Fisho's Weekly Fishing Report – 1st August 2025
by Fisho's Tackle World Hervey Bay 1 Aug 10:38 UTC
Undersized jewies must be released unharmed. Marion's release technique is rather unique © Fisho's Tackle World Hervey Bay
Rug up for a chilly weekend
There was limited opportunity for boaties to head anywhere beyond sheltered waters last week. Brief windows of opportunity appeared between days of westerly winds, but not many. Tuesday was the best of a bad bunch last week, and might just be the saviour-day this week.
Minimal rain fell last weekend, even though the BOM really talked it up. Another band is headed our way that is expected to grace our region today into Saturday. It looks even more insignificant than last week's event, so watch the radar for your chance to get out fishing. Today is a brilliant day to be on the water, wind-wise, so take advantage if you can, as the weekend looks decidedly less appealing.
The westerly breeze may remain light enough for inshore boating escapades early Saturday morning. The BOM reckons it will increase to 15-20 knots by mid-morning though, so keep that in mind. Sunday is looking like a good day to sleep in and spend some time at home. At least 20 knots of westerly can be expected early and up to 25 knots from the south-west during the morning. Cold, windy and downright nasty!
Further windy weather Monday, from the south-west tending south-east, will keep most folks off the bay. Tuesday is looking good, but it is the only stand-out day in a fairly ordinary looking week of onshore winds to 20 knots.
The tides will at least suit some local fishos, as the making tides following on from today's first quarter phase build very gradually day by day. Minimal tidal flow means bad news for some fisheries, yet good news for others. Focus your efforts accordingly, and happy days.
Pier Fishos rely on pike for bait
The herring schools just can't seem to settle beneath the Urangan Pier of late. It has been many weeks now, with next to no herring in pier waters, save for the odd brief showing for limited periods the past fortnight. This week was no better, for the most part, so pier regulars and those visitors wishing to use live baits or fresh slab baits have had to resort to catching pike.
Not that there is anything wrong with that. In fact, a pike will probably always be a better live bait for a jewfish, a big flathead or other select predators, and is often favoured over herring by pier-goers well-versed in catching fish other than pelagics. Pike make for fine slab baits for bream too. Their flesh is oily, their skin isn't too tough, and their smell is very pungent and appealing to bream (if not to us). Indeed, there is something very appealing about pike as fodder for larger fish, be they targeted at the pier or out on the bay.
Pier-caught fish this week included a few sizeable flathead, a couple of jewfish and some modest hauls of bream. Chopper tailor and small school mackerel could be expected to linger if the herring ever decide to hang around. A spin or ten with a Flasha Spoon of similar will soon see if there are any of these toothy critters out there in the meantime.
Neap tides and westerlies favour landlubbers
Just as the bigger spring tides screamed whiting, flathead and bream for local landlubbers, this set of neaps will favour those seeking estuarine predators from shore-based locations. Be it jewies from man-made structures in and about town, or blue salmon and tailor from rocky foreshores, there will be a few viable options for those of you relying on shanks's pony this weekend.
River Heads is a good place to be casting metal slugs or spoons eastward in search of tailor or small school mackerel. The higher stage of the tide, when the water is clearer and the bait is moving about, is best. Blue salmon will visit the same stretch of rocks and are one fish that will feed ravenously in the dirtier waters when the tide is lower.
Small jew might have a go at low tide during the daylight, however, evening sessions are warranted if you are keen to tangle with a bigger model from the rocks out there. Flathead can be caught day or night, on lures or bait, and should be handled with extra care around the rocks if too big for keeping, and destined for release.
You are bound to catch at least a few bream at the heads if you go light enough and present unweighted or very lightly-weighted baits to the waters immediately adjacent to the rocks. Big casts out into strong current and wasted, as the bream are typically hugging the cusp of the slope on the western side of the peninsula, and are scattered throughout the shallows on the eastern side. Lure fishos have a definite edge on their bait-fishing counterparts, so long as they learn quickly to judge their lure's sink rate and assess the terrain accordingly.
The neap tides may not favour Booral Flats fishos chasing whiting, but they can fish those mudflats confidently for flathead and blue salmon whilst the wind is blowing offshore. Come mid-week and a bit of run in the tide, alas, the wind will be blowing onshore and those shallow muddy margins rendered filthy and unappealing once again.
