OFFSHORE – Well if you outside at all this week you would know why ive got nothing this week. the wind looks like its dropping out on sunday but there will be a bit of bump still around.

ESTUARY – Lots of crabs about and thats about the most exciting thing ive heard this week. upper reaches of our rivers are producing crabs and the best spots are the mouths of feeder creeks drains etc. flathead on the drift at the mouth of marrochy with a few trevs around early. few bream off the rocks on the inside of mooloolah. got a few reports from noosa this week. trevally late afternoon in woods bay. bream up weyba creek. few flatties around the back of the sound out of the wind.

fingers crossed next week will turn to the better for all of us.

check out our website for some updated xmas specials which we will run through december and theres only a few days left to snap up the lures and plastics all 20% off.  stock up for summer.

ben

SOMERSET DAM – This dam has been producing some consistent fish over the past few weeks.  The water is not as disturbed as many of the other dams so it is more settled and so are the fish.  Most of the fish are still being caught in 10 – 15 feet of water using blades, ice jigs and soft jackals.  Some bigger models have been particularly falling for soft jackals in shallower water earlier in the morning as they look for food in the warmer water. Later in the day head a little deeper for best results.  Searching around the points in 10-15 feet of water should find you some small schools of bass where you can concentrate your efforts.  Pelican Point, Poly point and bay 13 are good starting areas.  The two best reports from this dam were a 63 cm yellow belly caught near brads bank trolled up on a purple blitz baga and a 54cm bass from pelican point using a blade and jigged.

BORUMBA DAM – There has been some inconsistent weather patterns around the dam and surrounding areas and as a result some extra water has found its way into the dam causing it to become unclear and murky.  The good news is that it is starting to clear up in the upper reaches where consistent catches of bass around the junction of Kingham and yabba have been reported.  Fishing the steeper points in these creeks with lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits have seen plenty of fish being landed.  Also try up close around the weed edges and timber for good results.  The toga are still hit and miss as they are still in a breeding pattern.  These fish are mouth brooders and keep their young in their mouth until they are ready to survive on their own.  This means that they are unlikely to open their mouth to take a lure while they are in this pattern.  Having said that, a nice 71cm fish was landed during the week.  The best bass recorded was 49cm with plenty of smaller fish reported.

LAKE MACDONALD – A fish during the howling winds of the weekend made it difficult and uncomfortable at times but the fish were still biting.  The bubblers and Botanical Gardens produced 30 – 40 smaller fish with the average around 30cm and the largest being 42cm to the tails tips.  A quick trip down the 3 ways produced 3 fish of better quality, all around the 45cm mark.  The use of smaller blades (40mm), spinnerbaits, soft jackals and a mixture of plastics (gulp jigging grubs, atomic guzzlers and squidgies) rigged on ¼ oz jigheads did the trick across the day.  Casting to and through the edge of weed beds and jigging small schools were very effective throughout the day.

RIVERS – After the recent rains many of the dams have spilled over which means that the recipient rivers below are now housing the fish that once frequented the dam above.  This is great for us who like to fish the tranquil and often picturesque rivers in QLD’s south east.  Coonoowrin creek in the Glasshouse Mountains has produced a few smaller fish around the 35cm mark on surface fizzers and jitterbugs. Mooloolah River near Ewen Maddock dam has seen more consistent catches and better quality, mostly on spinnerbaits and surface lures.  The standout river this week is the creek/river that runs off Wivenhoe dam where reports are that a prominent bass fisho slayed around 20 bass and 15 nice yellas on spinnerbaits and soft jackals.

Hope this helps,

Brendan

OFFSHORE – Well the weekend was shaping up to be a cracker but its now going to blow 20-25 knots SE for the next 4 days. great. few reports this week pearl perch, amberjack and cobia from the barwon banks but here its fishing pretty tough. cobia, squire, parrot from inner gneerings.  few tuna and the odd school mack around old woman and in the bay. app theres lots of bait up in laguna bay but lots of small tuna and bonito but no macks yet. not much to report this week.

ESTUARY – Good jacks on livies up eudlo creek and jew at the mouth on plastics. lots of reports of school jew coming from around the bridges – motorway bridges at marrochy and mooloolah and minyama island and in the deeper holes throughout marroochy. few bream and small trevally from the footbridge at kensingston drive. few flatties along la balsa park stretch. good whiting between picnic point and chambers island.  a solid 46cm jack came from the cod hole for a lucky angler on a live mullet. we are going for a live bait tonight in mooloolah. wish us luck cause well probably need it.

till next week…………………….. ben

Sorry for no report on friday i have been away for 4 days and yes james is slack again. he has just told me a few reports he has got over the last few days.

OFFSHORE – top of the barwon banks there was cobia, snapper, pearl perch, red throat, amberjack and yellow tail kingfish. few sweetlip, parrot and small snapper on murphys reef. snapper off coolum reef.

