Fisho's Weekly Fishing Report – 30 January 2026
by Fisho's Tackle World Hervey Bay 30 Jan 19:10 UTC
23 January 2026
Carl found the coral trout on the chew; a fish that will continue to bite well inshore and out wide on the reef © Fisho's Tackle World Hervey Bay
The past week offered boaties a brief crack at open waters in sweltering heat, prior to the arrival of a stiff south-easter that cooled us off nicely. That wind has denied us access to anywhere beyond sheltered waters for the last couple of days, and looks set to prevail until just before the arrival of the full moon.
A strong wind warning remains in place today for Hervey Bay waters, where south-easterly winds to 25 knots could reach 30 knots in the northern bay. The same warning is mirrored for Fraser Island offshore waters, where a sustained 20-30 knot south-easter is whipping up seas to beyond 2 metres.
The weekend starts out windy, but should hopefully improve dramatically for Sunday. Expect the south-easter to ease to 20 knots Saturday, then drop right out Sunday as the low out in the Pacific drifts further south and loses strength. Gear-up for an early start Sunday, when light winds to barely 10 knots from the south-east will prevail until late in the day when a north-east sea breeze kicks in.
Monday looks nearly as good, with maybe a residual northerly swell to put some lift under your bows in otherwise light winds. An early start will be the go once again, as we are likely to see the return of moderate onshore trade winds from Monday afternoon onwards. The working week could see showers daily, with the odd random storm in the mix if the heat builds sufficiently.
It is a full moon this Monday, so expect plenty of run in the tide prior and immediately thereafter. High tides will peak at 4.17m from lows of 0.54m on Monday, so with nearly 12 old-fashioned feet of vertical water movement, you can imagine the substantial current flow in coming days. This will exaggerate wave heights in wind-against-tide scenarios, so extra care should be exercised and timing considered if planning any boating escapades before the winds ease.