Better times could be had simply fishing the banks of a local creek. Beelbi, O'Regan's, Eli and to a lesser extent, Pulgul, are all creeks worthy of a session flicking softies for flathead. Given the lack of tidal flow, and the fact that the nearby flats won't drain nearly as dramatically as they do during bigger ebb tides, you might benefit from a wander back up the creek aways. That is, unless the tell-tale flathead lays in the sand near the mouth suggest you linger there for the early flood tide.
Winter whiting fishos happy with average size
There hasn't been a lot of bragging from winter whiting fishos this week, but suffice to say, that those that made some effort were quite happy with the average size of the whiting they caught. Fat little winteries reaching beyond the 28cm mark have filled bellies rather quickly if not bag limits.
There were whiting caught west of Woody Island again. There were fish caught off Toogoom, off the Burrum and off Woodgate. The quality of the fish within the schools in each area is supposedly improving with time, and a good feed soon amassed without much hassle. Summer whiting continue to be occasional bycatch, so be mindful of their size limit and monitor your catch.
Green toadfish aren't proving to be a big issue so far this season. This is great news for those that favour bait jigs and pre-made rigs for their whiting. Mackerel will be a form of bycatch that will become more prevalent as August unfolds, particularly off the Burrum and Toogoom. Time to consider carrying that slightly-heavier outfit, some gang hooks and some floats perhaps. Better still, how about a trolling outfit rigged and ready for the trip to and from the whiting grounds.
Bream remain a viable target for boaties anchoring and berleying off Gatakers Bay - Pialba. Numbers of bream drawn to your berley trail offer surprisingly good sport in this coral-encrusted terrain and can test your skills in not only stopping them before they brick you, but in your bait presentation too. Big bream are very old, and they don't get that old by being stupid, so put in the extra effort to streamline your baits and weight them appropriately. An unrestricted natural drift down your berley trail is easily achieved, and the fish will line up to devour your baits when you get it right.
Tailor can be found within casting distance of the rocks either side of Pt Vernon. Decent sized fish too apparently. Some guys have been dancing stickbaits in relatively slow walk-the-dog style motion to great effect. Crashing strikes from the larger tailor have been drawing those guys back for more. You can try the same technique or simply hit the rocks with a spin rod and some metal slugs and spoons for a spinning session. You might even hook into passing broadies, queenfish or trevally if you are lucky. Be mobile over these neaps, as the tailor etc won't be as active and you will need to track them down.
Tidal flow affects inshore action
Plenty of tidal flow back closer to the new moon had the queenfish around the bay islands hyped up and crash-tackling all manner of lures thrown their way. Dancing stickbaits is fast becoming the preferred option for many queenie fans and for good reason. They love 'em! Larger fish join smaller fish in some waters, yet at times they are clearly segregated schools.
Don't expect the same hyper-feeding response from the queenies over the neap tides, but don't think for a minute that you cannot catch them. Like all pelagics, they must feed each and every day. Change tactics if the stickies are failing to attract their attention and lean towards softies jerked erratically through the mid-water column adjacent to the points of high current flow.
Look for large broad-barred mackerel whilst you work the fringes of the bay islands too. You can seek them out by simply spinning with metals, or even try a quick troll or two. They will creep right up into the shallowest of water when chasing hardy heads and garfish, but can also be found in vastly deeper waters nearby too.
The local tiger squid population was eagerly sought-after by many folks this past few days. Westerly winds, sunny skies and clear waters meant sight-fishing opportunities were prime, adding to the fun of a session on the squid. Not many are required for a sustained feast when they average the size they do this time of year, so just catching a few is sufficient to feed the family with ease.
Time spent scanning the shallow margins of the bay islands, parts of Fraser's west coast and many stretches of the straits, can soon see you parking within casting range of big schools of bream and whiting. Bream will be easy enough to tempt over these neap tides, whilst the whiting will join them for a feeding spree come closer to the full moon.
It is fair to say that the upcoming full moon will be a very popular one for summer whiting fans. Quite a few have already enjoyed successful sessions chasing their beloved 'ting on the flats and within select creeks. Nothing short of bag limits of fat spawning whiting will be deemed acceptable to dedicated whiting fishos with history on their side. All the while, a growing armada of curious others consider whether they too have what it takes to fish the right tides into the evening on a cold August night. Now's your chance folks. It's the next couple of moons, or not at all.