ESTUARY – Mangrove jacks in the canals and up stream of marrochy river. school jew around bli bli bridge and a few around motorway bridge. whiting around the river mouths on live worms

talk to you all on friday. hope you all have a good week

ben

BORUMBA DAM – Borumba has gone off the bite over the last week or so after a few bouts or heavy rain.  Fish are still being landed but more persistence is needed to get a good bag for a days fishing.  Having said that, there are some consistent catches of bass up in the Yabba and Kingham arms of the dam.  Casting  lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits down the face of steep rocky points has been successful recently.  The Saratoga are still in their breeding pattern so they are hit and miss at the moment.  Some are being caught but they are more likely to come on the chew in the next month or so.

LAKE MACDONALD – This dam has fired up over the last few weeks with some large catches of bass being recorded.  At present there is a nice school of fish patrolling the Botanical Gardens.  These fish are being landed using small blades and plastics.  The size of these fish are more on the smaller side with are few larger models landed up to 40cm.  For larger specimens head up to the three ways and use jackals, blades and spinner baits cast at the weed edges.  These fish are larger but they are few and far between.

SOMERSET DAM – Somerset is the pick of the dams at present with some reports of up to 100 fish being landed in a session.  The fish are slowly getting smaller in size and concentrated numbers but some good size fish between 40 and 50cm are still consistently being landed.  The areas to land a few fish are wide and varied which is good as big schools can often be peppered to the point where they can be difficult to catch.  At the moment the larger schools have begun to spread with more smaller schools being found in around 5 metres of water and on most of the main flats areas and points dotted throughout the dam.  Some choice spots include: Pelican Point, Poly Point, The Spit and the northern end of bay 13.  Once again blades in 40 – 50mm size are proving lethal as well as soft jackals.  Trollers and ice jiggers have also caught plenty of fish searching for schools in 15 feet of water.  My advice is to find a small patch of fish that is away from any crowds or boats and work through your techniques and tackle and you should land a good haul of fish.  If fished right a solid patch of fish should reap 20 -25 fish for a 4 or 5 hour session.

Hope this helps,

Brendan

OFFSHORE –  getting a bit blustery this week but looks like its dropping out over the weekend but theres a bit of swell still about. early in the week and last weekend there were good parrot and snapper being caught off sunshine reef. snapper and sweetlip of coolum. parrot, sweetlip and squire off murphys reef. yellow tail kings around the blinker and out on caloundra 12 mile. sweetlip and longtails  at caloundra 9 mile. cobia, sweetlip and snapper of the northern end of the banks. red emperor, snapper, parrot, sweetlip, a cobia out on the hards.

ESTUARY – Tailor, trevally on poppers early morning off the rocks inside the mooloolah river mouth, flathead, bream, whiting and tailor at the mouth of marrochy and jacks in the upper reaches of mooloolah and marrochy.

good luck to those fishing the comps this weekend. hope you all do well

fishing report will be next thursday as ill be away for 4 days after that.

talk to you then…….. ben

SOMERSET DAM – The dam is still fishing consistently with reasonable bags of fish being landed.  Fish up to and over 50cm are not uncommon at present with a fish recently tipping the scales at 3.6kg (that’s a big bass).  The fish are still being located off the point at the spit and off pelican and dead tree points in 9 – 12m of water.  The go to lure this week were blades in larger sizes, generally around the 50 to 60mm mark and ½ an oz in weight.  These lures at this weight and size are great for keeping the lure close to the bottom and they can be worked hard and slow back to the boat as well as being jigged.  Little Max, Jazz Sonics, Berkley Big Eyes and Strikepro cyber vibes are all reliable blades to use.  Try plastics on ½ oz jigheads as well as the subtlety of the tail beats can prove to be irresistible when other more in your face lures are not working.

BORUMBA DAM – This is probably the pick of the dams at the moment with a variety of fish starting to fire up throughout the entire dam.  The water temp has risen to the point where the Saratoga are starting to make their presence felt.  Unweighted or lightly weighted soft plastics like squidgy fish tossed in and around weed edges on shallow banks should see you catch a few of these hard fighting sports fish.  The use of Atomic hardz and the new Berkley 3B crankbaits that dive just under the surface have proven a good weapon in the past few weeks.  Other surface offerings like Arbagast jitterbugs, Mazy poppers and Sammy 65’s will also work well.  Some good solid bass have also been taken in the dam amongst schools in the main basin and around the edge of the timber with blades and icejigs being the most productive lure in this area.  Also sound around the edges to find sloping banks holding fish and hop soft jakalls, lipless crankbaits (jackal tn 50’s & 60’s, cultiva miravibes, sebile flat raps) and plastics down the slope.  Cast to the bank wind a few times, let it sink to the bottom, wind etc etc.  The bass will generally watch/ follow the lure up and then hit it on the drop so be ready.

EWEN MADDOCK – A local of Mooloolah caught a bass that went 56cm to the fork during the week using an izumi blade in purple in his canoe casting back to the bank and hopping it down the face of the bank.   He mentioned that it took about 10 minutes or so to get in and seriously tested his gear.  This dam has also got populations of silver perch, yellowbelly, saratoga and rumours of other larger fish.

Hope this helps,

Brendan