ANGLERS have had to work hard for a feed over the past week, with discoloured water and floating weeds making conditions difficult in estuaries.
Fishing is expected to improve over the next few weeks as rivers clear and conditions return to normal.
Most of the action has been away from the upper reaches or in rivers and creeks towards the mouth and around bar entrances.
Flathead have been the most consistent catch by lure and bait anglers. One of the surprises since the rain started has been the number of mangrove jack and estuary cod.
They have been found at the Raby Bay canals and in the northern broadwater around marinas, jetties and rock walls, especially at dusk and early evening.
One of the more productive techniques is to cast small spinner baits at snags, let them sink to near the bottom then retrieve. It is also worthwhile trolling hard body lures along canal developments and marina rock walls.
There has been a few tuna caught in the bay, most are in the central bay area around the Rous and Rainbow channels and further north off the Sand Hills along the western side of Moreton Island. Using small chrome lures to 40 grams, cast and retrieved as fast as you can around the outside edge of the schools has been the most productive technique.
There were not many reports of mackerel this week. Those that were caught came from the shipping beacons and the Rous and Rainbow channels. The waters around bay islands have turned up snapper to a few kilos, especially for those bouncing lightly weighted soft plastics off the bottom during daylight hours in eight to 10 metres of water. The better catches by bait anglers have come before daylight or in the early evening.
If you are hitting the beaches over the next month make sure you take a handful of yabbies, worms or pippies, as dart are in big numbers, easy to catch.
On the offshore scene, there has been quite a few pelagic species caught on trolled lures and live baits off Point Lookout and Sevens Reef.