Blue salmon and flathead prolific in our estuaries
If you love your flathead fishing, then you must be having a ball this winter. Quality flathead fishing remains a highlight of the Burrum, Mary and Great Sandy Straits fisheries, and is showing no sign of slowing. Neap tides, spring tides, and every tide in between are fishing well - it's just the location and timing that you need to vary for success.
Keeping a feed of flathead is your right and you can exercise that right at any time. Being responsible fishos and releasing all the truly large flatties in favour of smaller models ensures a successful spawning season. Take a few home in the 55cm range and you will find them all full of roe, yet tasty and guilt-free. Even bigger fish carry dramatically more roe and produce vastly more offspring. Hence the need to return the bigger girls unharmed, and why we are so lucky to have such healthy numbers of 'good eating size' flatties available at this key time.
Finding flathead is simple, yet still somewhat satisfying. Being a predator that relies on stealth and ambush, they favour areas where current washes baitfish etc from nearby grounds and where they can sit or partially submerge within the substrate to pounce on their next unsuspecting prey. The mouths of creeks, big and small, fit the bill. As do the many and varied drains that weave their way out of the mangrove-lined banks. Corners in a stream that funnel current, and drop-offs fringing flats and plateaus (islands) all appeal to a flathead looking for its next meal.
All of our rivers and most of our creeks are hosting numbers of flathead right now. Not all harbour as many as others, so being mobile and willing to spot-hop when and if you land in a creek devoid of life is a discipline that will serve you well. Fruitless casting is just that, and repeated efforts should be ignored in favour of greener pastures elsewhere.
Find the motherlode of flathead and in some cases, you won't be far from the motherlode of blue salmon. This has been the case for select flats fisheries both within the Mary/Susan River system and down the straits. Blues tearing into the mullet, herring and the like are obvious targets for a lure cast their way, whilst flatties can be picked off one by one on the verges or adjacent drop-offs.
A decent session mixing it with these two species will soon see you rifling through your collection of soft plastics. Either to find a replicate of the successful one you just tore, or to find alternatives with which to experiment while the bite is so red hot. As you know, or will find out, the blues take a terrible toll on your lure collection and demand constant leader monitoring. All a minimal price to pay for such fun on the flats.
Shift your focus to deeper waters within the Mary system and you can be catching threadies as well as blues. Do so when the barra are in the right mood and you could be catching them too. Soft vibes will serve you well in both cases, as will suspending hardbodies, paddle-tailed softies and prawn imitations. You could be catching bream in numbers, quality grunter, a few tailor, or even a big feed of whiting - such are your choices in the Mary system this time of year.
Burrum continues to fish well
The Burrum system is fishing particularly well of late, as improved water clarity continues to push upstream. The lower-mid reaches remain the main stomping ground for most river fishos, and rightly so. There are very healthy numbers of flathead to be found with minimal effort for a start, and swags of other fish on offer too.
The bream are there for the taking, falling victim to lightly-weighted baits in a berley trail. Rocky or snag-strewn banks in the lower reaches are home to the best schools of bream. Their size is quite acceptable, with many fish in the mid-thirties, yet for some reason, 40cm+ fish remain scarce.
The same waters are home to flatties, which are well-scattered upstream into the mid-reaches. You can find them lurking near rock bars, along the fringes of sandbanks and along muddy bait-laden banks with minimal structure. This is the first year the Burrum's flathead have been this abundant for some time, so let's hope that enough survive to spawn successfully and continue the recovery of this popular river system.
Tailor schools are terrorising the baitfish in the Burrum's lower reaches. Tailor size varies, with quite a few barely legal or undersized fish in the mix. Better-quality tailor can be caught at any time, being more common over the full moon. Something to look forward to late next week if you are into your tailor.
You would expect a few jewfish to show up in the deeper holes not far from the feeder river junctions over coming key moon phases. The annual sea mullet run has commenced, and larger jewfish are adept at positioning themselves to intercept this mass exodus of mullet from the river. The biggest barra won't miss this opportunity either, and might be found loitering where the mullet schools must pass.
Expect another run of summer whiting next full moon, maybe some better grunter closer to then, and a continuation of blue salmon and occasional threadfin catches in the meantime. Should the queenfish and river GTs show up in August like they used to, along with the giant herring, then the Burrum system will be one heck of an interesting waterway going into spring.
