closer to the new moon. Out front, tailor and school mackerel are moving in; trolling lures or spinning with metal slugs are effective ways to locate schoolies around baitfish.
Point Vernon
Out of Gatakers, coral trout are being taken on soft plastics over shallow reefs. Other current targets in the area include squire, sweetlip, tailor, and blackall.
Platypus Bay
Up the island and in the central bay, snapper are being caught between weather breaks. While bait fishing remains popular, soft plastics, hard-bodied lures trolled, vibes, and blades are also proving successful. You may also find big longtail tuna feeding on deep bait balls, with golden trevally and mackerel nearby. Look for gannets dive bombing to help locate the yakka schools that snapper frequent.
Local Reefs
Snapper have been reported on the local reefs, with evening bait fishing yielding the best results. Coral trout, cod, and sweetlip are excellent winter options right now. With reduced shark pressure, it is currently the ideal time to hit the reefs.
Beaches
Whiting are worth targeting on local beaches before the tides drop; live yabbies are the recommended bait. On the rocky points, large bream are active, especially after dark. Off the Urangan Pier, reports from Anglers Den include tailor, bream, whiting, and flathead, with tailor specifically taking strip baits and metal slugs.
Sandy Straits
Broad bar mackerel are active under tailor schools towards River Heads. Spinning metal lures near bait or birds has been effective. For land-based anglers, the rocks at River Heads are productive for both tailor and mackerel. Further down the straits, the creeks have produced bream, grunter, flathead, and small trevally. Using light braid with small hard bodies, blades, or soft plastics is highly recommended for the creeks.
Good luck on the water!