Reef Fishos frustrated by weather
Inshore reef fishing is somewhat tainted for many of us seeing as we cannot target snapper. There is another two weeks to go until the opening, so alternative tactics remain the go. Heavier leaders whilst live baiting for cod and trout might see you go home with a feed, whilst avoiding the heavy-leader-wary snapper. So long as your patience is as good as your quarries' that is, given the lethargy of these two species inshore late winter.
Nannies and a few remnant grassy sweetlip can be expected from deeper inshore reefs. So too, jewfish of various sizes, that can be found hovering near the most prominent structures. Schools of golden trevally that might be otherwise disdained by dedicated snapper fishos are there for a bit of fun on jigs or softies too. All of these species fall for techniques otherwise utilised to catch snapper, so do your best to minimise your contact with the snapper and get them back in the drink quick-smart if you do hook any.
Don't be the folks that were heard bragging about all the snapper they caught upon their return to the harbour the other day. Happy to lift the lid on their esky to show off, they were soon put in their place when informed of the snapper closure. Luckily for them it wasn't the local fish fuzz that intercepted them at the harbour. An isolated and rare incident we trust!
The Gutters fished okay for cod and trout when the weather enabled access last week. Spanish mackerel were also quite abundant. Sharks proved avoidable with mobile tactics. Some grounds giving up a few fish before the inevitable taxman appeared, others barely letting you land a fish or two before a move was mandated.
Crossing Breaksea Spit for a spot of deep dropping was the call for a couple of crews on Tuesday. That brief window of weather enabled them to head wide and score well on flamies, rubies and bar cod. Red emperor, various cod species and spanish mackerel were found drifting the shoal country the same day. Currents were minimal, and crews were happy. Many whales were sighted, as can be expected, reminding us to be extra wary at this time.
Latest from Fraser's Surf Scene
If you are heading for Fraser Island over the coming two months, then remember that the annual fishing closure around the headlands commences today. Until after the 30th September, all waters within 400m south of Indian Head to 400m north of Waddy Point and 400m to seaward are closed to all forms of fishing. This is to protect the tailor during their annual spawning run, in what is deemed to be one of their primary spawning locations.
Fraser Island's surf beaches are pretty as a picture right now - but the fishing isn't living up to expectations, apparently. Talking to a member of a crew that has been camped on the island for the past week, allows me to share his observations. Firstly, the beach is a little lumpy to drive on, meaning there are high tide and mid-tide gutters here and there. Taking the alternative access track has been necessary to get around Yidney Rocks of late, and Ngkala Rocks also demands the detour at any time other than low tide.
Pippies are quite abundant in the mid-sector of the main beach. Worms are easily gathered up towards Waddy at present too. There are excellent-looking low tide gutters in the central sector, but these gutters have largely failed to produce all week. Given the tides of the past week, where lows fell near dawn and dusk, this has been a real shame. "Better" tides next week might see the whole scene turn around and better catches reported.
For the past week however, there has been minimal return for effort. The odd bream has accompanied a few modest catches of dart in the best-producing gutters. There were tailor being caught in a good high tide gutter near the Maheno on Sunday, then no tailor and just a few dart there the next day. Our man offering the latest goss has heard similar tales of woe from others on the island, whilst at the same time remarking on the general lack of fishos over there at present.
He did recount one interesting scenario; whereby a couple of spearfishos had swum off the beach out to a well-known wreck. They returned sometime later, proud as punch, with the big jewfish they had speared. Hot on their heels was a pack of whaler sharks that followed them, and no doubt the scent of blood from their jew - all the way in, to less than a metre of water. Those sharks proceeded to linger for quite sometime thereafter, eagerly looking for the source of their bloodlust.
Having barely finished thanking ol' mate for his Fraser Island surf fishing report, and I bump into another shop regular fresh back from his most recent trip to Teewah Beach. He related the very same dismal results for his week of surf fishing down that way, claiming very few scalps for oodles of effort on a healthy-looking beach alive with pippies and swags of worms. Even the local beach-netters down that way were going home empty-handed daily.
Both Fraser and Teewah remain weed-free and are looking sensational. Maybe this last week can be written off as an anomaly when the beach scene fires up soon? Perhaps the notably peculiar abundance of westerly winds this winter has had some impact on our surf beach scene? The situation down south of us has been somewhat ongoing for a while now apparently, so let's hope things improve on Fraser very soon. This time last year, the island was just starting to fire, in what fast became the best tailor season in decades. Let's see how this one shapes up.